First, this is not really a pro-vegetarian screed. It's more of an anti-factory farming screed. Foer argues that vegetarianism is the only sensible ethical response to factory farming which is horrible from both environmental and animal cruelty standpoints. Bottom line: our food system is terribly broken, and Foer believes not eating animals is a way for individuals to have an impact on this.
So this is, I think, an important book. But I don't think it's a good book. I bought the electronic edition, and after going through the sections on poultry, pigs, and cattle, I thought the book was wrapping up. This, I thought, is an excellent book.
So this is, I think, an important book. But I don't think it's a good book. I bought the electronic edition, and after going through the sections on poultry, pigs, and cattle, I thought the book was wrapping up. This, I thought, is an excellent book.
And then I saw I was only halfway through. This, I thought, is a book I am never going to finish. It's packed with good information told in a readable way and distinctly lacks the smug, shrill tone that many vegetarian polemics have. I liked the fact that it's kind of a rambling narrative that adds up to a damning case. But, geez, enough is enough. It's not that I couldn't stand the gory details of factory farming--it's just that after half the book, I got the point pretty thoroughly and wanted to read something else. I think this would have made an excellent long magazine article, but it's not an excellent book.
And really, you can get most of the important information in this book from this handy 12-minute video:
