Some Books to Help Inspire Veganism.

[Mike03]

There have been a number of very poignant, heartfelt posts in GD the last two days about the repulsion to the treatment of cattle by the slaughterhouse in California. I totally understand and relate to these posts, and the desire expressed by the posters to give up meat entirely and become either vegetarians or vegans.

I have to confess up front that although veganism is my ultimate goal, I am not a complete vegan yet. I still eat chicken. But my aspiration is to give up all meat and dairy entirely.

But just in case this helps anyone, I want to list some books that have been very inspring and helpful in motivating me towards my goal of giving up meat and dairy products. (There are more, but these are the most influential, in no particular order--however Sue Coe's book is the one that really turned me around.)


1. DEAD MEAT by artist Sue Coe
2. DIET FOR A DEAD PLANET: HOW THE FOOD INDUSTRY IS KILLING US, by Christopher Cook
3. DOMINION: THE POWER OF MAN, THE SUFFERING OF ANIMALS, AND THE CALL TO MERCY, by Matthew Scully
4. PRISONED CHICKENS POISONED EGGS: AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE MODERN POULTRY INDUSTRY by Karen Davis
5. ETERNAL TREBLINKA: OUR TREATMENT OF ANIMALS AND THE HOLOCAUST, b Charles Patterson
6. THE CASE FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS, by Tom Regan
7. THE MEAT YOU EAT: HOW CORPORATE FARMING HAS ENDANGERED AMERICA'S FOOD SUPPLY by Ken Midkiff
8. SLAUGHTERHOUSE: THE SHOCKING STORY OF GREED, NEGLECT, AND INHUMANE TREATMENT INSIDE THE U.S. MEAT INDUSTRY, by Gail Eisnitz


And good luck on your journeys...

Please add your own, if you have some favorite books on this topic! It would be hugely appreciated!

[Warpy]

1. Add "Fast Food Nation"

No library of anti meat books is quite complete without that one.

Another good addition is an oldie, Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle." Now that Stupid has slashed the USDA inspections to the bone (pun intended), you can't possibly be sure what you're really eating. The last beef recall was triggered by a Humane Association film, not meat or slaughterhouse inspection. Everything Sinclair wrote about in the packing industry is going on again, thanks to Stupid.

The good news is that you can have an incredibly varied, delicious diet and never miss that meat.

[Mike03]

2. Yes, excellent suggestion! NT

[AlCzervik]

3. totally agree and on the DVD of Super Size me there is an excellent interview

of Eric by Morgan Spurlock.

[Mike03]

4. I should probably have included

VEGAN: THE NEW ETHICS OF EATING by Erik Marcus, as well as his newer book on the Meat Industry; they are definitely well-intentioned books; I just had some issues with the content and did not feel they were as good as other books on this same subject matter.

[beezlebum]

5. thanks for this

i have been considering vegetarianism, and ultimately veganism for quite some time, and was especially disgusted by the slaughterhouse story- not just for me, but for my children.

some inspirational quotes:
-A vegetarian is a person who won't eat anything that can have children. ~David Brenner

-You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car. ~Harvey Diamond

-Heart attacks... God's revenge for eating his little animal friends. ~Author Unknown

-Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak! Bury a sheep, and nothing happens but decay. ~George Bernard Shaw

[ExtraGriz]

6. i was eating a steak dinner yesterday in front of the TV

and they began reporting the meat recall in california and showing all those cows being abused. i spat the meat in my mouth into a napkin, cleared the remaining food on the plate into the trash.............made myself a soy protein drink, and a salad, that was my dinner. so thanks for the info above, i'll go check them out.

[flvegan]

7. Good list.

I wish you luck and success on your journey, no matter how long it takes. Remember that every bite helps, and there's no such thing as a "perfect" vegetarian or vegan. Just do what you can, when you can and you'll get there sooner or later.

[dhill926]

8. "Diet for a New America" by John Robbins

this did it for me 20 years ago.

[shadowknows69]

9. "Day of the Triffids" will actually make you crave meat more and fear veggies

[Perry Logan]

10. I gave veganism a try. It was great, except I had trouble keeping on weight.

It seemed like a very healthy diet, and I enjoyed it very much. But I had problems keeping weight on my skinny frame. Probably not a problem for larger people.