Eating Animals
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Product Description
Review
A spirited, emotional and well-researched investigation into what our taste for flesh really means (Observer )
Deserves a place at the table with our greatest philosophers (Los Angeles Times )
Shocking, incandescent, brilliant (The Times )
Everyone who eats flesh should read this book (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall )
Extremely smart and incredibly curious (Vanity Fair )
Gripping, horrible, wonderful, breathtaking, original. A brilliant synthesis of argument, science and storytelling. One of the finest books ever written on the subject of eating animals (The Times Literary Supplement )
Deserves a place at the table with our greatest philosophers (Los Angeles Times )
Shocking, incandescent, brilliant (The Times )
Everyone who eats flesh should read this book (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall )
Extremely smart and incredibly curious (Vanity Fair )
Gripping, horrible, wonderful, breathtaking, original. A brilliant synthesis of argument, science and storytelling. One of the finest books ever written on the subject of eating animals (The Times Literary Supplement )
Product Description
'I simply wanted to know - for myself and my family - what meat is. Where does it come from? How is it produced? What are the economic, social and environmental effects? Are there animals that it is straightforwardly right to eat? Are there situations in which not eating animals is wrong? If this began as a personal quest, it didn't stay that way for long . . . '
Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals is the most original book on the subject of food written this century. It will change the way you think, and change the way you eat.
For good.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
81 of 85 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I received an advanced copy of Eating Animals, I wasn't going to read it. After reading an excerpt ran in the New York Times Magazine (called "Against Meat"), I had to check it out. I've never been a vegetarian. I did read Michael Pollan's Omnivores Dilemma, though, and it's hard not to question whether one should eat meat after reading him. While Pollan made me more intellectually interested in food issues, Eating Animals shook me.
This book is loaded with incredible facts about animal agriculture, but it is more than anything a deeply personal (and often hilarious) meditation on what it means to consume animal products. Foer doesn't make, in the end, a firm case for vegetarianism, rather he provides a heartfelt and moving account of his own exploration into these issues. He makes it impossible not to care about what you eat without telling you exactly what you should eat.
Whether you enjoyed Foer's previous books, whether you're an omnivore or vegan, whether you've wondered about these issues in the past or never gave it a second thought, Eating Animals is a must read. You might be enraged or inspired, but you won't be disappointed.
This book is loaded with incredible facts about animal agriculture, but it is more than anything a deeply personal (and often hilarious) meditation on what it means to consume animal products. Foer doesn't make, in the end, a firm case for vegetarianism, rather he provides a heartfelt and moving account of his own exploration into these issues. He makes it impossible not to care about what you eat without telling you exactly what you should eat.
Whether you enjoyed Foer's previous books, whether you're an omnivore or vegan, whether you've wondered about these issues in the past or never gave it a second thought, Eating Animals is a must read. You might be enraged or inspired, but you won't be disappointed.
71 of 76 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book isn't your typical book about why we shouldn't eat animals, it is filled with colourful characters from a vegetarian cattle rancher, to a turkey farmer, to a vegan helping to build a slaughterhouse. It is a book that addresses the reality that what we eat affects us and ultimately shapes our world. Foer's thoughts are so perfectly articulated and to me, his insights are truly original and devastatingly emotive.
I literally could not put it down and I would sincerely recommend it to any and every one.
I literally could not put it down and I would sincerely recommend it to any and every one.
65 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I think this is an amazing book - it's heartfelt, honest, isn't afraid to enter some uncomfortable places and asks a lot of necessary questions. It also gives voice to those on both sides of the fence, as it were.
As for the criticisms from some folk on this page, I work for a vegetarian campaign group so know that there aren't as many differences between US and UK/European farming methods as some critics would like to think. For example, the sow farrowing crate is still in use in the UK - it causes immense suffering to these highly intelligent and sensitive animals but is allegedly slightly more humane than the US gestation crate - a couple of inches perhaps? (Thankfully it is destined to be phased out after a lot of campaigning). But most animal abuse is not being phased out. There is also a lot of nonsense talked about organic and free-range meat, frankly. Recent and verified undercover footage by the UK's Animal Aid has exposed appalling cruelty to animals - in Soil Association approved slaughterhouses, not only the usual suspects. So much so that there is a call to put CCTV in abbatoirs to try and stop the abuse. If we are honest and go beyond our comfort/self-interest zone, I think many of us know that animals go through hell. RSPCA Freedom Foods, for example is another scam - the abuses within many of their approved 'farms' have to be seen to be believed. If you don't believe me, check Viva!'s undercover footage. Basically, farmers aren't monsters, but they are human and under pressure from supermarkets and the like to deliver cheap meat, eggs, milk and so forth. It's always the animals who suffer. That's the bottom line. It's a brutal business and it all too frequently brutalises those who work in it. Even the more ethical M&S, Waitrose and such cannot be guaranteed. What do people th ink happens to a worker's head when s/he kills or 'processes' animals day after day? Massive brutalisation and desensitisation, that's waht. Frankly, unless you actually sit by an animal while it is being killed, its quick and painless death cannot be guaranteed. It's time to stop kidding ourselves. Our diet contains suffering and death. It also contributes to world starvation, water depletion on a terrifying scale, ditto deforestation, fresh and sea pollution, desertification - and of course, CO2 emissions on an unparalleled level. It also contributes to the massive rise in heart disease, most cancers, diabetes type 2, obesity and all of the delights of the Western diet.
