Has anyone read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer?

No, I haven't read it, but I did skim the excerpt on the website. I find it difficult to speak to...

...this without involving my religious beliefs, but I will say that I have witnessed firsthand coporate pig farming and it's not pretty.

While I applaud the sincerity of the efforts of the people who work to bring animal cruelty to an end, I also believe there is a different definition of what contstitutes cruelty to animals for each person, and the extremists aren't my cup of tea (PETA, Earth First, etc.).

Wisdom, sanity and respect for the sanctity of human life are the standards I hope will prevail.

There is much room for improvement in how we raise and slaughter animals for food. We are not the best stewards of animal life on this planet. No doubt.

I find other issues equally compelling, if not more so. For example, I believe we are not the best stewards of human life on this planet either.

Voices like JS Foer are important. I hope he is successful in bringing about change.

Michael

 
I am really surprised I have not gotten more responses to this post.

To me, it really seems very important. With all of the animal lovers on this site, no responses???
I am having a really hard time with realizing the reality of our animal treatment and our consumption and the morality of it. No one else?

 
I have not read the book Dawn, so I cannot intelligently respond. It just so happens

that my neighbor friend is a PETA member and there have been instances where I would talk about consuming a certain food such as veal and she would object and then we would quickly change the subject. I have kept up on the subject of veal and have found the conditions much improved. Oh yes, chickens and beef and such. Some slaughter methods are deplorable and I agree.

I'm an omnivore as we originated as humans. We as humans, however, have choices we can make in this modern day.

 
I didn't know about the book until you posted your first question... now

I don't think I want to. I don't eat much meat anyway, but I guess I just close my mind to it and "hope" that the slaughterhouses meet FDA rules. Maybe absence of cruelty isn't one of those recommendations though.

For anyone that can get Plainville turkey in their grocery stores, I know for a fact that they treat their animals very well. I've been to the turkey farm - they have regular tours for the public and it's only about 20 miles from me.

Maybe an online search would offer some options for humane animal raising, although that's kind of an oxymoron if they are raised for slaughter, I guess :eek:(

Thanks for bringing the subject to my attention though.

 
I've only read a few reviews, not the book itself. But I made my decision long ago and don't feel it

needs to be challenged yet again.

It *is* an important subject. We made a big mistake when we started hiding the facts of animal life and death -- taking slaughter from the Main Street abattoir or butcher shop and putting it out of sight, so that today many people don't draw a connection between the boneless, skinless chicken breast on the styrofoam tray and the sad treatment of chickens in "production houses", just like there are people who don't draw any connection between the bag of "baby" carrots and dirt-covered carrots pulled from the ground by their green tops. (It's true!)

It's also possible to eat ethically. Know where your food comes from. Avoid purchasing from producers you believe to be unethical, or from huge agri-business corporations. Avoid processed foods. Learn how to gut and skin your own fish, bone and portion your own chicken -- it's as close as many of us can get to the animal that was our food, unfortunately. But it makes us aware of the actual animal life that's involved in preparing our dinner, and that's a good thing. (Gourmet magazine used to discuss things like this, bringing such issues to people's attention. Its sorry replacement, Bon Appetit, couldn't seem to care less..)

So, in short, you can be both an animal-lover and an animal-eater.

I think a more important question than whether or not we should eat meat period, is how as a society we can choose health spas, aromatherapy and Dead Sea mud baths for our dogs while children line up at food banks.

 
My question was not whether or not we should meat.

My question was about how the animals are being raised and treated. I was ignorant of how large corporations raised chickens for instance. This book has been very eye opening for me.

 
I would like to be honest without being offensive to anyone else.

I understand a great deal about the production and consumption of meat and animal products. I have been on the "kill floor" of a beef slaughtering house, I've read about the ways chickens are put to death before being dressed and prepped for distribution to mass markets, and I'm aware of other methods of preparing animals for the meat and poultry industries.

That being said, I must add that I do not equate animals with people, and I'm a devout omnivore. I don't advocate against the ways animals are slaughtered for market. I'm a pragmatist, and don't see the need to spend millions, if not billions, to change the way chickens are slaughtered before they are prepared for consumption. I'm more concerned with making sure no part of the animal goes to waste. If we're going to take its life, then we shouldn't waste any part of the animal. So long as no part of the cow, pig, chicken, duck, etc., goes to waste, I'm not an activist against the meat and animal product industries.

I have not read "Eating Animals", but I have read excerpts and must candidly admit I will not read the book. I support diversity of thoughts and beliefs and hope I have been honest... without being offensive.

Respectfully,
Angie

 
Even though this is not my string, I want to say I appreciate not only your thoughts, but also...

...your sensitivity to the opinions of others, including my own.

One thing I will add is this: life on a traditional farm now, and before corporate production began, was/is not always kind and gentle where animals are concerned.

My Dad's family were/are farmers, and they grow their own food and raise pork, poultry, mutton and beef for their own table. They have done so for generations. The stories I've been told about dealing with farm animals seem to hold a common theme. Even if a small child grows fond of a piglet, it will still be slaughtered for the table when its time comes, traumatic as that may seem. Animals are to be properly cared for, as they are seen as a food source or source of income. No one agonizes over the inevitable taking of their lives.

