Books on the Food Industry?

[rosemma]

I want to be more informed about the food industry. I had a recent discussion with my friend in vet school (who is a vegetarian) about how more people should be informed about where their food comes from. I feel like there is a lot of politics and I know a few "good" books out there about how terribly animals are treated and raised in the food industry but I also think I need another perspective from the veterinary point of view. I would like to see this from all angles so I can form a proper opinion.

Any suggestions?

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[wildfocus]

read omnivore's dilemma by michael pollan, various articles on the beef industry by temple grandin, usda website on food animals, organic dairy and meat websites, and talk to some of the large animal vets there at your school.

 

[sumstorm]

I think the veterinary view varies just as much as the 'average consumers' view. It certainly isn't unified. I just realize how much I am in a minority in objection to farrowing/gestation crates in the pig industry at my vet school. Out of a group of ~40, I was the only one who finds them objectionable and do not believe they are required to produce pork. In the past semester, I have become very tired of hearing things justified by 'we have to in order to feed the world.' All I can think every time I hear that is 1 meat serving = 4oz. I have never seen a 4 oz steak on a menu.

 

[parietal]

I'm currently reading Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, which seems to provide a fairly unbiased look at why meat/milk producers do certain things and whether or not they make sense from the animal's point of view. She's a fascinating woman and while I'm not sure I agree with everything she says, I'm loving the book.

 

[bunnity]

I am halfway through Fast Food Nation and enjoying it. The beginning part about the history is kind of slow, but it is getting much more interesting as it goes on.

ETA: There are lots of notes at the end of the book - with sources and additional reading for all the factual statements. It is a very heavily researched book.

 

[critterfixer]

Absolutely read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Here are some of the editorial reviews that explain why this is a great book to answer the questions you posed:

"Eating Animals carefully, deliberately, takes you through every relevant dimension of factory farming...One sees it from the inside, the outside, the moral high ground, the dithering consumer level, through Foer's family stories, from slaughterhouse workers, animal behaviorists, even from defenders of the system... Foer's aim is not to make your choice, but to inform it. He has done us all a great service, and we, and the animals, owe him our thanks." (The Huffington Post Dr. Andrew Weil )

"What makes Eating Animals so unusual is vegetarian Foer's empathy for human meat eaters, his willingness to let both factory farmers and food reform activists speak for themselves, and his talent for using humor to sweeten a sour argument." (O, The Oprah Magazine )

 

[rosemma]

I really appreciate all the suggestions and any more would be just great. I am currently reading In Defense of Food which is also by Pollan (same author that wrote Omnivore's Dilemma). I am enjoying it but it is less about meat and more about how we need to eat less processed food... so far at least. But I am enjoying it. I recently saw an interview of Safran Foer and was interested in reading his book. I think Eating Animals is next on my list of to reads. I do have Animals in Translation at home; someone gave it to me as a gift but I never got to it, but I guess I have a reason to now!

Thanks again everyone. Happy reading!