LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Palisades Charter High School

Nearly 10 days into Red Tier and MANY months into COVID-19, where is PCHS’s school administration and board on a plan and timing for returning to school?

Proposing a non-academic voluntary after-school program (which came through to parents on Friday), and not revealing plans or thoughts around returning to actual school is not a solution.

The lack of transparency has parents concerned over a bait-and-switch scenario wherein we (blindly) keep our kids enrolled at Pali and end up with no clear in person plan for 21/22 school year.

For those of us who Zoom into the board meetings and every other meeting that could have explained the plan, we know one thing for sure, no plan is ready. The building systems are ready, but still no plan to go back.

Parents need to have a chance to make other arrangements if PCHS admin hasn’t sorted it out. At this point we have no word back on specifics (not even “if/then” scenarios), so we are left totally in the dark.

The questions are simple:

• What plan have you created over these many months that will return our high schoolers to some form of in-person education?
• What are the conditions that have not come to pass yet and need to be in place for in-person education to restart?
• Why hasn’t school already re-started outdoors?

83% of California schools are either back in session or have communicated a time-specific critical path back to in person school.

I know sports are back, I think actual in-person school deserves a plan.

Lee Ann Daly

‘Are Eggs Worth It?’

Passover and Easter are religious holidays reminding us of the beauty and importance of freedom, peace of mind and love. But the way we tend to celebrate it undermines the way we treat the animals that we use to celebrate these holidays. The amount of eggs used at this time of year for dishes or entertainment is immense.

There are almost five billion egg laying hens in the world. There are 375 million in the U.S., confined to small, wire cages for their shortened and painful lives.

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation produces 528 million eggs a year. Production ramps up to 12 million eggs a week for a demand that exceeds 150% of the normal weekly average. In the U.S., consumers buy up to a billion eggs the week before Passover and Easter.

A wild hen lays 10-15 eggs a year. Modern egg laying hens have been genetically bred to lay up to 350 eggs a year by using artificial lighting.

Just as babies take nutrients from their mother, the hen loses calcium with each egg, suffering from osteoporosis, brittle, broken bones, plus uterine collapse and more.

It’s also common practice to starve hens to produce more eggs, up to 18 days without food and little water in forced molting. All the chickens eventually end up in slaughter after being spent.

The egg and poultry production industry is a serious threat to the environment. The egg industry kills fish, wildlife, harms habitat and pollutes land, air and water. It’s also responsible for a massive waste of resources. To produce one egg, 196 liters of water is required.

Free range, vegetarian fed and such labels only make consumers feel good, not the animals.

If you still must buy eggs, please choose certified humane, from chickens raised outdoors and in more natural conditions.

For more information, check galgoamigo.com, PETA.org and humanefacts.org.

For eco-friendly Easter eggs, choose wood eggs, pine cones, rocks, papier-mâché or felt. For more creative fun, check ecowatch.com.

Also, plenty of egg substitutes choices and options are out there, like JUST egg, Follow Your Heart, Flax seeds, Bob’s Red Mill and more.

Check out these sites also for wonderful Easter and Passover Vegan recipes: mydarlingvegan.com/31-vegan-easter-recipes and mayihavethatrecipe.com/12-vegan-passover-recipes-we-love.

Enjoy and live cruelty free, for the planet, the animals and your health.

Alicia Albek Vamos Vegan

The Palisadian-Post accepts letters to the editor via email at mypost@palipost.com or mail/hand-delivered at 881 Alma Real Drive, Suite 213, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. To be considered for publication, letters must be signed, and are subject to editing for length and clarity. Opinions expressed in letters do not necessarily reflect the views of opinions of the Palisadian-Post.