The beautiful game isn’t looking so pretty right now

The clubs that make up the “beautiful game” seem to be prizes in a Monopoly game for avaricious managers, agents and shady investors. Rather than in the Sport section, would not football be better placed in the Business section alongside reports of hedge fund managers, off-shore bankers, commodity speculators and exchange-rate gamblers?

Tim Rubidge Salisbury

An even split for Brexit

Your editorial yesterday said: “The argument on immigration is, however, open for the winning. Before the referendum, polling by Ipsos Mori (which we have quoted in the past, but bears repeating here) found that 39 per cent of Britons said EU immigration had been good while 42 per cent said it had been bad – relatively evenly split.”

So “we” voted for Brexit by what margin, exactly? I’ve not seen or heard in any media a similarly slim margin described as “relatively evenly split”. The story is that either a “majority” (a gross distortion of the fact) or “the British people” (another grotesque distortion of the fact) voted for Brexit. I guess it just depends on your argument. Relatively evenly split does it for me. I’m not a sore loser – just a realist.

Beryl Wall London

We need a fairer electoral system

I did wonder if Anthony Rodriguez (Letters, 28 September) was being ironic when he said an electable Labour party would need to support selective education and a free-market economy, be anti-union and for privatisation of the NHS. I always thought the Labour were supposed to be on the left of the Conservatives.

If these are really the values that make a party electable, then clearly we need a fairer electoral system.

Martin Heaton Cheshire

Ditch meat for the good of the planet

More and more people are realising that they can save animals, improve their health and combat climate change simply by ditching meat.

Studies show that people who eat plant-based meals tend to be leaner and less likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes or cancer than their meat-eating counterparts, and a Worldwatch Institute report indicates that at least 51 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture.

And then there’s the most compelling reason of all for swapping beef for veggie burgers: stopping the horrific suffering involved in getting every piece of animal flesh to the table. Animals raised for food live in misery and endure extreme deprivation before finally being loaded onto lorries and sent off to abattoirs, where their throats will be slit. When you consider what we know of pigs, cows, chickens and other animals – that they have distinct personalities and a will to live – it's impossible to justify killing them for a burger.

As more humans see these animals for the wonderful individuals they are, the increasing number of those who will no longer feast on their flesh makes sense. If you’re not yet one of them, World Vegetarian Day tomorrow (1 October) is the perfect time for you to give it a go. Do it for animals, do it for the planet, or do it for yourself – but whatever your reason, just do it. Peta (the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has vegan starter kits for anyone who wants to give it a try.

Jennifer White London