Book Review: _Living Among Meat Eaters_ by Carol J. Adams

[Guest guest]

This item comes from the IVU (International Vegetarian Union) via

SoFlaVegans (thanks Fidyl!). I don't usually like to post long stuff here - but

since we have been talking about some of these problems, I thought that I

would post it to see if it helped anyone, inspired other ideas, inspired

discussion, or whatever LOL

 

Enjoy!

 

Best, Pat ;=)

 

Living Among Meat Eaters

BY CAROL J. ADAMS

 

When her landmark book The Sexual Politics of Meat was published,

Carol J. Adams received numerous letters from vegetarians frustrated

by the ways they had to defend their dietary preference to a world of

meat eaters.

Determined to curb these frustrations, Ms. Adams reached out to

vegetarians who had experienced both positive and negative

experiences with meat eaters, using their experiences to bridge the

gap between the two groups. The result is LIVING AMONG MEAT EATERS:

The Vegetarian's Survival Handbook.

 

LIVING AMONG MEAT EATERS is the first book to methodically equip

vegetarians for their interactions with nonvegetarians, guiding them

through sticky situations with partners, friends, relatives and

coworkers. Adams challenges readers not to look at the meat eaters

they encounter as anti-vegetarian, but rather as " blocked

vegetarians. "

Once vegetarians recast their views of their fellow carnivores in

this manner, they can develop certain skills to change the dynamic of

the vegetarian/meat eater relationship. Ms. Adams explores the

difficult situations meat eaters create for vegetarians-- including

combativeness, expressions of guilt and anger, and various forms of

sabotage--and provides new and effective resolutions for them.

In LIVING AMONG MEAT EATERS, Adams offers long overdue tips on how

vegetarians can coexist peacefully with defensive, neglectful,

argumentative, needy, and " in your face " meat eaters they encounter

and how to handle stressful situations, including:

 

Assume your needs will not be met in any meat-eating

context - airplanes, foreign countries, private homes, and

restaurants. Always have a backup plan when eating out.

Don't let any rudeness spoil your experiences. Respond to offensive

behavior courteously, according to the rules of etiquette, and move

on.

 

You have a right not to answer questions you are asked and to stop a

conversation that makes you feel uneasy

 

Don't talk about your vegetarianism at a meal if people are eating

meat.

Learn the art of deflecting attention.

 

Volunteer to bring something whenever you are invited somewhere

 

Channel negative energy to the positive.

 

Remember that following a vegetarian diet is always an affirmation of

wholeness. Bring that sense of wholeness to your interactions with

meat eaters. In addition, LIVING AMONG MEAT EATERS provides valuable

information on how to handle social situations, including dining out,

entertaining and holiday meals. Checklists, self-tests, and simple

exercises are included to help vegetarians keep focused, and to top

it off, over 50 great recipes.

Sometimes humorous and always insightful, LIVING AMONG MEAT EATERS

is

the book every vegetarian who eats with, lives with, talks to, or

cooks for meat eaters needs to read - a revolutionary new way to view

vegetarians, meat eaters, and the great divide between them.

 

About the author:

Carol J. Adams is a nationally known writer and lecturer on the

vegetarian lifestyle, frequently speaking at conferences and academic

meetings and on college campuses across the country. Her landmark

book The Sexual Politics of Meat was recently reissued on its tenth

anniversary. She is also the author of The Inner Art of Vegetarianism

series. She lives in Texas.

 

LIVING AMONG MEAT EATERS: The Vegetarian's Survival Handbook

By Carol Adams, Three Rivers Press, Price: $15.00 (original paper),

Pages: 336, ISBN: 0-609-80743-9

 

Reviews of LAME

 

- Adams (The Sexual Politics of Meat), a writer and lecturer on

vegetarianism, offers advice to practicing vegetarians about eating

with omnivores. She covers everything from how to answer the

question, " Are you a vegetarian? " to tips for dining out and handling

meals in a business setting.

She also includes a selection of favorite recipes, adapted from

classic vegetarian cookbooks. Adams argues that vegetarians today

have it rough: " we see death in [meat eaters'] meals, they see it in

ours. Attempts will be made to disempower your viewpoint. Your diet

is the issue, but you become the target. "

Point well made. "

- Publishers Weekly

 

Vegetarians abstain from eating animal products in order to lead a

peaceful lifestyle, but when food choices clash, conversations and

mealtimes aren't so harmonious. To aid in the discussion, Adams,

author of the underground classic The Sexual Politics of Meat, offers

vegetarians ways that can change the quality of their interactions

with carnivores. She first asks, " Are you at peace? " because

vegetarians who are insecure in their choices

represent meat eaters' worst fear: that vegetarianism equals denial

and scarcity. Once vegetarians know that the insecurity is not from

within, they can see the verbal abuse and emotional blackmail as a

sign of the meat eaters' insecurity. Then Adams lists various

techniques, form deflecting sabotage to identifying subtext (˜If you

loved me you'd eat this meat " isn't about food - it's about love),

and suggests how these techniques may change work, living, and family

situations. Besides her own experience, Adams shares stories gleaned

from readers' letters - fitting in a book about social interaction. "

- Library Journal

 

" Vegetarians often get defensive and feel under siege when

coworkers, parents, siblings, and friends challenge their selective

eating practices.

For them, Carol J. Adams' Living Among Meat Eaters may prove a real

gift.

Adams shows how using humor, being patient, and accepting the fact

that general society values eating meat can deflect pointless arguing

and begin to raise consciousness of others. She should know†" she

lives in Texas, where identity is inextricably linked with steaks and

chili con carne. Some may argue with Adams' generalization that meat

eaters are simply ˜blocked " vegetarians. Nevertheless, her advice

also brings comfort to anyone not

omnivorous, including meat eaters who eschew pork or seafood or

anyone keeping a strict Kosher diet. "

- Booklist

 

International Vegetarian Union - The Sexual Politics of Meat (book

review)

http://www.ivu.org/books/reviews/living-among-meat-eaters.html