"A Change of Heart About Animals" response

Dear Jeremy Rifkin,
                
               Your stance in your article, "A Change of Heart About Animals" has a profound effect on the general public reading the Los Angeles Times. I greatly believe that animals should have the same rights as humans do. Your statement, "They feel pain, suffer and experience stress, affection, excitement, and even love-and these findings are changing how we view animals", changed my view on animals completely. I am completely aware we are manufacturing meat the wrong way as well as infecting animals with unnecessary pesticides; so yes we need to change the way we treat animals around us. The condition in which factory workers are handling meat products is unappealing to many, resulting in people adapting to the vegetarian lifestyle. This being said, I strongly agree with Rifkin's point that animals "are more like us than we had ever imagined" whether it's from treatment or knowledge.
                As normal humans, when we look at something/someone we make an assumption. Face it, it can be good or bad but we do it. How about animals? Many simply look at them and wonder what they are beneficial for. Elephants? Their ivory. Do we really need that much ivory? No. Why the hell would you even need so much of it? People are unaware of the feelings animals posses towards their dead kin. We shoot elephants for their ivory, an elephant comes along and notices the carcass. Unaware how it happened, the elephant touches the carcass with its trunk. The elephant experiences grief and often stands next to the dead body for days. Humans are oblivious to the fact that animals have emotions too and they deserve respect. In reality, are you constantly buying elephant products? I didn't think so. Although not mentioned in "A Change of Heart about Animals", the same goes for cows; many are consuming meat without having the knowledge of what it contains. It can pose a health risk to humans by such unheard-of antibiotics.
                 After reading Lois Frazier's letter to the editor, I agreed with her and Rifkin in more ways than possible. "When will more people begin to realize that we share this world with many creatures deserving of our care and respect?" This is the question we need to ask  on a daily basis and remind ourselves if killing a large amount of animals to produce something we benefit from although not healthy and fresh. We are unfamiliar of animals' emotions and how it affects them; we as humans need to respect their presence on this planet and become aware of why we do or do not 'need' them.