Catherine Friend tackles the carnivore's dilemma' exploring the contradictions' nuances' questions' and bewildering choices facing today's more conscious meat - eaters. The Compassionate Carnivore is perfect for people who would like to eat meat b...
A vegan-turned-hunter reignites the connection between humans and our food sources and continues the dialog begun by Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver. While still in high school, Tovar Cerulli experimented with vegetarianism and by the age of twenty, he was a vegan. Ten years later, in the face of declining health, he would find himself picking up a rifle and heading into the woods. Through his personal quest, Tovar Cerulli bridges disparate worldviews and questions moral certainties, challenging both the behavior of many hunters and the illusion of blamelessness maintained by many vegetarians. In this time of intensifying concern over ecological degradation, how do we make peace with the fact that, even in growing organic vegetables, life is sustained by death? Drawing on personal anecdotes, philosophy, history and religion, Cerulli shows how America’s overly sanitized habits of consumption and disconnection with our food have resulted in so many of the health and environmental crises we now face.
What can we do to allay global warming, contend with world hunger, be healthier, and live longer? In The Compassionate Diet, Nature's Path founder and CEO Arran Stephens, who has been at the leading edge of the organic food movement for decades and a vegetarian his entire adult life, answers these complex questions in the simplest terms: Eat vegetarian. A balanced and natural vegetarian diet is neither a fad nor a passing trend. It has been part of many cultures over untold millennia. The Compassionate Diet distills the history, philosophy, and core benefits of eschewing meat. A sense of compassion and humanity has animated Stephens's life's work, and it drives this book. The vegetarian lifestyle has innumerable benefits, but for Stephens, eating a plant-based diet is first and foremost an expression of compassion for animals, for ourselves, and for the planet. This elegant and completely approachable book is a beautiful guide that illustrates the rich gifts that compassion yields.
Drawing on peer-reviewed research, worker and rescuer testimony, and encounters with the farm animals themselves, The Ultimate Betrayal discusses the recent shift in raising and labeling animals processed for food and the misinformation surrounding this new method of farming. This book explores how language manipulates consumers concepts about sustainability, humane treatment, and what is truly healthy. It answers important questions surrounding the latest small-scale farming fad: Is this trend the answer to the plentiful problems of raising animals for food? What do the labels actually mean? Are these products humane, environmentally friendly, or healthy? Can there really be happy meat, milk, or eggs? With case studies and compelling science, The Ultimate Betrayal increases awareness of the issues surrounding our treatment of animals, global health, and making better food choices. The Ultimate Betrayal is a well-rounded and thoroughly-researched book that touches the heart with an honest and unflinching look at the reality behind humane labels. With real-life examples from multiple viewpoints and thought-provoking philosophical underpinnings, The Ultimate Betrayal is a must-read for anyone interested in ethical food choices. Dawn Moncrief, founder, A Well-Fed World
“This book reminds us that hunting provides sustenance for both body and soul, and that mindful eating requires both respect and gratitude.”—Tovar Cerulli, author of The Mindful Carnivore Wild meat, hunted in a responsible way, is one of the most healthful, sustainable foods possible. Depending on how it is done, hunting can be as local, intimate and humane as it gets. And aside from this, it demands the hunter enter a world of awareness, wildness, life and death that as a culture we have lost connection to. The Compassionate Hunter’s Guidebook is for those who come to the act of hunting with pure intentions, motivated by a desire for healthy food that comes directly from the land where they live. This practical manual suggests that hunting is not a “sport” and the animals whose lives are taken are not “game.” It combines a deep, philosophical exploration of the ethics of killing with detailed instructions on every step of the process including: Understanding your prey Tools, techniques and preparation The act of the hunt From forest to table—processing, preserving and preparing your kill. A unique and comprehensive, fully-illustrated guide to the complexity, ethics and spirit of the hunt, The Compassionate Hunter is a must-read for beginning and experienced hunters alike. It will appeal to anyone who wishes to delve more deeply into the complex, humbling and ultimately profound reality of our relationship with the food that nourishes us. “Arguably the food that most closely approximates our nutritional needs, wild game assumes a sacred and satiating beauty in The Compassionate Hunter.”—Joel Salatin, farmer and author of Pastured Poultry Profits
This volume provides historical, material, aesthetic, and philosophical explorations of plant-based and in vitro food products, including multi-disciplinary approaches from industry, academia, and food advocates.
What do you do when you love your farm . . . but it doesn't love you? After fifteen years of farming, Catherine Friend is tired. After all, while shepherding is one of the oldest professions, it's not getting any easier. The number of sheep in America has fallen by 90 percent in the last ninety years. But just as Catherine thinks it's time to hang up her shepherd's crook, she discovers that sheep might be too valuable to give up. What ensues is a funny, thoughtful romp through the history of our woolly friends, why small farms are important, and how each one of us -- and the planet -- would benefit from being very sheepish, indeed.
Engaging and passionate, this contemporary work provokes new ways of thinking about animal-human interaction. A cutting-edge volume of original essays, Critical Animal Studies examines our exploitation and commodification of non-human animals. By inquiring into the contradictions that have shaped our understanding of animals, the contributors of this collection have set out to question the systemic oppression inherent in our treatment of animals. The collection closes with a thoughtful consideration of some of the complexities of activism, as well as a discussion of how to further the progress of animal rights. Analyzing economic, ethical, historical, and sociological aspects of human-animal relations, this interdisciplinary volume is a must-read for all upper-level students in animal studies, critical animal studies, animals and society, and anthrozoology courses. Features: draws together contributions from some of the most active and committed individuals advancing the field of critical animal studies takes a revolutionary approach to mainstream animal studies by advocating for justice from a politically progressive, abolitionist perspective supports curricular objectives of animal studies courses by encouraging students to critically analyze the shifting roles of animals in contemporary Western society and their consequences
Meat eating is often a contentious subject, whether considering the technical, ethical, environmental, political, or health-related aspects of production and consumption. This book is a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary examination and critique of meat consumption by humans, throughout their evolution and around the world. Setting the scene with a chapter on meat’s role in human evolution and its growing influence during the development of agricultural practices, the book goes on to examine modern production systems, their efficiencies, outputs, and impacts. The major global trends of meat consumption are described in order to find out what part its consumption plays in changing modern diets in countries around the world. The heart of the book addresses the consequences of the "massive carnivory" of western diets, looking at the inefficiencies of production and at the huge impacts on land, water, and the atmosphere. Health impacts are also covered, both positive and negative. In conclusion, the author looks forward at his vision of “rational meat eating”, where environmental and health impacts are reduced, animals are treated more humanely, and alternative sources of protein make a higher contribution. Should We Eat Meat? is not an ideological tract for or against carnivorousness but rather a careful evaluation of meat's roles in human diets and the environmental and health consequences of its production and consumption. It will be of interest to a wide readership including professionals and academics in food and agricultural production, human health and nutrition, environmental science, and regulatory and policy making bodies around the world.
