The world and its resources are finite, yet we are seemingly locked into a system based on growth: growth of population, growth of income and growth of consumption. From this irrefutable starting point, Time to Eat the Dog? attempts to uncover what sustainability really means. Brenda and Robert Vale explore the environmental impact of the decisions we make, from what we eat and what we wear to how we travel and enjoy ourselves. Their book will make you see your life and your place in the world in a completely new light. Challenging the orthodoxies that underpin our entire economic system, this is one subversive read.

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Product details

Paperback : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 9780500287903
ISBN-13 : 978-0500287903
Dimensions : 16.5 x 22.9 x 3 cm
Publisher : Thames and Hudson Ltd; 1st edition (15 Jun. 2009)
Language: : English
ASIN : 0500287902

Best Sellers Rank: 1,020,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 815 in Self-Sufficiency & Green Living
- 55,821 in Health, Family & Lifestyle Self Help

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A book of two halves

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2011

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Not a bad read, but for me something to dip in and out of.I found some of the facts both surprising and interesting, how ecological is it to use a dishwasher, for example, or what impact keeping our two dogs has, but overall it's a bit too dry and fact and figures heavy to sit down and read. Good if you want some facts to back up your argument on The Guardian or Daily Mail websites or for students of the subject, but not an easy read.

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Time to Eat the Dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 July 2009

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`Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living' is an in-depth and accessible look at sustainable living in everyday life and it is written in a way that is relevant to most households. This looks at topics as diverse as food, transport, buildings, home appliances, leisure activities, work and rites of passage (like weddings and funerals). Having read many environmental and ecological books I've found most to be quite vague, excessively alarmist, overly new age, timid to acknowledge climate change or a combination of the above. This book, however, seems to be based on sound science and whilst academic in scope it is firmly aimed at a wider audience. Some of the facts and future projections make for sobering reading and although this isn't bright and breezy, it most certainly is pertinent. There are plenty of tables, charts, figures and calculations to illustrate the various points being made, mostly from respected sources which are cited in an extensive note section at the back. In fact this is one small point that this book loses points for, the sheer amount of calculations that are included in the text break up the flow of the book and could quite have easily been added into the note section for those who want to explore them in greater depth but don`t want to trawl through them as part of the main text. Thankfully, after the glut of information offered in each chapter, each one ends with a succinct conclusion, discussion point or list of things to do. This clarifies each chapter and leaves you thinking about changes you can apply in your own life. Even if you make a few changes based on the knowledge you glean from this book then it will be of value and if you are interested in reading about sustainability then this is a pretty good place to explore first.

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SlayerKat

Food for thought

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 July 2009

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I definitely agree with the other reviewers about this book. I was hopeful when I received it, that it would be a good self-help guide to sustainable living. Unfortunately, it's not exactly a guide book but much more of a research tome. It is a very interesting read and I have learned a lot of information from it but as other reviewers have pointed out, the book is full of facts and figures and charts most of which do not make much sense to me. I particularly enjoyed the section on washing and clothing. The author pointed out that in the old days, women wore one dress everyday but just covered it with aprons so only the aprons needed washing and the dress was washed very rarely. In our modern society we almost wear disposable clothing, chopping and changing our outfits at a whim. This is something I have decided to change and try to buy less new clothing. I found some of the text quite hardgoing. It's not an easy read because each paragraph is littered with facts and figures. I found myself having to read between the lines a lot as it's very technical.

I was disappointed there was no mention of washable nappies which I feel passionately about but I think this book was not meant to be a guide to ways to reduce your carbon footprint but more of a factual source of information regarding sustainable living. It won't appeal to anyone who is looking for guidance to change their lifestyle but will be of interest to those who already have a keen interest in green issues and global warming.

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A somewhat quirky book of informational lists

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2009

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

As a lot of previous reviewers have already said, this isn't quite what it's billed to be. I hoped that a "guide to sustainable living" would put me on the right path to day to day living along sustainable lines. What this is, is more of an academic textbook comparing and contrasting various options and choices and the impacts they make on the world.

This sounds very dry, but actually not as dry as some reviewers would have it. I found it quite quirky, sometimes very amusing and did find myself laughing out loud from time to time (perhaps I have a strange sense of humour though?).

I was pleased to see that working from home came out as the cleanest option, although I have to cut back on how much I actually print off instead of reading on screen. I did know that most of the "cost" of clothes is in the continual washing. Cold washing is advocated as the most sustainable option, but as far as I'm aware, this doesn't kill dust mites in bedding, etc. I question whether it really takes only 2-4 hours to make a skirt; well you could do it, but in using that timescale, you might not want to wear it afterwards! No mention was made of how little these skill are taught nowadays, or the fact that using vintage fabric is sustainable, as it doesn't use any newly manufactured material. The section on funerals is strangely fascinating, cremation is particulary wasteful in its use of resources, a woodland burial it seems is the most freindly option - on many levels I would imagine.

One section which slightly annoyed me was the one on cats - isn't catfood sold in pouches in New Zealand? Apparently not, as no mention was made of it, the comparisons being between tinned food and dried food only. I imagine the pouches are really wasteful in terms of packaging,both foil and cardboard boxes.

This book contains loads of interesting facts, but you wouldn't want to sit down and read it all at once, its more of a reference book for dipping into as and when. Fascinating, but not really accurate in its cover discription.

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Time to Eat the Dog?: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living Paperback – 15 Jun. 2009

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