Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals

First I should say I am someone who buys a lot of books. My Kindle is brimming with books on all subjects, and I read all of them, but slowly. "Eat Like You Care" is one book I finished much more quickly than the rest. This is partly because it is easy to follow, but mostly because it is so engaging. I have followed Professor Francione's work since I became vegan in 2006 and I have always found his logic and clarity regarding animal issues to be unmatched. This book is no exception, and in fact is written so that non-academics will be as engaged as those in academia. We've all heard the numerous and often ill-considered reasons why people do not want to examine their dietary choices. This book addresses all those "Buts" in a straightforward manner and has given me the tools I need to converse intelligently when people ask me about my lifestyle. Thank you to Gary Francione and Anna Charlton for an accessible, sensible and much needed book regarding our moral obligations to animals. None of the big animal organizations have ever, nor likely will ever put out such a valuable piece of work -- a work which focuses on one basic moral imperative instead of this, that or the other fundraising campaign. Important societal change comes from grassroots education, and that is what Gary and Anna provide.

After reading all magnificent books written by Professor Gary L. Francione, I was thrilled to read this new book written by him and by Professor Anna Charlton, which proved to be one more priceless asset that will certainly make more and more people connect the dots about the importance of being vegan. Its clear approach leads us to the point of reconnecting with the conviction we already have that being wrong to inflict unnecessary suffering and death on animals, we should act to meet our convictions by stopping eating animals and their products. The concepts in the book are so powerful and truthful that we do not want to eat less animal products, or just eat animals sometimes, or consume "cage-free", "free-range", or "happy" meat and animal products. We come to the point of finally understanding our moral obligation towards animals and the need to no longer harm them. Word after word, "Eat Like You Care" painlessly dispels all our doubts that the suffering and killing of billions and billions of animals can be in any sense something necessary. ----------------------------------------------------- Depois de ler todos os livros brilhantes do Professor Gary L. Francione, fiquei entusiasmada em ler esse novo livro escrito por ele e pela Professora Anna Charlton, que provou ser mais uma contribuição inestimável, que certamente fará com que mais e mais pessoas compreendam a importância de ser vegano. A sua abordagem clara nos reconnecta com a convicção que já possuimos de que como é errado causar sofrimento e morte desnecessários aos animais, nós deveríamos agir para que essa convicção faça sentido ao parar de consumir animais e seus produtos. Os conceitos expostos no livro são tão incisivos e verdadeiros que nós não queremos comer menos animais e seus produtos, ou apenas consumir animais às vezes, ou consumir ovos de aves livres de gaiola, ou carne "feliz". De fato, nós chegamos ao ponto de entender finalmente nossas obrigações morais para com os animais e a necessidade de não prejudicá-los mais. Palavra após palavra, "Eat Like You Care" desfaz facilmente todas as nossas dúvidas de que o sofrimento e a morte de bilhões e bilhões de animais podem ser, de alguma forma, necessários.

Eat Like You Care is a very fast read. Francione argued that if animals have even a little bit of value, their value must be considered. If humans are considered to be more valuable, we are still not justified to hurt them for our pleasure. I was at first taken aback by the assumption that humans have more value than animals. I like to think that animals are much more similar to us than they have been given credit for. I do recognize that the great majority of people do believe people to have more value than animals. I think his point is that even if we do not consider animals to be our equal, it is still not justified to hurt them without necessity. In a world where eating animals is a choice and not a necessity for a healthy life there is no justification for eating meat. Eating meat is unnecessary cruelty in a similar way that dog fighting is unnecessary cruelty. The format of the book is set up as a great reference for questions anyone may ask about veganism. Francione has a convincing argument for each of the excuses that keep people from taking the conscious step to live vegan. I liked the fresh angle Francione used to come around to his argument. The frequently asked question section is a great reference to anyone. Vegans and nonvegans alike have asked these questions and Francione has answers. I'd recommend it to anyone.

If I had read this book back when I first stopped eating meat in 1992, I would have likely gone vegan immediately instead of taking another 19 years to finally give up dairy and eggs. I have to agree with the authors that many current animal welfare organizations have not helped improve the lives of animals - or humans - with their "happy exploitation" messages. The message of abolition - shared in a nonviolent way - is the right approach. The arguments in this book are solid, and nearly every time I thought of a counter-argument someone might come up with, it was addressed on the next page or in a following chapter. My one quibble is the repeated comparisons to Michael Vick's dog fighting were, I felt, excessive. I understood the point the authors, who care for numerous rescued dogs, were making, but I fear it might be seen as unfairly picking on one particular celebrity when there have been many other examples of outrageous cruelty against dogs and other companion animals. Other than that, the book was a solid read and I would recommend it to anyone - vegan, vegetarian, or omnivorous - who is willing to put some serious thought into the moral status of animals.

