I DO not know about a tax on beef or meat collectively, "No harmony in Singer's line", (WT, March 3).

But it worries me that our Government is going to allow meat to come into our country from countries that have mad cow disease.

I am not sure that eating red meat causes cancer because a relative who was a strict vegetarian and grew most of her own vegetables, died from cancer.

She was riddled with it.

Also, I think our Christian God meant us to eat meat, otherwise he would never have commanded the apostle Peter to kill and eat.

In a grade three book, there was a story about a little boy who hated cows and wanted nothing to do with them, which meant he couldn't have butter, cream, yoghurt, custard, ice-cream, vegetables from the garden which had been fertilised with cow manure, and even jelly has gelatine which is made from the cow.

Even our good leather shoes come from the cow.

So without the cow we would have a very bland diet.

Betty Jeffrey, Glenburn