Dear Editor,

Proposition 2 is a very modest measure that extends the most basic comforts to the animals that provide sustenance to the voters who will be deciding their future treatment in November. As a vegetarian, I would prefer complete freedom for all animals, but I know that is not the sentiment of most people.

However, I do strongly believe that the vast majority of people would not support the kind of confinement that these animals have to currently endure. Could you imagine if you had to raise, in your own backyard, your own hens for eggs, pigs for meat and calves for veal? How would you choose to confine them? Would you pay the extra 20 percent in production costs, amounting to less than 1 cent per egg (according to a UC Davis report), to allow the hens to open up their wings, a natural habit necessary for them to thoroughly clean themselves? Would you give up a couple of square feet of your rose garden to allow the calves to lie down properly?

I would imagine that anyone with a pet would spend the extra couple of dollars to buy a cage suitable for its size, and even though they may only keep that pet in the cage for travel, they would not do so for the pet’s entire life. This proposition is a matter of giving back to the animals that give up their lives for us. Thank you for considering the endorsement of Proposition 2. I will personally thank you if you do, and I am sure the majority of the student body will as well.

— Brandon Heilman
Revelle College senior