Letter: What happens to animals would scare most of us

Ghosts? Fun! Zombies? Bring them on. Haunted houses? We'll take two tickets.

But this Halloween, there is something genuinely frightening we should talk about. 

Every day, animals are transported into slaughterhouses most of us will never see. What happens inside is kept far away from grocery stores, restaurant menus and cheerful food packaging.

We even use comfortable words like "beef," "pork," and "poultry" to help us forget who our food once was. Maybe that is because looking closely would scare us. 

Here is the good news: Halloween horror is supposed to be pretend. We can fill our parties with plant-based candy, cook frighteningly good vegan food, carve pumpkins, dress like monsters, and celebrate everything wonderfully weird about October without making the night terrifying for anyone else. 

This Halloween, save the screams for the haunted house, and leave animals off the menu.

Lex Nakahara
Lahaina