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The Compassionate Carnivore: Or, How To Keep Animals Happy, Save Old MacDonald�s Farm, Reduce Your Hoofprint, And Still Eat Meat (2009)

by Catherine Friend(Favorite Author)

3.8 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0738213098 (ISBN13: 9780738213095)

languge

English

genre

Food & Cookbooks

publisher

Da Capo Lifelong Books

review 1: Pretty good book. I borrowed it for a balanced perspective on the food/meat issue and I guess I got it. While I maintain my principles about boycotting meat altogether, I accept that I will have to agree to disagree with the writer who does offer an alternative to many omnivores out there reluctant to give up their meat. In this book Friend explores in depth an issue that was briefly touched on by Foer in "Eating Animals" - small, sustainably-run humane farms. And for those who hold the fundamental belief that animals are meant for food (as much as I disagree) will find this a much better alternative to factory-farmed meat. I mean, it does sound good, the whole idea of animals living out their natural lives on wide pastures and dying in a quick, painless, fuss-free manner.... more And even as a vegan I'd much rather that everyone else's meat came from sources like that rather than the abhorrent factory farms that practically monopolise the industry right now. But even for this argument, there are problems as other reviewers have so astutely (and angrily) pointed out: Sustainable farms are not able to feed the entire world population. Or even a single city, for that matter. Sustainable farms require so much more resources into producing the same amount of meat, and in cities (like my own country) there is no way to find "sustainably-produced" meat at all. The writer puts that down to a lack of demand and perhaps it's true, but it's difficult to see how we could begin pushing for a movement like that with nothing at all to work with. Then in response to the problem of a lack of availability, the writer suggests something else that I cannot agree with. She writes in the book something along the lines of, the first person you have to practice compassion on is yourself. It's ok if you are unable to find sustainable meat or choose to go vegetarian for that meal which you can't; don't beat yourself up for buying factory-farmed meat. Understandably, this is a way of thinking that is going to appeal to most people, but at the same time "practising compassion on yourself" is not a good enough excuse to scrimp on your moral principles. I wouldn't propose that everyone hate on themselves for not being able to go veg, but going lax on oneself like this would seem horribly close to complacent passiveness. If there are certain principles you choose to hold, pray hold on to them at all costs. As Foer so astutely observed in "Eating Animals" (sorry I seem to refer to him a lot it's because I read these three books as a "set" of different perspectives to the same issue), you can't change the factory farming system if you chose to give them your dollars once in a while. (And the civil rights movement would never have succeeded if Rosa Parks decided it was ok to sit at the back of the bus once in a while out of convenience, or if boycotters continued to take the buses in Montgomery simply because it was too much of a hassle to avoid buses.)But of course that's me picking on the details; I really respected the largely balanced perspective presented in this book. A good change, I guess, that would appeal to the majority of us who will just have the accept the inconsistencies of our lives as a human shortcoming. And what I really appreciated about this book was its readability, with the really humorous and conversational writing, and the writer's insertion of many personal anecdotes.
review 2: Not preachy but very informative and entertaining. I learned so much about ranching and the business of meat. The author is a rancher and does not advocate vegetarianism to further the humane treatment of animals. She tries to teach but in an uplifting 'hey, no one is perfect' way. There are wonderful stories about her animals to break up the seriousness of the subject. I highly recommend to book to anyone but especially to those concerned about animals or the health effects of eating an unnatural diet less

Download links for: The Compassionate Carnivore: Or, How to Keep Animals Happy, Save Old MacDonald�s Farm, Reduce Your Hoofprint, and Still Eat Meat

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