Letters to the Editors
Bees Don't Have to Be Killed to Produce Honey
Your magazine is very helpful and enjoyable. I have been a vegetarian all of my 89 years, have enjoyed it, and hope to live a few more wonderful years.
The letters from young people who have become vegetarians deserve praise for their efforts. One letter puzzled me when the writer stated that bees had to be killed in order to get the honey. (See: Nicole Guenther's winning essay in Issue One 2002). I grew up with bees and worked with them, and we never killed them to get the honey. Normally, they are not killed unless they have a disease. Thank you for your fine magazine.
A.M.
Warrenton, OR
Editors' Note: In 1996, Caroline Pyevich (a VRG intern) wrote an article titled, Busy Bees, which appeared in Vegetarian Journal. You can read that article online at <www.vrg.org/journal/vj96nov/bee.htm>. In this piece, she states that beekeepers burn a hive when the bees are infected with American Foulbrood, a fatal and highly contagious bacterial disease in bees.
VRG's Website www.vrg.org Comes to the Rescue
I am 54 years old and didn't know how to make spaghetti. I did a Google search and couldn't find any help until I came upon Christopher Hoeller's description ("VRG's 1998 Essay Contest Winners"). I have now made spaghetti and am very pleased at the results. Please tell Christopher thank you for me. His help was invaluable, useful, clear, and accurate. Not to mention that his directions worked!
J.W.F.
Buffalo, NY
I Love Animals
I'm a sixth grader, and I want to become one of the many vegetarians in the U.S. I love?animals and I want to protect them. So, if you will, send me a copy of your handout titled I Love Animals and Broccoli. Animals are being killed for two things: their fur and their meat!! This is not fair to animals! This is why I've decided to become a vegetarian. Thank you so much!G.R.
Elgin, Illinois
