The Farmer and the Cash Crop

20 I fully sympathize with the author of the article ``Not Feelin' Finer in Carolina,'' Aug. 4. There is no reason to condemn the hard-working farmers who are simply trying to make a living and have chosen tobacco as their crop because it brings in vastly more income than any other crop they could choose to grow. I also sympathize with the farmers of Peru who grow coca for the exact same reason.

The fact that one is later turned into crack and cocaine by someone other than the farmer, or cigarettes by someone other than the farmer; that in both cases thousands of people are killed by choosing to use the end product; and that many more thousands of lives are destroyed by the actions of users of both products is no reason to find fault with the farmers themselves. Alec Colovos, Puyallup, Wash.

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