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prhodes98's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Poses some really challenging ethical questions, worth it to come back to certain chapters
ovenbird_reads's review against another edition
4.0
The authors investigate the diets of three families: typical omnivores eating a standard american diet, conscientious omnivores who try to eat foods that meet a certain ethical and environmental standard, and strict vegans. After following each family on a shopping trip Singer and Mason deconstruct a number of specific food items, revealing where they came from, how they were produced, what their labels really mean, and whether they truly live up to their claims of being ethically produced.
This book covers everything. It isn't just about animals and meat products. The authors talk about human rights for workers, animal rights, fair trade products, organic growing, the local food movement, vegan nutrition, and the true meaning of terms like "free range." They visit farms, interview scientists, and try to get the other side of the story from those in the food industry who have been vilified. They even tag along with some dumpster-diving "Freegans" to see what they're up to. Then, based on carefully constructed philisophical arguments, they sum everything up and try to decide what dietary strategies are the most ethically and environmentally sound.
A very balanced and carefully researched book that can become a bit overwhelming in that it points out so many broken aspects of our food system. By the end you sort of wonder if it's even possible to eat food that isn't destructive on some level. The authors realize this and help consumers to feel that food choices are not an all or nothing deal. They give the example of a women who is mostly a vegan, but when she is travelling and finds herself in world class, fancy restaurants she allows herself to eat whatever she feels like, including meat. This isn't an ethical decision for her, it's a decision based on desire. She suggests that giving in to cravings every few months allows her to commit to a vegan lifestyle the rest of the time without feeling deprived. The authors suggest that wherever you draw the line in terms of your food choices, remaining somewhat flexible is probably key to success. So many vegans give up entirely because they caved once and ate bacon and the authors think this is unreasonable. You can remain devoted to your food principles while making exceptions once in awhile.
This book covers everything. It isn't just about animals and meat products. The authors talk about human rights for workers, animal rights, fair trade products, organic growing, the local food movement, vegan nutrition, and the true meaning of terms like "free range." They visit farms, interview scientists, and try to get the other side of the story from those in the food industry who have been vilified. They even tag along with some dumpster-diving "Freegans" to see what they're up to. Then, based on carefully constructed philisophical arguments, they sum everything up and try to decide what dietary strategies are the most ethically and environmentally sound.
A very balanced and carefully researched book that can become a bit overwhelming in that it points out so many broken aspects of our food system. By the end you sort of wonder if it's even possible to eat food that isn't destructive on some level. The authors realize this and help consumers to feel that food choices are not an all or nothing deal. They give the example of a women who is mostly a vegan, but when she is travelling and finds herself in world class, fancy restaurants she allows herself to eat whatever she feels like, including meat. This isn't an ethical decision for her, it's a decision based on desire. She suggests that giving in to cravings every few months allows her to commit to a vegan lifestyle the rest of the time without feeling deprived. The authors suggest that wherever you draw the line in terms of your food choices, remaining somewhat flexible is probably key to success. So many vegans give up entirely because they caved once and ate bacon and the authors think this is unreasonable. You can remain devoted to your food principles while making exceptions once in awhile.
sparklethenpop's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like I read so much about food production and that all the authors tend to reference each other, so some times it's tedious. This was a good book though and made me think about some things. I always say I would rather buy local than organic (in the case of produce) but Singer brings up some good points why local isn't always the best option.
abbywdan's review against another edition
5.0
I am obsessed with this book. I am obsessed with you, and me, and P-Sing and J-Mas, and all the things we do to ourselves through food that we don't know about. Okay, that is a lie, because P-Sing and J-Mas actually know it all, and the rest of us quietly rot from the inside. Amazing.
Anyway, please read this book--because then when you ask me why I'm eating funny vegetarian food for lunch (no, I'm not one), I won't have to tell you why. And I won't have to tell you all the icky stuff I know, because you will know it too! For serious.
Anyway, please read this book--because then when you ask me why I'm eating funny vegetarian food for lunch (no, I'm not one), I won't have to tell you why. And I won't have to tell you all the icky stuff I know, because you will know it too! For serious.
jeremy's review against another edition
5.0
Singer and Mason consider a variety of ethical issues. They marshal lots of basic facts and good arguments for each issue. They consider factors like how much animals suffer, environmental costs, and global economic inequality. There eating choices that the authors think best (veganism), but they offer honest assessments of many choices. It's hard to buy a pack of chicken at the grocery store after reading the book.
leafdmcg's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent and dispaassionate investigation in the moral issues of food production in the USA.
nilocennis's review against another edition
5.0
Still great. Considering the impact this book had on me the last time I read it, this time was more of a 'preaching to the choir' read. Still, it gave me food (ugh, sorry) for thought re: organic farming and the general culture towards food in North America.
Everyone should read this.
Everyone should read this.
cdbaker's review against another edition
4.0
You should avoid this book if you want to be able to keep eating meat from the grocery store (even the supposedly nice 'organic' kind).
siddharthagolu's review against another edition
4.0
Ethics is hard.
If I've learnt something all these years, it is this universal maxim. Everybody wishes they'd make ethically sound choices in their lives, but more often than not, ethical choices are in contrast with cost and convenience. Nowhere is this more apparent than the way we consume food.
