Plant-based foods are safer, healthier

Editor:

The Boar’s Head deli meat plant in Virginia, linked to the Listeria outbreak that killed 10 people last year, is already talking about reopening. While Congress debates whether the plant is “ready,” they are missing the bigger question: Why are we reopening deadly meat plants at all?

Animal products are inherently dangerous — for animals, who suffer and die; for workers who face unsafe conditions; and for consumers who risk exposure to lethal bacteria. Instead of propping up a system that causes both cruelty and contamination, we should be investing in plant-based agriculture.

Plant-based foods are safer, healthier and kinder. Reopening this plant may restore business as usual, but business as usual is exactly what put lives at risk. Congress should take this moment to push for