Op-ed: Get Your Hunt On - It’s good for the animals

By John R. Lott, Jr.

Do vegetarians benefit from hunting? Well, let’s just say that all those vegetarians who have adopted their non-meat eating lifestyles because they abhor harming animals might be in for a real shock. Farms actually depend crucially on the ability to kill animals that eat their crops. So vegetarians might consider whether the fine print under their organic labels actually contains the words “no animals were harmed in the making of this food.”

With hunting season starting in various parts of the country, it may be time to acknowledge what vegetarians, as well as hunted animals, owe to hunters.

Deer, rabbits, and various rodents cause extensive crop damage. Not killing those animals would raise the total expenditures on
vegetables for the average American by some $500 more per year.
Vegetarians, who consume even more vegetables, would presumably have to pay even more. Are vegetarians and members of PETA willing to pay that higher price to prevent such animal “cruelty”?

This is just one of the interesting facts cited in Frank Miniter’s new book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Hunting. A book as sure as any that lives up to its title.

Click here to read the entire op-ed at National Review Online.