There are a lot of similarities between food and religion. Both are deeply personal choices which are erroneously thought of as having a clear, set winning answer. Both divide people into disjoint sets where they vehemently try to outdo one another in following "The Right Way". And of course, both are deeply political.
My personal journey in food, as in religion, has been quite tumultuous. Coming from a vegetarian family, I used to feel discomfort in sitting at the same table where somebody was eating meat, used to scoff at the smell of eggs and couldn't go near anything related to fish (this is still the case). Then somewhere along the way, I decided that I don't have a right to reject things which I haven't experienced myself and started indulging in this forbidden fruit. I tried everything I could get my hands on, but never reached that stage where I could appreciate the hype. Having gotten a taste of the other side, I made the decision to quit everything and slowly move back to being a vegetarian/vegan.
This was the point where I started to seek out reasons to convince me of my choice, and came across this book.
I wouldn't call this a balanced book in the sense that the authors' convictions are clear from the start, however where this shines is the way they use evidence to reach their conclusions rather than playing on guilt and shame. The basic fact remains, and this I have confirmed with many of my non-vegetarian friends as well, that we know too little about where our food comes from and our choices would be different if we were armed with this knowledge. The authors visit few American families and observe their eating habits, and then take us through some factory farms where the brutalities are quite graphic and sometimes hard to read and difficult to digest.
However, one qualm that I had while reading through these chapters, was the over-importance of ethics in our everyday choices. Not everyone wants to live a Kantian life full of moments filled with questioning their every choice. Life is hard to live anyway. I was delighted though to find a section dealing with this exhaustion:
I'm facing this situation myself when I eat eggs and drink milk in the morning - if every time I consume an animal product, I have to think about where this is coming from and whether I've unintentionally hurt an animal - to say that my day-to-day life would be unpleasant would be an understatement. However, we should be cautious of throwing the baby out with bathwater - the choice doesn't have to be between over-indulgence and starvation; we just need to be a bit more conscious of what we consume. To borrow an economist's favorite phrase: there's always a trade-off. We just need to be aware of the ones we are making.
All in all, I found this to be quite an informative read, albeit a bit dry in places, but would definitely recommend.
-------------------------------
This is also available on my website here.
If I've learnt something all these years, it is this universal maxim. Everybody wishes they'd make ethically sound choices in their lives, but more often than not, ethical choices are in contrast with cost and convenience. Nowhere is this more apparent than the way we consume food.
There are a lot of similarities between food and religion. Both are deeply personal choices which are erroneously thought of as having a clear, set winning answer. Both divide people into disjoint sets where they vehemently try to outdo one another in following "The Right Way". And of course, both are deeply political.
My personal journey in food, as in religion, has been quite tumultuous. Coming from a vegetarian family, I used to feel discomfort in sitting at the same table where somebody was eating meat, used to scoff at the smell of eggs and couldn't go near anything related to fish (this is still the case). Then somewhere along the way, I decided that I don't have a right to reject things which I haven't experienced myself and started indulging in this forbidden fruit. I tried everything I could get my hands on, but never reached that stage where I could appreciate the hype. Having gotten a taste of the other side, I made the decision to quit everything and slowly move back to being a vegetarian/vegan.
This was the point where I started to seek out reasons to convince me of my choice, and came across this book.
I wouldn't call this a balanced book in the sense that the authors' convictions are clear from the start, however where this shines is the way they use evidence to reach their conclusions rather than playing on guilt and shame. The basic fact remains, and this I have confirmed with many of my non-vegetarian friends as well, that we know too little about where our food comes from and our choices would be different if we were armed with this knowledge. The authors visit few American families and observe their eating habits, and then take us through some factory farms where the brutalities are quite graphic and sometimes hard to read and difficult to digest.
However, one qualm that I had while reading through these chapters, was the over-importance of ethics in our everyday choices. Not everyone wants to live a Kantian life full of moments filled with questioning their every choice. Life is hard to live anyway. I was delighted though to find a section dealing with this exhaustion:
Sometimes the very success of the ethical consumer movement and the proliferation of consumer concerns it has spawned seems to threaten the entire ethical consumption project. When one ethical concern is heaped upon another and we struggle to be sure that our purchases do not contribute to slave labor, animal exploitation, land degradation, wetland pollution, rural depopulation, unfair trade practices, global warming, and the destruction of rain-forests, it may all seem so complicated that we could be tempted to forget about everything except eating what we like and can afford.
I'm facing this situation myself when I eat eggs and drink milk in the morning - if every time I consume an animal product, I have to think about where this is coming from and whether I've unintentionally hurt an animal - to say that my day-to-day life would be unpleasant would be an understatement. However, we should be cautious of throwing the baby out with bathwater - the choice doesn't have to be between over-indulgence and starvation; we just need to be a bit more conscious of what we consume. To borrow an economist's favorite phrase: there's always a trade-off. We just need to be aware of the ones we are making.
All in all, I found this to be quite an informative read, albeit a bit dry in places, but would definitely recommend.
-------------------------------
This is also available on my website here.