Eating Animals, Sustainable Food, and The Vegetarian Myth

I am 3/4's of the way through Eating Animals by Jonathan Saffran Foer and very much enjoying this book. Not sure if enjoying is an appropriate word choice there, but I think this blogger sums it up when she says, "I have read more food books than I can count, many of which touch on, or even focus on, factory farming. I have formally studied nutrition and am well versed in the health risks and benefits of eating meat. So JSF didn’t teach me anything, well, he didn’t teach me much, I didn’t already know. But he said it in a way that touched me unexpectedly. He is eloquent and real. He’s smart and funny and occasionally crass. He’s someone I think I could be friends with." That doesn't exactly apply to me...my only point was that I knew what I was getting into and I am really impressed with his writing and his arguments. I have also learned a lot about the brains and bodies of different farm/farmed (fish as well) animals. More to come on that when I have time to quote from the book. Some of these facts are blowing my mind.

Anyway, on the subject of food, I would like to point out that the blog quoted above, Sustainable Food Center, is a grassroots organization in Austin, TX that focuses on educating people about nutrition and working to make local, sustainable food available to everyone. Pretty awesome. This is the type of organization I would like to work for/with if I decide to get a Masters degree in Nutrition.

Lastly, a book that I am interested in reading: The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability by Lierre Keith. Here is a brief review and an interview that I have not had the chance to listen to yet. LK was a vegan for 20 years before she realized that her diet was destroying her health. Now she tries to eat a sustainable, "paleo" type diet that includes completely organic, farm raised animal products and is low in processed foods. She says that many vegetarians are blinded by their ideology and that there is much more wrong with our food system than just factory farming. Everything that we purchase from a grocery store supports one or another company or corporation and there needs to be more involved in activism than just saying no to meat. As usual, I am interested to read about the health aspects of her diet change.