Articles tagged with: Novelist
Cultivated (JoonBug), Feeds »
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Portman states, “This book reminded me that some things are just wrong. Perhaps others disagree with me that animals have personalities, but the highly documented torture of animals is unacceptable, and the human cost Foer describes in his book, of which I was previously unaware, is universally compelling.” Foer is a critically acclaimed novelist best known for fiction, but his new book is far from fantasy. Eating Animals delves into the grotesque manner in which animals are raised for food, and the consequences it has on our health and global environment. In a recent article Foer highlights the incredible volume in which antibiotics are distributed to healthy animals in the United States (17.8 million pounds, compared to the 3 million pounds that are given to humans). Foer explains, “For every dose of antibiotics taken by a sick human, eight doses are given to a ‘healthy’ animal.” The magnitude of antibiotics ironically has deadly results. It allows new strains of bacteria to build resistance and pathogens to mutate- enter swine flu. Foer notes that in addition to the H1N1 pandemic, the United Nations reported that greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the livestock business is higher than the emissions caused by all forms of transportation combined. And greenhouse gases equal global warming. The torture of animals is another factor touched on in the book, as Foer equates the production of meat to a horror film. Most interesting is the fact that this comes as a shock to no one. It is general knowledge that the majority of conditions that exist on factory farms are inhumane and sickening. It’s hard connecting those conditions to the clean plastic packaged chicken lining bright supermarket aisles, but it’s a connection that needs to be made. Foer concludes, “When we eat factory-farmed meat, we live on tortured flesh. Increasingly, those sick animals are making us sick.” I’d recommend the book for anyone interested in the subject, or anyone just curious to see if Eating Animals can convert you too. |
