Eating Animals

Many of us at Sand Holler Farm are vegetarian. We all have a different story on how we came to this dietary state. I just recently finished a book by Jonathan Safran Foer (author of Everything is Illuminated) about his journey to committing to this diet after waffling back and forth for much of his life. It was an interesting and entertaining read - if not somewhat gruesome at times. Eating Animals does not provide any earth shattering revelations or even much information that is not currently available to anyone who cares to do a bit of research about their food. But I still think it's an important book for people to read - people of all dietary persuasions.

The book's main focus is the horrendous treatment of animals in factory farmed situations - I feel that this fact cannot be repeated too often. Consumers should be demanding a product that does not force animals into this kind of situation. It is hard for me to imagine that people are willing to continue to support this industry...ah, but I forget! The Almighty Dollar rules our lives. But it rules the lives of corporations too. Vote with your dollars - send them to sustainably raised meat!

Foer, on the other hand, advocates a vegetarian diet as the answer. He does not even believe that being an "ethical carnivore" is even a possibility. I disagree however. When raising food animals, there will always be compromises to be made (causing pain by disbudding in order to prevent future injuries, or castrating to prevent unwanted breeding) but I think that there are plenty of small farms that are doing the best possible. With more support for them, that industry can grow and hopefully again replace the factory farms that are currently dominating meat production.

His views, and the views of some he portrays in the book, can be a bit extreme for my tastes, but it's worth hearing their opinion. Go ahead, check it out!