Eating Animals

This is an interview with author Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated) about his new book, Eating Animals which I really REALLY want to read.

I'm sure it is preachy to some extent and probably revolting to a larger extent, as he goes into a lot of the details of factory farming. However, rather than trying to convince everyone to be vegetarian, Foer simply wants humans to "be informed and take responsibility"...whatever that may mean to you. More importantly, he explores the "human costs" of eating factory farmed meat and claims that while it might be cheaper initially than eating humanely raised animals the long term health and environmental effects are extremely costly.

Natalie Portman makes a really interesting remark when she says that 'what Foer most bravely details is how eating animals pollutes not only our backyards, but also our beliefs'. A lifelong vegetarian, she says that Foer's book has turned her into a vegan activist. I also like this comment she made about The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan:

'I say that Foer's ethical charge against animal eating is brave because not only is it unpopular, it has also been characterized as unmanly, inconsiderate, and juvenile. But he reminds us that being a man, and a human, takes more thought than just "This is tasty, and that's why I do it." He posits that consideration, as promoted by Michael Pollan in The Omnivore's Dilemma, which has more to do with being polite to your tablemates than sticking to your own ideals, would be absurd if applied to any other belief (e.g., I don't believe in rape, but if it's what it takes to please my dinner hosts, then so be it).'

Anyway, just some food for thought.