Re: “Vegans rare, but tofu abounds” (Feb. 22): The article suggests, from its title onwards, that Yale should consider cutting back on its vegetarian fare in various dining halls so meat-eaters can pick from, say, six carnivorous options every night instead of five. This move would be a step in precisely the wrong direction. No matter how much we like meat, we should all be able to acknowledge the fact that the meat industry does very bad things — to animals, to our arteries and to the planet our children will inherit from us.

According to the United Nations, the livestock industry contributes more to climate change than the entire global transportation industry combined. In the face of this reality, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has called on each of us to cut back on the meat. “Give up meat for one day [a week],” he suggested in the Observer. And then, if you can, try to “decrease it from there.”

If Yale’s vegetarian options aren’t tasty enough for meat-eaters right now, by all means let’s try to make them tastier. But — for the planet, for the animals, for Dr. Pachauri — let’s not cut them out for more meat.

Nick Pedersen

Feb. 22

The writer is a third-year student at the Law School.