Mailbag:

It is ironic and yet fitting that two of the top 10 stories of 2009 profiled by the Independent (“Century of citydom,” Dec. 24) were about successful efforts to turn back unwise development and protect our community quality of life.

The blocking of the senior center (No. 2) that called into question sweetheart deals made between City Hall and Makar and the “furor over downtown” (No. 5), which called into question sweetheart deals to develop the Triangle Park area, should have been joined with opposition to the proposed high-density nightmare development along the Edinger Corridor. Even story No. 8 (“Brethren backlash”) voiced community concern over private development projects in residential areas.

While our centennial year celebrated the progress we have achieved over the past 100 years, it also included a reminder that plans for our city’s growth must be balanced by its impact on our neighborhoods, our open space and our environment. As Huntington Beach enters its second hundred years as a city, it is important for its citizens to make protecting, enhancing and preserving community quality of life one of its highest civic priorities.

Go vegan for planet’s sake

A novelty only 30 years ago, meat-free diets are rapidly becoming the fashion for people who care about their family’s and planet’s health. Here are recent indicators:

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of animals killed for food in the U.S. this year is expected to drop by 6% from 2008. Jonathan Foer’s “Eating Animals” and two other vegan books have made the bestseller list. The meat industry expose “Food, Inc.” is being considered for an Oscar nomination. Cargill, ConAgra and other animal butchering empires have launched a number of vegan food products. In March, the respected National Cancer Institute reported that people who ate the most red meat were “most likely to die from cancer, heart disease and other causes.”

In July, the conservative American Dietetic Assn. affirmed that “vegetarian and vegan diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.”

In the November issue of World Watch magazine, two World Bank scientists have claimed that meat production may account for more than half of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The dawn of the new year is a great time to explore the new dietary fashion.