Un libro di un grande autore vegan che purtroppo in Italia ancora si conosce poco. Un libro da consigliare a tutti: vegani e carnisti, specisti e antispecisti.

This is a wonderfully clear, well-written book co-authored by Gary Francione, pioneer of abolitionist veganism. It's written in terms simple enough for anyone to understand and make the connection that if you think animals matter, you can't eat them. It's a great tool for helping vegans engage in meaningful discussion with others when trying to educate them about veganism, and it's a great tool for non-vegans to understand why, if we think animals matter, we cannot do less than be vegan. This is a must-read for anyone who claims to care about animals but still thinks it's okay to eat them.

This arrived late today and I've just been looking at it .This book is amazing so much so it's 2:47 ( Thursday morning ) Central European Time and reluctantly closed it and placed ready to continue ...I'm a vegan and made the choice myself .Lots of investigation and contact with wildlife showed me I could no longer eat them .The intense farm animals are brutally kicked through out their life of misery in filth .Then they are slaughtered in a manner best found in a torture house .Full of antibiotics and growth hormones these are what you also eat ... Nasty ..The book is written as a discussion and you may read some of your feeling .You may also wonder " is it worth a try to have a 100% vegan diet? Only you can decide .For any cat or dog owners Q1 would you eat your pet ? Q 2) In China and many other Asian countries cats and dogs are eaten.. If you find that horrific I agree ..so go the extra mile and have morals standards for all living creatures .Good luck ..

At last! A book to answer all the questions that vegans are bombarded with, regularly. The universal questions/statements remain the same, year after year: “Where do you get your protein/iron/calcium?” “Eating animals is natural. It's traditional.” “Animals don't feel pain like humans do.” “What about plants? They feel too.” “What would you do if you were stranded on a desert island?” “I know someone who got ill when they stopped eating animals.” “Don't you care about human rights?” Professors Francione and Charlton answer 36 of the common questions and misunderstands relating to veganism, including the above examples, with accurate facts. Gary L. Francione and Anna Charlton are professors of Law and have been animal rights advocates for about thirty years. In this book they teach their abolitionist approach with passion, simplicity and truth. Eat Like You Care is a must read for all new, old and pre-vegans (in other words, everyone). It's written simply making it a quick read with easy to understand language. It's accessible to all and is available as a paperback or ebook. There's 130 pages in total full of interesting facts and information. Eat Like You Care is also a valuable guide to help vegans speak with truthful confidence and eloquence when questioned or mocked about being vegan. In the past, I've felt a bit tongue tied when interrogated by some nonvegans simply because I didn't have the correct information to respond. But since reading Eat Like You Care, I am able to articulate facts in a confident manner rather than just responding with emotion. I highly recommend Eat Like You Care to everyone because veganism is suitable for EVERYONE. The price of the book makes it affordable for all. I buy copies to give to as many people as possible. Eat Like You Care is a valuable personal investment. Since reading it, my mind has been blown wide open. I would also strongly recommend reading as many books and essays by Professor Francione as possible. They can reprogram thinking, open hearts, and readjust our moral compass. Pssst...Pass it on!

Essa obra tem dois propósitos: 1 - Exame da moralidade de se comer animais, como indicado pelo título; 2 - Apresentar contra-argumentos para os típicos argumentos utilizados por quem questiona o veganismo (por exemplo, "os vegetais que você come também foram mortos" e "esses ovos foram criados numa fazenda 'humanizada'"). Eu já queria ser vegano e esse livro me deu o empurrãozinho de que eu precisava, então me foi útil. Além disso, me ajudou a esclarecer alguns fatos. O primeiro - e um dos pontos mais importantes do livro: é irracional para quem não boicota as indústrias da carne, dos ovos e do leite se revoltar com quem promove, por exemplo, rinhas de cães, ou com o "esporte" da tourada, pois as referidas indústrias são tão cruéis quanto, ou mais, os supostos "esportes". Esse é um argumento forte para o boicote. O argumento principal é o de que quem se alimenta de produtos animais não está o fazendo porque é necessário (e obviamente não é, todos sabemos que uma dieta vegana bem balanceada é saudável), mas porque lhe é conveniente. E esse é exatamente o motivo porque as pessoas vão a touradas, promovem rinhas etc. (pelo "entretenimento", para ganhar dinheiro, ou seja porque for). Senti falta apenas de dados brasileiros sobre as indústrias das carnes, leites e ovos. Mas não vou dar uma estrela a menos para a obra por esse motivo, porque o autor é dos Estados Unidos e obviamente não falhou ao não informar sobre o Brasil. Ainda assim, sinto ser importante ler materiais de autores nacionais para complementar esse vazio. Fora isso, o livro não deixou em nada a desejar, por isso recebe cinco estrelas.