ctrahe's review against another edition
5.0
An insightful, unbiased view into the meat production industry. It was clear that Foer did his research, and how he told the story was very engaging. Thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone he is thinking about going vegetarian. It was the tipping point for me.
pleoniesmith's review against another edition
3.0
Thoroughly researched book on the topic of factory farming. I was surprised that this wasn't a book that advocated for vegetarianism or veganism. After this read, I had a better understanding about how animals, bred for food, are raised and processed. I now make choices that are more aligned with my values.
alyssadaily's review against another edition
4.0
4.5! I wish it was more radical :/ (and a bit more organized)
tofu__luvr's review against another edition
5.0
I genuinely believe every single person in the entire world who eats meat should read this book!
salshrem_nardea's review against another edition
5.0
I honestly don't know where to start to discuss this book.
I didn't read it because I want to be a vegetarian. I read it just to be more informed about the industry as a whole. The argument Foer makes isn't that it's necessarily wrong to eat animals to begin with, it's the factory farming process that billions of animals go through a year that is the problem. While it was grotesque at times (to be expected honestly) it was actually really "readable" and it wasn't just a book of facts as I expected it to be. The information presented is told in mostly a storylike manner, and I liked that he included letters and testimonials from all different kinds of farmers. A book about farming and animals may seem boring and if I'm being honest I expected to slump through this book just to learn, however it was really gripping from the start and I like Foer's writing style. What I really liked was that he's not speaking to vegetarians in this book, he is speaking to people like me, who ideally would like to eat less meat but are just (in my case at least) too selfish to give it up.
I learned so much. While I don't plan on becoming a vegetarian any time soon, I do plan on reducing my meat intake. It's good to have a sense of where your food is coming from. Although he does only touch upon the topic of kosher meat, it's clear that in today's practice there isn't much difference anymore regarding humanely killing animals as food whether it's kosher or not, however I would like to do my own investigating now into the kosher beef industry, because he only discussed kosher chicken. With all of that said, I'm really glad I read this book and while I do think it makes a strong case for vegetarianism, I'm not going to stop eating meat any time soon, as much as I would ideally like to eat less of it.
I don't think this book is for anyone who is looking for a reason to stop eating meat because they believe eating meat is wrong to begin with. This is a book about the industry practices and the wrongful treatment of animals during the process. It goes beyond the slaughter and into the actual confinement and raising of the animals, and it makes a strong point of how the factory farms contribute so much to global warming. It also talks about the economic history of factory farms.
So this book was a lot of things to me. It was informative and it was gripping. I really loved it but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. I simply learned a lot and the question now is what I'm going to do with that information. And I think that's an important thing to take from this book. It doesn't shove vegetarianism down your throat, it presents the facts and gives you the chance to do what you will with the findings, and I liked that a lot. I'm also glad this book didn't go far in terms of veganism, because that's an entirely separate topic and conversation in my opinion.
I didn't read it because I want to be a vegetarian. I read it just to be more informed about the industry as a whole. The argument Foer makes isn't that it's necessarily wrong to eat animals to begin with, it's the factory farming process that billions of animals go through a year that is the problem. While it was grotesque at times (to be expected honestly) it was actually really "readable" and it wasn't just a book of facts as I expected it to be. The information presented is told in mostly a storylike manner, and I liked that he included letters and testimonials from all different kinds of farmers. A book about farming and animals may seem boring and if I'm being honest I expected to slump through this book just to learn, however it was really gripping from the start and I like Foer's writing style. What I really liked was that he's not speaking to vegetarians in this book, he is speaking to people like me, who ideally would like to eat less meat but are just (in my case at least) too selfish to give it up.
I learned so much. While I don't plan on becoming a vegetarian any time soon, I do plan on reducing my meat intake. It's good to have a sense of where your food is coming from. Although he does only touch upon the topic of kosher meat, it's clear that in today's practice there isn't much difference anymore regarding humanely killing animals as food whether it's kosher or not, however I would like to do my own investigating now into the kosher beef industry, because he only discussed kosher chicken. With all of that said, I'm really glad I read this book and while I do think it makes a strong case for vegetarianism, I'm not going to stop eating meat any time soon, as much as I would ideally like to eat less of it.
I don't think this book is for anyone who is looking for a reason to stop eating meat because they believe eating meat is wrong to begin with. This is a book about the industry practices and the wrongful treatment of animals during the process. It goes beyond the slaughter and into the actual confinement and raising of the animals, and it makes a strong point of how the factory farms contribute so much to global warming. It also talks about the economic history of factory farms.
So this book was a lot of things to me. It was informative and it was gripping. I really loved it but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. I simply learned a lot and the question now is what I'm going to do with that information. And I think that's an important thing to take from this book. It doesn't shove vegetarianism down your throat, it presents the facts and gives you the chance to do what you will with the findings, and I liked that a lot. I'm also glad this book didn't go far in terms of veganism, because that's an entirely separate topic and conversation in my opinion.
lbonitz's review against another edition
5.0
Very compelling and factual arguments. Foer attempts to approach this issue with as unbiased a lens as he can. I don’t know how you can still eat meat after you have confronted the realities of factory farming.
alquemist's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.0
melrkernan's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
riverbarret's review against another edition
This book was good. I can't find another adjective. I found the middle of the book unbelievably dull, but it picked up towards the end. It's hard to read in some parts because the descriptions of factories and slaughterhouses are brutal but necessary.