Let me ask you a question, "Would you eat a dog?" How about if the dog was in the pound and was going to be euthanized anyway, as twice as many dogs are euthanized than are adopted. You may say that this is wrong but consider this as well, the euthanized dogs are used for feed for other animals. With the consumption dogs, we would have a low energy cost, cheap, local, abundant food source that could drastically increase the amount of available food.
Thought provoking arguments like this abound in Jonathan Safran Foer's bestselling Eating Animals.
Simply put, the subject of Eating Animals is the consumption of food, and more specifically, the consumption of animals. Before Foer launches into his book, he establishes the fact that he does not intend to write the Vegan Manifesto. Foer began researching the food industry before the birth of his son because he wanted his child to eat right (whatever that would turn out to be).
At the core of the book is a discussion about food, why we eat it, why it such a fundamental part of our identity (Foer shares the stories of Holocaust surviving grandmother-- "Greatest Chef in the World"-- and her signature chicken dish), why it is such an important part of our culture (Foer draws upon his Jewish faith and cultural background for anecdotes), and why we must reevaluate our outlook on food.
A lot of the book focuses on education. For example, did you know that a single commercial fishing boat can haul 50 tons of seafood aboard in a matter of minutes with nets that 30 miles wide or that the fishing for tuna causes the death of 145 other fish species? Or did you know that "free range" simply means that chickens must have access to outdoors and that can mean a small door leading to a enclosed 5 by 5 dirt pen? Or did you know that "bird brains" are actually quite sophisticated with the function to process information like the human cerebral cortex?
Finally, Foer makes his informative book come to life with his erudite storytelling ability and biting wit. Foer shares his own adventures breaking into a turkey farm as well as the opinions of animal activists and "factory farmers" to add a human element to his research and to reveal that the issue of eating food is not so black and white.
Eating Animals has been a great, easy read thus far and it certainly provides A LOT of food for thought. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a thought-provoking and funny book.
Shockley
We are reading this book too!
ReplyDeleteIt is definitly an easy read, and I really like the sardonic definitions in Ch. 3. I also like how he doesn't use any euphemisms or sugarcoat anything, but at the same time, he doesn't blow everything out of proportion. I definitly think he is a reliable narrator.
Farmer Joe--nice comments! I've read this book and find both of your comments exactly on target. The fishing dilemma is disturbing, too. There is so much we don't think about, b/c I think we're not used to thinking about these things. But, we are stewards of the earth, so shouldn't we know how to appreciate all these good things we have to eat and take care of (or "manage," if you're thinking of it as a business)?
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