“IT’S EFFICIENT…AND YOU CAN SQUEEZE OUT A LIVING, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE BECAME FARMERS BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSITY OF FARM LIFE. AND THAT’S BEEN LOST.”
“Eating Animals provides a dense discussion of what it means to eat animals in an industrialized world. It was written in close collaboration with Farm Forward, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that implements innovative strategies to promote conscientious food choices, reduce farmed animal suffering, and advance sustainable agriculture.
Foer presents the book as a way for him to decide whether or not his newborn child should eat meat. Foer’s son is representative of the generations that are entering a world of industrialized farming, in which the decision to eat meat has many more implications than taste. More often than not, putting meat on our plates comes with immense ramifications not only for the animals involved, but also for the environment, and ourselves; the animals suffer, the environment is damaged, and our health is put into question. Essentially, Foer concludes that the detriments of factory farms outweigh the benefits of taste, which is why he chooses to raise his son a vegetarian.”
Eating Animals was my pop culture introduction to the ethical, economical, and environmental reasons to not eat meat and how commodity agriculture is corroding our world and our human relationship with what we eat. Foer’s personal approach to the topic provides a unique, thorough insight into the thought process of an individual rediscovering the food system.
