Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

Adages such as "ignorance is bliss" or "what you don't know won't hurt you",  have more recently been replaced with "Knowledge empowers" or "knowledge saves".  After reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer I can certainly guarantee the benefits of the latter.

When Jonathan Safran Foer began his journey of writing Eating Animals he vacillated between being a "enthusiastic carnivore and an occasional vegetarian",  he has ended his journey a strict vegetarian eager to help others to see the need for a change in diet.

The author brings into focus factory farms which dominate the meat & animal product industry.  A staggering 99% of all farms are factory  and only one percent are family run farms. That means we as consumers are affected by factory farms. Here is where "knowledge empowers".  Knowing that factory farms produce a low quality product we now realize that seeking out  alternatives is benefiting ourselves and our families.

After three years of research Jonathan Safron Foer supplies his readers with in depth information as well as candid interviews with those in the industry.

Be warned!

The shocking details of genetically modified animals that are in horrible health, sustained by antibiotics and hormones and leading miserable lives and the dying shockingly sadistic and at times long torturous deaths left me speechless.

The author's writing style is captivating and at times witty.  At times he takes a painstakingly philosophical approach as to why we even eat animals or why we eat some animals and not others.

The simple fact is that humans desire meat because of the nourishment that animal protein supplies. Sadly, due to the advent of the factory farms the meat and animal products that we consume are actually doing us harm and defeating any nutritional purpose. 

The Author Jonathan Safran Foer is also noted for his novel
Everything Is Illuminated

This book will educate! Jonathan Safron Foer presents the facts, he doesn't preach, but rather he reasons with his readers. Many die-hard carnivores/omnivores will find this book to be far more palatable than other books on the same subject.

I learned a great deal from reading Eating Animals. As a vegetarian I thought I had a clue as to the goings on inside this industry, however, my own ignorance on this subject astounds me.

One thing is for certain, man in all his greed and incompetence has really made a mess of things via factory farms; the environment, the horrific food quality, famine in underdeveloped countries and putting the world at risk for what many scholars believe to be an inevitable pandemic, is really just the tip of the iceberg.  After reading Eating Animals I can't help but think, does man really deserve to be at the top of the food chain?

Find Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer


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15 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds like a very well written book.

Mami said...

I am not a vegetarian but think I might find this book to be interesting. I did know a chicken farmer a while ago and it was surreal to see how little chicks would get "grown" in 6 weeks to get them to the market. If you made loud noises they could actually die of heart attacks since they did not grow up "naturally".

Ana

Being Tazim said...

I read and reviewed this book as well - and enjoyed reading your review. I agree that this book raises some questions. Wish more meat-eaters would read it!

Things Sent My Way said...

Thanks for sharing this book review with us. We seriously have to give thought to what we're doing to all of the people (and animals!) involved in our food chain. It's too easy to pretend the food at the supermarket doesn't have a story. I'm going to check out the Amazon listing, thanks for posting it.

[email protected] said...

Thanks for the thought provoking review... I am a meat eater, but try to be choosy about how and where my meat is raised... it's always good to read others perspectives to keep our own opinions in check ;)

Katie said...

Very thought provoking book. This is one of those books that would clearly start a huge debate and I think you reviewed it beautifully. Did it turn you into a non-meat eater?

lisa said...

Well I was a vegetarian for most of my life, however, after reading this book and learning all the facts on factory farming, such as how they are crushing the small family farms, it really appears that the best thing for me to do is obliterate all animal products. I did have hope for a family run farm two hours away that supplies dairy products to a local health food store. However I still have some unanswered question in regard to some of their tactics. Family farms are being bought out and many farmers with good intentions are losing control over how their animals are treated as well as what their animals are fed. Sadly labels mean nothing.

demmi said...

The book sounds very interesting and disturbing.

Kristi Maloney said...

This book sounds interesting, but I admit I am a meat eater - I discovered Laura's Lean Beef ground beef patties. This company promises the cattle are never given antibiotics or added growth hormones. (only 8% fat per 1/4 burger too).

I am glad I found your blog via Cha Ching Queen's best blog post link-up. New follower here. I hope you can stop by and visit me to at http://www.momsownwords.com.
Have a great weekend!

Mom vs. the boys said...

I love a witty writer, I would read this for sure

Mommy Kennedy said...

Great review! Thank you so much for the insight.

I love learning about where our food comes from. I just recently watched Food Inc. which was very interesting (sounds like it was along the same lines as this book).

Will certainly check it out!

Coming by from Cha Ching Queen's "Best Post" linky :)

Mommy Kennedy said...

Hey Lisa!

Thanks for your comment on my blog earlier.

FYI, if you go to Quaker's website and click on "Contact Us," you can send them a message that you are unable to print coupons and nicely ask them to send some through the mail! They may not be as good as $2 off but they are better than nothing!

Unknown said...

All I can say is Wow. Thanks for the book review. I must say that I never really think much about this stuff, maybe now I will. Thank you.

Unknown said...

this is book that i would loan to my animal eating friends.

Unknown said...

Interesting book review! not what I guessed from the title!

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