Eating Animals

Everyone, and I mean everyone, should read this book. It's a compassionate, informative, truthful examination of the ethical issues involved in the way we, as a society, currently produce 99% of our meat. If you're a meat-eater, I think you especially need to read this book – not because it will “turn you vegetarian”, but because you will be able to make a fully-informed choice about what you are choosing to support, and to eat, if you choose factory-farmed meat.

In Foer's own words: “This is not in the end... a veiled argument for vegetarianism. It is an argument for vegetarianism, but it's also an argument for another, wiser animal agriculture and more honorable omnivory.”

That having been said, it's not an easy book to read. I thought I knew a lot about agribusiness going into it, but I was appalled, disgusted, frustrated, and moved to tears by what I learned.

The issue of “animal rights” can be a more touchy-feely one, but even putting that aside, the documented effects of this sort of business on our health and the environment are worth considering. Increased antibiotic resistance and incubation of new flu strains are two of the most worrying.

Anyhow. I fear that the people who most need to read and think about this book never will. But I hope you do.