What's really at steak

Has David Nibert never been in a field (Opinions, April 20)? The arguments he presents against eating meat relate to cheap US-style hamburgers, and I could not agree more that we should stop eating them. But eating meat when you know the provenance of the animal is part of a healthy lifestyle. It is difficult to ensure a balanced diet without partaking of some juicy steak or an ethically created bacon sandwich.

I have spent many years working with cattle, and I have yet to see our local Friesians "resist(ing) capture, control and confinement". The level of sentience displayed is rather limited, and I hope Nibert and his ilk do not encourage the "animal activists" to open the field gates and encourage the liberation of our cattle and sheep. Imagine - if sheep got the vote, it could be ten more years of this Government.

Nigel Hunt
Nottingham University