A Review of ‘Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals’ by Gary L. Francione & Anna Charlton
Before I heard of vegetarianism in my 20’s, no one ever told me why I should not eat animals. I was surrounded by meat-eaters and nobody thought that meat-eating could do us any harm. As a matter of fact, many now still think that we won’t be healthy if we don’t eat meat. Then, in the 90’s, more and more started to get cancer. Few suspected that it could be due to our food. We trusted that our governments and doctors would tell us if it was so? And we ate even more meat. Guess what? More cancer cases arose.
I got to know about vegetarianism through a Buddhist friend. The idea of all animals are sentient beings, have consciousness and the possibilities of being our family member in many past lives ago was mind-blowing to me. To eat them, would be likened to eating our own parents. There and then, the thought of cutting short their lives, putting them through indescribable pain for those few inches of taste on our tongues seemed preposterous.
Beyond robbing animals of their freedom and lives, the fact that we steal animals’ food (e.g. milk for calves and honey for bees) seemed despicable. Vegetarianism thus did not convince me totally. Veganism was the only way to a truly more compassionate way of life. It took me less than a week to become a full vegan. To me, it was and still is, the most sensible thing to do.
10 years had passed and believe me, I had encountered many questions and even some mockery about my lifestyle. Thus, I’m glad that a book like ‘Eat Like You Care’ was written. It systematically and professionally rebuts with sound reasoning every single sincere question, as well as the most ridiculous ones ever encountered.
This is a book that all meat-eaters should read. Why? Because it shatters all dogmas that were instilled in you since you were born. It offers the truth behind the food you eat, destroying the illusions that the media, culture and ancestors had created for you. Just because you like meat, it doesn’t mean it is moral. This book will help you to think about it seriously.
This is a book that all vegetarians should read too. Why? Because eating animal by-products is not any less cruel or violent than eating meat. Just because the animals were not dead during the process of extracting their produce does not mean they did not suffer a great deal, or would be let off to live in peace.
This is a book that all vegans should read as well. Why? Because it gives you a better understanding of why veganism works well on the whole. While it is now a trend that Hollywood celebrities and such create the image that it’s cool to go vegan, let’s not forget that it is really super-cool because it does much good for health, morality, economy and the environment too. As vegans, we ought to equip ourselves with the right knowledge and to share it widely. This book is a way to do so.
To read an excerpt, please visit : http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2014/01/what-is-extreme-about-veganism/
To get this book, please visit : http://www.eatlikeyoucarebook.com/