Comments on: Win 1 of 5 copies — Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

By: Cindi Waters

Cindi Waters — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:40:20 +0000

I just ordered Foer’s book after having read a review of it in the local paper here. (Ft. Lauderdale) I then went to Barnes & Noble to check it out, read a bit more of it there, was convinced I wanted the book and ordered it at a slightly discounted price on their website. I don’t claim to be equal to Natalie Portman of whom it is said to have become a vegetarian simply by virtue of having read Mr. Foer’s book, but as soon as I read the book review I knew I had to do something. (I’m many decades older than Ms. Portman , more like Mr. Foer’s grandmother.) His consideration of the ethical treatment of animals made me look deeper into this subject, since I read the few bits of the book so far I have stopped eating chicken and meat, period, on ethical grounds. Now I am considering investigating where I can find humanely killed meats in the south Florida area. If I cannot do so comfortably and knowledgeably, I will continue to not eat meat, cheese, eggs, and I’m even thinking to get the “vegan” shoes, etc. they advertise, just because of the inhumane raising and slaughter of these poor animals.

By: miriamcoates

miriamcoates — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:25:22 +0000

To me, the most intriguing aspect of Foer’s book (from what I have read of excerpts) is how he and his wife came to the decision to raise their children as vegetarians.

Around the age of eight, when I first toyed with the idea of abstaining from meat, what disturbed me most was that despite my new zeal and strict adherence to a vegetarian diet I would never be able to retract the meat that I had consumed without truly making the choice for myself.I felt anger that I had participated in(and admittidly enjoyed) meat eating without understanding what the ramifications were.

According to David Sears’s book The Vision of Eden, meat ideally should only be consumed by Torah scholars who possessed the ability to eat meat with such consciousness, focus, and appreciation as to elevate the sparks and souls of the animal being consumed. This distinction would exclude children.

As adults, we have the ability and knowledge to think about our diets critically and make decisions accordingly. With children it is not so simple.

By: Karl Schatz

Karl Schatz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:23:22 +0000

Over the course of our food & farming journey, we have gone back and forth about eating meat. We knew that if we were going to eat meat, we had to take responsibility for that act. Initially that meant visiting a slaughter house and attending a halal slaughter. Now almost all the meat that we eat comes from animals that raise and slaughter ourselves, the rest comes from other local farms, where we know the farmer and know that animals are raised well, treated well, and have a respectful end to their lives. I don’t think everyone needs to raise and slaughter their own animals to eat meat conscientiously, but if you are going to eat meat, visiting the farm, witnessing the conditions the animals are living under AND slaughtered under is something just about everyone could and should do.

One other thing I’d like to add is that on a diversified, sustainable small farm or homestead, animals, and therefore, meat, play an integral and necessary role in the biological cycle and sustainability of the farm. The manure and bedding from our goats and chickens all goes into the garden and into the vegetables. We don’t buy or bring in any fertilizer from outside the farm.

By: Hannah Lee

Hannah Lee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:19:56 +0000

Thanks to a heads-up from Jeff Shapiro:

This from the on-line magazine, daily: Tablet:

“In the funniest scene from Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Everything Is Illuminated, several Ukrainians attempt to understand what exactly is wrong with an American Jew named Jonathan Safran Foer who refuses to eat any meat. Almost a decade later, Foer has finally explained himself, in Eating Animals (Little, Brown, November), a nonfiction cri de coeur against factory farming. By temperament a sentimental maximalist, and now with an actual cause to champion, Foer pulls out every stop: science, humor, horror, pathos, celebrities. Natalie Portman proclaimed last week that Foer has single-handedly transformed her into a vegan. If Foer’s dog, sweet Holocaust-surviving grandmother, and infant children have anything to say about it—and, oh, they absolutely do—you’ll think twice before devouring the flesh of another mammal, kosher or not.”

[The video link is: http://www.hachettebookgroup.c.....ard=&

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:49:15 +0000

As a lacto-ovo vegetarian for over twenty years, I have heard my share of arguments in the debate over eating animals. What I do think is that we will probably never convince everyone to think the way we do, but we definitely need people to rethink how we eat, how food is produced and to make the effort to change habits in the same way we need to rethink other ways we leave a mark on this planet. Americans won’t stop driving cars, but they can stop driving gas guzzlers. People won’t go back to using candles to read Foer but they can change to CFL bulbs. Many gladly shell out $3 or more for a cup of coffee,or $5 for a fast food burger so we can certainly pay more for locally grown food–if we want to.
The link below is to an essay by Erik Camayd-Freixas who worked as a translator for some of the 400 workers, many of whom were almost illiterate, arrested at the Rubashkins plant in Iowa. What Rubashkins and the government did could make one weep, as does the debate following the raid, over what halacha means. Though I don’t eat meat I support the idea of a Hechsher-tzedek, because my kids eat chicken once a week.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/p.....1IMMIG.pdf

By: Queenscook

Queenscook — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:55 +0000

Interesting. I’m not a vegetarian, but I eat very little meat; almost only on shabbos. I’d be interested in seeing more of what Foer has to say.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:37:46 +0000

Thoughts on eating meat… What a tall order. Personally, I don’t eat meat for environmental, health and financial reasons. Modern farming is terrifying to me. I don’t want or need to put growth hormones and antibiotics into my body through the food I choose to eat, and I am unable/unwilling to make the financial commitment to eating grass-fed, free-range, antibiotic-and-hormone-free meat. I fully support farmers who raise sustainable and ethical meat, and hope that one day they are the rule rather than the exception.

By: Jem

Jem — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:47:11 +0000

Thanks for sharing this. I’m a relatively new vegetarian. Vegetarianism kind of crept up on me. It was in beginning to keep kosher that I began leaving meat out. Most of my motivation comes from an ecological standpoint and from the idea that was placed in my head that as a Jew I should hold myself to a higher standard. I don’t think I could say that eating meat is wrong. However, I think that eating meat is not the most responsible choice I could make. It is not necessary for me to eat meat to have a healthy diet. I can eat a healthy, varied and affordable diet without including meat. Yes, it can be inconvenient but being responsible usually is.

By: Micah

Micah — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:16:11 +0000

I absolutely love and support a move to re-negotiate the laws of kashrut to encompass the social goals that Judaism supports. I have always kept kosher because that is how I was raised, but it’s hard to explain my practice to other because it doesn’t -really- mean anything to me on a personal level (other than representing my faith and culture). I could absolutely get behind keeping kosher if it meant that I was eating meat produced in a sustainable and just way. If the rabbis manage to change the kashrut laws, they will be able to create a labeling system that has thus far been out of reach to USDA and others trying to produce an eco-label. I can’t wait to read Foer’s thoughts on this!

By: Lillian

Lillian — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:43:50 +0000

Thank you for the heads-up about this book. It sounds like a fascinating read, and I hope I win a copy (which I will read, and then probably foist upon all my friends.)