Much of what Jake Herrera wrote in \Meatpacking industry fails 21st century standards"" (Opinion, Feb. 1) has plenty of underlying fact to it. Unfortunately the Human Rights Watch is the PETA of the human rights groups, where they dispense the most negative of the negatives. The source must be taken into consideration here. Unfortunately the author of the article likely has no clue of that.
I would charge Jake Herrera to do research into those who are producing the food. What is the incidence of injury to the American farm work force? Who's insuring them? Why did he find the need to slam the packing industry? Was it just good news that'll get the reader fired up?
In an era where everyone wants cheap food and the typical consumer is generations removed from the farm, consumers simply see their meat on the shelves and don't want to consider where it comes from. For the farmer producing the food, that's really too bad. In light of how our packing industry is structured, however, this may be a good thing. There are segments of society that need to and will work cheaply. Unfortunately most of those jobs are in the agricultural field.
Cody Hiemke
UW-Madison alumnus
Animal Science
I was in awe reading Kat Peterson's article, ""Something missing on State Street?"" (Food, Jan. 27). It was as though my very thoughts had materialized on the pages of the Daily Cardinal.
Kat is absolutely correct: the two things State Street lacks are a 24-hour restaurant and a White Castle. Why local merchants have failed to cater to the 24-hour lifestyle of the college student is beyond me. There's money to be made and students to be served with a 24-hour restaurant that doesn't require a car ride.
Even more pressing is the need for a White Castle. A large, sparkling, White Castle, smelling of grilled onions. The tiny square burgers are the ultimate in modular food; buy just two if that's all you need, or a sack of ten if you're insatiably hungry. And while I've formulated a couple of unsavory theories about the origin of the chicken ring, these tasty tidbits would be popular around the clock in Madison.
So yes, let's clean out the soulless voids of the two inferior burrito places-Moe's and Chipotle-and put in restaurants that will serve students how they need to be served. My hope is one day soon we'll forget how we ever lived without vital eateries.
Rob Shereda
UW-Madison graduate student
Biomolecular Chemistry
