Quotes and Impressions from Eating Anmials

[Guest guest]

I finished the text of the book, Eating Animals. Since like most people here,

I've read lots of books on factory farms and animal rights philosophy, so most

of the book was just reaffirming what I already know. The parts that felt more

" new " to me were the interviews with the owners of family farms or

family-farm-esque operations. I liked learning about what " the best " or " most

humane " practices are really like today, and what their inherent shortcomings

are. I also appreciated that Jonathan Safran Foer provides viewpoints of people

with many different perspectives, including the factory farmers, the previous

owner of Niman Ranch (Bill Niman), a PETA activist (Bruce Friedrich), Bill

Niman's vegetarian wife (Nicolette), a heritage poultry farmer (Frank Reese), a

pig farmer working for Niman Ranch (Paul Willis), a vegan (Dr. Aaron Gross?) who

is designing a more humane, mobile slaughterhouse for small-scale heritage

poultry farmers, and more.

 

The thing I appreciate most about this book is not so much MY reaction to it and

what I learned from it, but the reaction of meat-eaters. Someone on goodreads

said that this was the first time that a vegetarian had presented this

information to her in a way that made her NOT feel like she was being attacked.

She and several people on goodreads are saying that they are now trying

vegetarian meals as a result of reading this book.

 

Jonathan Safran Foer says he consumes a vegan diet " except under unusual

circumstances " (as he said at the book signing in San Francisco last week). In

the book, he says he IS making an argument for vegetarianism; however, he

supports, philosophically, the efforts of people on family farms.

 

Here is a quote from the book that I wanted to share (p. 243):

 

" Just how destructive does a culinary practice have to be before we decide to

eat something else? If contributing to the suffering of billions of animals

that live miserable lives and (quite often) die in horrific ways isn't

motivating, what would be? If being the number one contributor to the most

serious threat facing the planet (global warming) isn't enough, what is? And if

you are tempted to put off these questions of conscience, to say not now, then

when? "

 

Here's another quote:

 

" I have placed my wager on a vegetarian diet AND I have enough respect for

people like Frank, who have bet on a more humane animal agriculture, to support

that kind of farming. This is not in the end a complicated position. Nor is it

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. "

 

From reading the book, I understand his message as: Don't eat meat; going vegan

is the fastest way to shut down the factory farms. However, if you do eat

meat, ONLY BUY from guys like Frank Reese, and not only that, do your best to

support these guys (give donations, if you're able) so they don't go out of

business. Otherwise, you'll have no choice but to go vegan because factory

farms will be the only thing that will be left, and we all know those are wrong.

 

JSF didn't outright say these things in the last paragraph I wrote, but this is

what I gather. The part about making donations, especially, he didn't say at

all, but from the way these small family farms are being bought out and/or going

out of business (or being self-subsidized ... i.e., the farmers have other jobs

that pay the bills, so they're basically hobby farms), meat-eaters are going to

have to step up to the plate with some major financial donations if they want a

" more humane " option to be available.

 

I just checked, last week this book was #32 on the New York Times Best Seller

list for hardcover nonfiction.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/books/bestseller/besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1 & \

ref=bestseller

 

-Rachel D.

San Francisco, CA