tatianamgriffin's review
3.0
I was expecting this book to be a more in depth study of the impact of animal farming on the environment. Instead, it felt like a journal to me. Ideas felt disconnected from the main theme (lots of family memories that did not quite relate to the environment or animal farming at all). The book also lacked more detail on how exactly we could help slow down climate change and the negative impact of mankind’s greed on natural resources. It was an interesting and entertaining read as far as memoirs go, but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who’s looking for in depth information about animal farming and its impact on the environment. “Eating Animals” does a better job at that.
tonimcc's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
robdawgreads's review
4.0
A very persuasive argument for how to save our dying planet. In short, eat less meat and if possible eat no meat. Animal farming is the primary culprit for causing global warming. It is not the only one but it is the one that, through collective effort, we can change.
oliviasnowdrop's review against another edition
4.0
“…it is a defeatist myth that individual decisions have no power at all.”
You do not have to read this book. You do have to reduce the amount of animal products in your diet. You do not get to tell me it is a privilege to do this, when you are privileged and still do not do this.
I felt a lot of anger throughout my experience of reading this: anger towards people in my life, and towards people who are vocal online about the climate crisis but who do not advocate for switching to a plant-based diet (and, of course, at myself). To paraphrase Foer, knowing and believing what we have to do and not doing it, is basically worse than not believing we have to do anything at all. Your despair is apathy in disguise and apathy is inaction. Once again, it is hope that motivates human’s survival. So do something hopeful, please.
You do not have to read this book. You do have to reduce the amount of animal products in your diet. You do not get to tell me it is a privilege to do this, when you are privileged and still do not do this.
I felt a lot of anger throughout my experience of reading this: anger towards people in my life, and towards people who are vocal online about the climate crisis but who do not advocate for switching to a plant-based diet (and, of course, at myself). To paraphrase Foer, knowing and believing what we have to do and not doing it, is basically worse than not believing we have to do anything at all. Your despair is apathy in disguise and apathy is inaction. Once again, it is hope that motivates human’s survival. So do something hopeful, please.
girlgeekcyclist's review
I tried but it's was just so self unaware. The whole book, he's like my children will have less, but I have children and I do book tours and drive my car everywhere, but *you* shouldn't do these things, it's a group project, right? Also weirdly obsessed with WW2 and has a stream of consciousness sort of short poems about environmentalism or something in the middle. No thanks.
violabaldwin's review
4.0
An important book, I wish it was part of school curriculums. Towards the end it gets a little bit unstructured for my personal taste, especially the "dialogue chapter" was getting a little bit confusing and exhausting to read.
But apart from that, Foer finds, as always in his works, beautiful metaphors and images to stress urgent issues and underlines with thought provoking stories and facts without getting too condescending. Hard to do with a topic like this.
His book "Eating animals" was still for some reason more successful in speaking to me personally (I turned vegetarian), and I'm still trying to figure out why.
Maybe because the effect of not hurting animals on my behalf felt more direct and immediate?
Maybe because the topic of the climate crisis is even one that needs more stressing of the urgency of it, maybe I am even missing the blame to our willing ignorance in this a little bit?
But apart from that, Foer finds, as always in his works, beautiful metaphors and images to stress urgent issues and underlines with thought provoking stories and facts without getting too condescending. Hard to do with a topic like this.
His book "Eating animals" was still for some reason more successful in speaking to me personally (I turned vegetarian), and I'm still trying to figure out why.
Maybe because the effect of not hurting animals on my behalf felt more direct and immediate?
Maybe because the topic of the climate crisis is even one that needs more stressing of the urgency of it, maybe I am even missing the blame to our willing ignorance in this a little bit?