Letters to the Editor

It's time again for New Year's resolutions

Once again, it's time for New Year's resolutions, particularly those to improve our diet and exercise routine.

Although gun violence and traffic accidents remain the leading causes of death among young people, the most dangerous weapon for the rest of us is still our fork. Well over a million of us are killed each year by high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other chronic diseases linked to our meat-based diet.

But times are changing. According to Gallup, 22 percent of American consumers are avoiding meat and 12 percent are avoiding dairy products. Supermarket chains, along with Target and Walmart, offer a growing selection of delicious and healthy plant-based meats and dairy products. Animal meat consumption has dropped by 8 percent in the past decade.

Hundreds of school, college, hospital, and corporate cafeterias have embraced Meatless Monday and vegan meals. Fast-food chains like Chipotle, Panera, Subway, Taco Bell, and White Castle, are rolling out vegan options.

Let's make this New Year's resolution about exploring the rich variety of plant-based entrees, lunch meats, cheeses, ice creams, and milks, as well as the more traditional green and yellow veggies. The internet offers tons of recipes and transition tips.

Sincerely,

Perry Vandyke

Pahrump resident

Please continue to report without bias

Dear Mr. Knightly,

Wanted to let you know that there are at least some who appreciate your editorial independence, and your forth-rightfulness in checking on the facts of stories. Well done.

I do not claim to be a journalist, although I did study journalism in high school and wrote sports for the high school paper as well as for the local San Pedro Pilot. I even received a by line, a time or two.

So the reason I write this is to congratulate you, of course, and to challenge you to maintain the truth in reporting both sides of future items. I have no reason to believe you have not done so in the past, nor any reason to suspect you would violate the truth in the future. BUT again from my limited history I know that bias can enter a story without intent, simply by the slant placed by the author.

Words chosen to paint a picture of a candidate can make them look like a buffoon, or as a person challenging a system unliked by the base of their party. One can be elevated for a humorous retort that slices an opponent, or ridiculed for an idea that does not match the main stream, or the media doing the reporting.

I am a conservative, yet I listen to both sides of an issue to see merit where ever it lies. I sincerely hope that you, as the PV Editor, will insure that Pahrumpians will be able to read a report, without bias, of the issues placed before us all in the up-coming election cycle.

Respectfully,

Dr. Kenneth E. Searles