Book Review: Eating Animals

 I love reading and I'm low on cash, so I like to visit my local library and check out books. I especially love non-fiction political style books because they make you think. On my last trip to the library, I picked up a copy of "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer. I just finished it last night, and it is a great book. I really like it because it goes in depth about exactly what happens on modern farms. Mr. Foer spent over three years researching the book and it shows. He personally visited a couple of different factory farms (including once in the middle of the night with an animal liberationist) and got a first hand look at what goes on. The book includes pieces written by factory farmers, a couple of small family farmers, and animal rights activists. He talks about his upbriging and the food culture of his Jewish American family. He also talks about how he waffled between meat eating and vegetarianism for years until he decided to find out where meat actually comes from after his son was born.

  The chapters in titled "Influence/Speechlessness" and "Pieces of Paradise/Pieces of Shit" are particularly good. In "Influence/Speechlessness", he describes the horrific conditions on poultry farms. He talks about not only the suffering of the birds, but how modern poultry farming puts humans at risk. Humans are put at risk by poultry farming in two main ways: the birds are housed in cramped spaces, which means that diseases such as the flu can easily spread from chicken to chicken and from chicken to human (hello bird flu!). Because of this risk, the birds are given routine anti-biotics, which end up in entering the human body when the birds are eaten. This contributes to the development of anti-biotic resistant bacteria.

 In "Pieces of Paradise/Pieces of Shit", the author describes the conditions on the hog farms owned by Smithfield, the largest pork supplier in the US. The book describes how Smithfield often disposes of the pigs shit by simply spraying it up into the air. The shit contains poisons like carbon monoxide and cyanide, which are released into the air (scary). This has caused the rates of respiratory illnesses such as asthma to skyrocket in towns near pig farms. He also mentions how workers near the waste pits have fainted from the smell, fell in the shit and drowned in it! He goes into detail about the inhumane gestation crates and includes quotes by workers who talk about beating the pigs to death. In a later chapter he includes the account of a worker (at another farm) who admitted to cutting off a pigs snout and then rubbing salt in it in order to cause more pain.

In short, if you want to educate your meat eating friends and family about what they are really supporting when they buy meat, then give them a copy of "Eating Animals". It will definitely open their eyes. Those are my thoughts on the book. Bye until next time!

Book review: Animal Liberation.

 Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated the blog! In that time, I've been busy going to job interviews, volunteering, reading, and running my Etsy shop. I just wanted to write a short review of one of the books I just finished called "Animal Liberation" by Peter Singer. When reading this review, keep in mind that there have been several editions published over the years. This review pertains to the 1990 edition (it's a library book). Anyway, I found this book very informative. Mr. Singer is a philosopher and he presents a very good moral argument for animal rights. He begins the book by explaining how he became a vegetarian and presents his argument that humans and other animals should be given equal consideration. Next, he details many of the cruel experiments conducted by private labs and the government. What's really chilling is that much of the information in this chapter comes from direct quotes of the researchers themselves. He reveals several facts that the public at large isn't aware of: the fact that the vast majority of animal experiments are not considered important enough to warrant publication in the scientific journals, and the fact that many of the "experiments" done do not yield any new information. He gives an example of one experiment paid for by the US Public Health Service in which 33 dogs were put in a chamber heated to 113 degrees Fahrenheit and forced to exercise on a treadmill. 25 of the 33 dogs died. The survivors were put into a 122 degree chamber (without the treadmill) in which all but two of them died in 24 hours. The conclusion that they reached was that the outcome was consistent with all the previous literature on heat exposure and heat stroke in humans (which there was a lot of)! You can find the full description of the experiment on page 63.

In the next chapter, he explains (in graphic detail) exactly what happens on factory farms. This chapter is not for the squeamish, because he doesn't pull any punches! He describes the horrible conditions that cows, pigs, chickens, ect are forced to endure. He talks a great deal about battery cages, gestation crates, and the veal industry. The next time someone says "why don't you eat eggs/drink milk? No animals are harmed to get those", hand them the book and tell them to read chapter 3 and see how mistaken they are.

The fourth chapter is dedicated to the benefits of a vegetarian diet and how to make the transition. The only objection I have to this chapter is that he stops short of recommending veganism. While Mr. Singer does advise the reader to avoid dairy and battery eggs, he states that he sees nothing wrong with "free range" eggs. To his credit, Mr. Singer made a statement after this edition was published in which he said that he is slowly becoming more vegan as the years go by. Let's hope he becomes a full vegan soon!

The final two chapters deal with speciesism, or the belief that only humans have rights and that we can do whatever we want to animals. In these chapters, he explores how speciest thought has been ingrained in humans over the centuries and dismantles many speciest arguments.

Overall, I really liked the book. I feel that it has the potential to educate both devout steak lovers and veteran vegans.While some may argue about whether or not speciesism is as much of a concern as racism or sexism, one cannot argue that the farming and experimental methods described are beyond cruel. I highly recommend reading this book at least once. You can pick up the latest edition on Amazon.com

Have a happy hippie day!

Earthlings documentary

A couple of nights ago, I re-watched the documentary "Earthlings". I had seen it before about a year ago when I was a vegetarian, but I thought it would be good to see it again as a vegan. "Earthlings" has been called "the vegan maker" and once you've seen it, you can see why. The film exposes the horrific abuses of meat and dairy farming, fishing, whaling, circuses, and the fur trade. The images are graphic, but powerful. It presents evidence that I believe even the most ardent omnivore can't ignore. The image that sticks with me the most is the footage of the dog that was SKINNED ALIVE at a fur farm. It was truly sickening to see that kind of abuse, but it needs to be seen. I'd definitely encourage everyone to see this film at least once, even if your already a vegan. It's a great film to show your non-vegan friends and family if they really want to know why you are a vegan. Best of all, you can view the movie legally for FREE at it's official website http://www.earthlings.com/

Once you've watched the film, feel free to come back here and give me your impressions of it. I'd love to hear your input.