Perché Amiamo I Cani, Mangiamo I Maiali E Indossiamo Le Mucche: Processo Alla Cultura Della Carne (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
Interesting, but the author was just a little too pushy with her agenda. She gets torn between conducting her psych/soc analysis on why Americans think the way we do about meat consumption, and her emotional plea for why we need to think differently. She's pretty good at the first half; she breaks the American carnist ideology all the way down to the 101 level, so it's very accessible for a diverse audience to follow. But the evidence she offered in support of vegetarianism didn't convince me to toss all the meat out of my freezer and head to the grocery store for some tofurkey. The book's thesis would have actually been more effective had she stuck to the analysis of carnist ideology and suggested that readers conduct their own research on vegetarianism and animal slaughter using the resources provided at the end. Not to mention the term "carnism" was a bit reductionist, considering most Americans are actually omnivores. While many of those omnivores do think meat is a necessary, natural, normal part of their diet, I would argue just as many feel that way about the fruits, veggies, and other non-meat foods they eat. The consolidation of Americans as a monolith, however, may have been my biggest pain point. Let's not pretend that vegetarianism isn't as tied up with race, class, etc as any other social issue. When Joy paints stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's with clean, easy brush strokes, she ignores the fact that these chains are often exclusively found in wealthy, white neighborhoods. She also doesn't dig too deep into the cultural examples she provides, such as the Asian horse riders who frequently ate horse meat. (Why? Lack of food options due to a nomadic lifestyle? Spiritual recognition of the horse's potency?) Of course, Joy had no problem comparing animal slaughter to the Nazi holocaust or African slavery. These comparisons reveal her deplorable assumption that racism and anti-semitism are things of the past. While animals may indeed be sentient creatures, it's hard to convince a society of that when you can't even acknowledge the existing disparity and inequality between Americans today. So I'm Vegan and therefore interested in this topic for sure and slightly biased towards it but I have to say it still wasn't my favorite book. For one, it was very short and felt more like a college paper than a book. It did not have very many of its own ideas or examples as it seemed to just take multiple snippets from other good books that I had already read and regurgitate them for the reader in a concise, rushed form.If you were curious to read it I'd say check it out at your local library and give it a quick read through (literally quick, it took me only about two hours to read this). Just don't buy it as I did and waste $9.99 for the Kindle Edition. Better yet just read the Omnivore's Dilemma, Eating Animals and Fast Food Nation instead!That's my two cents haha.
What do You think about Perché Amiamo I Cani, Mangiamo I Maiali E Indossiamo Le Mucche: Processo Alla Cultura Della Carne (2009)?
An important analysis of how animals are treated and mistreated in our society.
—Kpchavez
I skimmed. And then I ate a non factory farmed egg dinner. It was delicous.
—wolfman
All meat eaters should read this book.
—DixieChick91
