Instead of trying to cultivate seafood indoors, University of Maryland scientists should work to teach people that sea animals are fascinating beings who feel pain just as much as cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals do ("Fish farming research at UM about to get real-world tryout," July 20).

Fish farms are notoriously inhumane, and they pollute the environment with fish feces, antibiotic-laden fish feed, and fish carcasses. Fish on fish farms must be fed about five pounds of wild-caught fish to produce one pound of farmed-fish flesh. It would be healthier, kinder, and greener to eat vegetarian foods rather than "fish bred in captivity." (PETA's "Fishing Hurts" website even suggests some faux fish options).

There are enough miserable, captive animals and unhealthy people in the world already.

Katie Moore, Baltimore