An Inclusive Litany

4/15/01

Activists from the U.S.-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals crossed borders and launched an effort to save the lives of chickens by promoting vegetarianism in Kenya. But for many Kenyans, eating meat is a rare feast, and the everyday staple is a kind of uncooked cornmeal paste that the Wall Street Journal reports "has the texture of bathtub caulking."

The average annual income in Kenya is $300. People live in slums that run with raw sewage. There is also currently a drought. Women on the verge of starvation are forced into prostitution to feed their children. The rate of HIV infection among prostitutes is estimated to be 80 percent.

[Ed. Masai herders expressed indignation and befuddlement that the British would slaughter their diseased herds, since virtually all of their cattle suffer from foot and mouth disease, and they're used to treating it with native herbal remedies.]