I understand Dawn's point and the point of Mr. Foer. It's important look at those producers who abuse animals and rectify the situation, and to support producers who handle things a more humane way, if that is your issue. But, I'm repeating myself.

Thanks again, AngieB.

Michael

 
with you Michael.

Thank you Angie for your thoughtful response. I was responding to some knowledge that is new to me. I was unaware about how animals are raised and slaughtered.
When I lived in San Diego, I purchased beef and pork from an old rancher named Walt. He was a wonderful old man and I would take my young son over to visit and see his animals. He had all kinds of them running all over the place. It was a fun time for all of us. I would see the cow or pig that we were going to be buying and I always felt good about it. Even though I knew they would be slaughtered eventually for my family to eat, I knew they were having a good life up until that point.
I am lucky enough to live in a part of the country where I will be able to find animals being raised in the same way, and after reading this book, I will make an concerted effort to utilize the ranchers around here.
I know it will be more expensive for us, so we will be eating less meat, but that isn't a bad thing. I have been doing that anyway. My family doesn't notice that I use twice as many beans and half the meat when I make my chili.
Thanks to everyone who responded, it is the diversity of this group that keeps it interesting.

 
I haven't read the book but have known for a long time that there are issues with commodity meat

in regards to safety and quality. The term artisanal is being used a lot to describe ranchers and farmers who raise meat and fowl in "old fashioned" methods versus the factory/feedlot methods that unfortunately are so prevelant now. The artisanal method, for lack of a better word, not only provides the consumer with a better tasting product but inherent in that is the respect the farmers/ranchers have for their animals/fowl. Ill treated or stressed livestock don't produce high quality meat and natural or healthy living conditions for the animals negates the need to medicate the animal, so it's a win-win for the consumer and also addresses the concerns of those more interested in the "humane" aspect.

The safety issues from consuming meats/fowl from commodity sources are being brought to the public's consciousness now through tragic stories of death and frankly, disgusting practices and conditions. I don't know the answer to it but the only change I can do is using the power of the pocketbook. As often as I can afford it, I purchase my food from farms and ranches that don't employ the factory method. Lately, because of budget constraints, I have been eating less proteins but if I could have a more generous grocery budget I would buy direct from ranchers using CSAs. It's a mutually beneficial relationship and I have more peace of mind that my food is safe, and it tastes better. I try to limit my meat/chicken/egg purchases from Safeway etc for these reasons. The biggest change for me though has been hamburger. I have always ground my own poultry but all of the horror stories about GB have completely turned me off purchasing preground meat. And ibalways ask, when dining out, where the GB comes from, do they grind it themselvesand mostly save the pleasure of a hamburger for home dining. In N Out uses Harris Ranch beef here on the West Coast and although they do employ some feedlot techniques on the whole I have a good opinion about their meat and feel okay eating at this chain.

The other ethical issues about eating meat I can't speak to due to my personal beliefs about being on the top of the food chain. I do think that if more people voted through their pocketbook some real change might occur down the road.

My two cents!

 
Agree with Heather about taste and quality. There is no way anyone can say mass-produced chicken

and free-run chicken off a nearby hobby farm taste anything alike, or even have the same texture. In fact that mass-produced chicken mushiness or sponginess is considered desirable by the processed-food market.

I helped my dad kill our chickens every fall when I was in high school. In Italy I've seen the butcher visit the pigs on the farm every day for a week, talking to them, letting them become familiar with him, before he shoots them. Now of course there's no way, with the huge demand for meat, that we have the time or resources to hand-kill every chicken, or visit every pig before slaughter. But there are arguments that the stress of the slaughterhouse environment affects the flavor of the meat. This is why people like Temple Grandin have designed humane slaughterhouses.

Companies that raise and kill their animals humanely are happy to advertise that fact (and companies that don't, aren't), so it's fairly easy for at least urban consumers to vote with their dollars -- and thereby put some pressure on the food industry.

 
You bring up some good points....A few thoughts...

"I'm more concerned with making sure no part of the animal goes to waste. If we're going to take its life, then we shouldn't waste any part of the animal. So long as no part of the cow, pig, chicken, duck, etc., goes to waste, I'm not an activist against the meat and animal product industries."

I have recently been very involved with the farm to table movement. What's fascinating is the skyrocketing prices for beef. I was told that ground beef and ribs used to be much cheaper but since people don't cook braising meats (rump roasts, etc) anymore, those are now thrown into hamburger. Ribs and short ribs used to be cheap (as was chicken wings) but those have gone up in cost to offset the parts of the animal we no longer eat.

I have no problem being a conscious omnivore and although I've had a ton of grass-fed beef over the past year, I can honestly say I prefer grain-finished beef.

What I do support is Mark Bittman's premise in "Food Matters." The production of meat in an industrial setting has severe environmental ramifications. Also, the AMOUNT of meat typical American's eat is too much. Like Bittman, I agree that the Asian premise of meat as a flavor enhancer is a great way to go. I have no interest in eating a 8 oz. steak, but 2 ounces in a stir fry? Definitely.

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Matters-Conscious-Eating-Recipes/dp/1416575650/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263682442&sr=1-5

 
Thanks Traca, I have "Food Matters" but hadn't heared of the other one.

I will look for it at my library. Thanks for the heads up.

 
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