To the Editor:

Re “Can We See Our Hypocrisy to Animals?” (column, July 28): Thanks to Nicholas D. Kristof for his thoughtful and insightful column about our inconsistency between how we consider human rights versus animal rights.

The right of animals not to be exploited by humans and to live free from unnecessary suffering is often looked at through the lens of specific issues rather than the overarching social justice movement it is.

Our descendants will indeed look at our treatment of animals as a great social injustice, but let them look back at it as a movement that was largely won rather than just having moved in the right direction.

There is too much needless suffering at stake, as well as the legacy of our ethical values, to wait for future generations to confront what should be our generation’s moral obligation.