Books I've read

You know how they say you can't believe everything you read? Well, I'd like to edit that a bit and just disclaim that you can't take to heart everything you read. I've read two books now related to vegetarians, and between them and the postings on websites, the most common thing used to convince the reader is the shock factor. It may be true that horrible things happen to animals during the slaughtering process, or that there are animals living their entire lives inside of small cages without any sun light or room to roam, but keep in mind that these examples are being used as worst case scenarios. It does not mean that ALL animals that we consume are raised and treated cruelly. I am continually amazed at the content that I have come across when watching the videos online and reading the stories in the books and on the websites, but being raised around farms and having two sets of uncles who own cattle ranches, I personally know that it does not portray an accurate picture of all farming. So while I recommend the following books, please keep in mind that most of the extreme things they use as examples are from factory farming. Which is what most vegetarians are adopting their lifestyle to try and reduce consumer need for.

Skinny Bitch: I mentioned before that I have a friend who decided to go vegan and most recently switched to raw-foodism, and it was she that prompted my decision to read Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. It was actually the first thing I did when I decided to take on this project. Mostly because my friend literally went from a normal omnivore diet straight to veganism after reading this book. It was not her only source of information but it was what kickstarted her transformation. I remember while she was reading it what a dramatic affect it had on her and I made her swear then and there not to tell me any piece of it. I loved my meat and dairy and I didn't want anything parting me from it. But when I looked into starting this project I immediately contacted her to find out the name of this book. I figured if it had such a drastic affect on her that it was worth reading now that I was getting myself into a territory I tried so whole heartedly to avoid in the past. And while the book was interesting, and definitely impactful, I can't say I got a lot out of it as far as resource for informational purposes. It's a great read and I'd suggest it to anyone who is thinking about becoming a vegetarian. But truly it's more of a kick in the pants, tough love introduction to veganism. The authors are playing on societies desire to be skinny and beautiful, but if you look past all their jokes and attempts to convince you that you'll get skinny by being a vegetarian, you can tell the two ladies really do have a passion for animal welfare and while this approach is a "seller" it is also ultimately going to accomplish their mutual ideals for animal rights. I don't begrudge them their technique, it's obviously making them a lot of money and getting the word out in a faster way than most have done, but the book itself should not be used as your only resource when making the decision to be a vegetarian or not. It is however a fun introduction.

The Omnivores Dilemma: A VERY interesting book by Michael Pollan that covers a wide range of topics from what to eat, where food comes from, self sustaining farming, and the impact individuals have on the welfare of the environment and the animals within it. This book was suggested to me by an employee at Barnes and Nobles. I had asked whether there was a section on vegetarians and he directed me to a spot with many cookbooks and a few vegetarian intro books. But about 30 seconds later showed up again from a different section with this book in hand. He said that he and his wife had been vegetarians for 10 years now and that this book was one of the best he had come across. Well after that intro, I couldn't help but purchase it. The author uncovers the details of what we eat by following 4 meals from their origin to consumption. I would recommend this to any reader, much less vegetarians. He doesn't say you have to be a vegetarian, just that you should know what you're eating and how it came to you, and definitely not to accept fad diets that go against years of evolutionary eating habits. You can tell from the book that Michael is very passionate about his subject. Here's a man who didn't just study his topic, but actually lived it and recorded his findings (of which many are very surprising and mind changing) for the readers advantage.