I'm a vegan of 10 years so perhaps it's obvious why I'd give this book 5 stars. However, I was also vegetarian for 15 years, went back to eating meat (for fairly spurious reasons) before finally going vegan. In other words, I understand the places in the human heart that resist confronting the reality of what we eat. I also come from a Northern UK (Scottish and Yorkshire) family - basically, I grew up on lard! - so my changed eating patterns caused all sorts of reactions amongst family and friends. Another vegetarian writer, Carol J Adams, said that without even meaning to, the very presence of a veg*n at the table draws attention to who is on our plate.
I'm now a vegan cook - I teach, write about and cook great vegan food. It's really not about 'giving up' and things have changed amazingly since the 70s and 80s, believe me. Don't be afraid to try to reduce or omit animal products from your diet. You'll feel and look better, and can eat with a clear conscience.
As for the criticisms from some folk on this page, I work for a vegetarian campaign group so know that there aren't as many differences between US and UK/European farming methods as some critics would like to think. For example, the sow farrowing crate is still in use in the UK - it causes immense suffering to these highly intelligent and sensitive animals but is allegedly slightly more humane than the US gestation crate - a couple of inches perhaps? (Thankfully it is destined to be phased out after a lot of campaigning). But most animal abuse is not being phased out. There is also a lot of nonsense talked about organic and free-range meat, frankly. Recent and verified undercover footage by the UK's Animal Aid has exposed appalling cruelty to animals - in Soil Association approved slaughterhouses, not only the usual suspects. So much so that there is a call to put CCTV in abbatoirs to try and stop the abuse. If we are honest and go beyond our comfort/self-interest zone, I think many of us know that animals go through hell. RSPCA Freedom Foods, for example is another scam - the abuses within many of their approved 'farms' have to be seen to be believed. If you don't believe me, check Viva!'s undercover footage. Basically, farmers aren't monsters, but they are human and under pressure from supermarkets and the like to deliver cheap meat, eggs, milk and so forth. It's always the animals who suffer. That's the bottom line. It's a brutal business and it all too frequently brutalises those who work in it. Even the more ethical M&S, Waitrose and such cannot be guaranteed. What do people th ink happens to a worker's head when s/he kills or 'processes' animals day after day? Massive brutalisation and desensitisation, that's waht. Frankly, unless you actually sit by an animal while it is being killed, its quick and painless death cannot be guaranteed. It's time to stop kidding ourselves. Our diet contains suffering and death. It also contributes to world starvation, water depletion on a terrifying scale, ditto deforestation, fresh and sea pollution, desertification - and of course, CO2 emissions on an unparalleled level. It also contributes to the massive rise in heart disease, most cancers, diabetes type 2, obesity and all of the delights of the Western diet.
I'm a vegan of 10 years so perhaps it's obvious why I'd give this book 5 stars. However, I was also vegetarian for 15 years, went back to eating meat (for fairly spurious reasons) before finally going vegan. In other words, I understand the places in the human heart that resist confronting the reality of what we eat. I also come from a Northern UK (Scottish and Yorkshire) family - basically, I grew up on lard! - so my changed eating patterns caused all sorts of reactions amongst family and friends. Another vegetarian writer, Carol J Adams, said that without even meaning to, the very presence of a veg*n at the table draws attention to who is on our plate.
I'm now a vegan cook - I teach, write about and cook great vegan food. It's really not about 'giving up' and things have changed amazingly since the 70s and 80s, believe me. Don't be afraid to try to reduce or omit animal products from your diet. You'll feel and look better, and can eat with a clear conscience.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Answer to Dinner Party Enquiries
I have been vegetarian for some 20 years. My reasoning is a combination of personal health, the ethics of killing to live, and what I thought I knew about factory farming. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Parthurbook
Genuine life-changer
This is the first Amazon review I've written. Never has a book had so much impact on me. I've eaten enough meat to last a lifetime, and actually spent the past 6 months on an... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dave Bell
A little preachy but a thorough investigation
So the big selling point for Eating Animals seems to be that it's not an attempt to convert you to vegetarianism. Read more
Published 1 month ago by H. Whitehead
Highly informative and thought provoking
I love this book. Im not vegetarian although adore vegetarian food and still remain a carnivore after reading this extremely well written, informative, interesting and honest... Read more
Published 3 months ago by rumpsta
Essential reading for anyone who eats!
Eating Animals is a unique, intelligent and well-researched text based on 3 years research into the meat industry, with a key focus on animal welfare but some horrifying insights... Read more
Published 3 months ago by AngellocksUK
Foer for the win
I find this to be one of the most sympathetic and honest fabrications of information to this date. It is not a book that demands anything of you, but after reading it seems there... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Claus Winther Strom
Flesh-eating humans
Most people get grossed out by seeing a strand of hair in their food. Amazingly, the same people have no trouble eating animal flesh contaminated with germs, drugs, hormones,... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Hux
The message is don't be ignorant about eating animals
An excellent, challenging and thought provoking book. Safran Foer tackles the ethical and moral issues associated with meat produced in what can only be described as animal... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. Michael Lewis
Important reading for all meat eaters!
This book is about the philosophical, ethical and environmental issues surrounding meat eating.
I read this book in a couple of days - informative, well written, interesting... Read more
I read this book in a couple of days - informative, well written, interesting... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Squeakees
Something everyone should think about
Great book. Although he covers the moral and environmental issues with eating meat well he could add at least another 20 pages on how bad it has been shown to be for your health.
Published 10 months ago by hhhsykes1
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