Book Review: Eating Animals

I would now like to share some thoughts that arose from reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, which I finished over Thanksgiving weekend.  This book has already received a heavy amount of press so my addition will be like a teardrop in a giant lake, but nevertheless...Sarah and I went to a reading and discussion by Foer about two weeks ago, in Brookline.  The talk was extremely well attended, mostly by folks much like us (gulp...yuppies?).

I have been interested in the topic of the problems surrounding the consumption of meat from the beginning of this blog and before.  However, the most time I've ever spent being a vegetarian was about one month, a few years ago.  It wasn't too difficult, but I was a quick recidivist.  It takes a lot of creativity and persistence to eat a meatless diet in America.  And no one will dispute that slamming a steak on a pan for a couple of minutes and then devouring it is pretty much the least effort, highest reward, eating activity there is.  No chopping, no measuring, just slam that meat right on the skillet!

You should read Foer's book, even if you aren't trying to eat locally, ethically, and/or sustainably.  He explores the lay of the land in a roughly evolutionary manner, starting with fish and ending with cattle.  When he is able to witness the living and dying conditions of animals he reports on his own experiences; otherwise he relies on testimony of involved individuals.  The cruelty is expected but shocking, but the walls he ran into during his three years of research are perhaps more informative.  For example he wrote multiple letters to all of the big poultry producers and never received a response.  Not a one.  And he was unable to get anywhere near conventional cattle or pig slaughterhouses.

Foer's choice in the face of the disgusting factory farming society we have become (99% of our meat is provided by factory farmed animals) is to avoid meat completely.  I did a bit of research in my local markets (including Trader Joe's and Whole Foods) and can see why he came to this conclusion - see if you can even find a Humane Certified product in your market.

My opinion is that we should demand change and not by abstinence.  I now eat meat about once or twice per week and try very hard to get it from a humane source.  I've made a pledge to myself to not order meat from a restaurant unless the provenance and humane treatment is clearly explained.  I'd like to patronize restaurants that do such a thing, if I can find them.  I'm thinking about how to find ethical dairy and egg sources.  And I try to spread the word.  Read the book; spread the word.

Relevant Blog: Eating Animals