Eating Animals the Book

In the new book Eating Animals, author Jonathan Safran Foer wants to make sure you you know that factory farming - which accounts for virtually all meat sold in supermarkets and prepared in restaurants - is almost certainly the single worst thing that humans do to the environment. Changing the way our food is produced begins us; with the choices we make every day.

Here are 10 things you can do to make a difference:

1.Read Eating Animals and ask your friends, family, and coworkers to do the same.

http://www.eatinganimals.com/site/book/

2.In the words of Farm Forward: Eat conscientiously-as few animals as possible, ideally none. More than 99 percent of animal products are produced under factory farm conditions. http://www.farmforward.com/farming-forward/food-choices

3.Support pending state and federal legislation to improve standards for farms. Learn more about legislation aimed to improve conditions for farm animals [ http://www.hsus.org/farm/camp/legislation.html  ] and legislation that addresses the effects of farms on our environment [ http://www.waterkeeper.org/ht/d/Contents/cids/275,1383/pid/201  ] and communities [ http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/community/  ].

4.Tell Congress that you want to support alternatives to factory farming. Every year, agribusiness receives billions of dollars in subsidies and grants that make factory farming possible. http://fdn.actionkit.com/cms/sign/Factory_Farm_Bailout/#1

5.Have a conversation with the people who produce your food. If you aren't allowed to see where your food comes from, you probably shouldn't be eating it. http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home

6.Stay informed about current issues in the fight for more humane and sustainable farming. Sign up to receive newsletters from groups like Farm Forward http://www.farmforward.com/  and the Humane Society of the United States http://hsus.org/ You can also follow many of your favorite groups on Twitter.

7.Spread the word! Talk about Eating Animals with your friends, family and colleagues, and encourage them to read up on and these important issues themselves.

8.Support organizations working for change. Check out Jonathan's favorite organizations.

◦Farm Forward - http://www.farmforward.com/
◦Farm Sanctuary - http://www.farmsantuary.org/
◦Food and Water Watch - http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/  
◦Food Democracy Now! - http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/

◦Humane Society of the United States - http://www.hsus.org/

◦People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - http://www.peta.org/

◦Sierra Club - http://www.sierraclub.org/

◦Sustainable Table - http://www.sustainabletable.org/

◦Waterkeeper Alliance - http://www.waterkeeperalliance.org/

9.Buy products from the most progressive farmers in America. Sustainable Table's Eat Well Guide http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home  provides an extensive list of small farmers. We also encourage you to support Frank Reese, whose Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch is featured in Eating Animals. http://www.reeseturkeys.com/

10.Organize your friends and family to place large orders from progressive farmers. For small farmers like Frank Reese, shipping is by far the most expensive aspect of bringing their products to your table. By placing large orders together with your friends, family and colleagues, anyone can afford to eat the most humane and sustainable products in America.

Flaws in Beef Inspection - The Ground Beef Gamble

Stephanie Smith, a children’s dance instructor, thought she had a stomach virus. The aches and cramping were tolerable that first day, and she finished her classes.

Then her diarrhea turned bloody. Her kidneys shut down. Seizures knocked her unconscious. The convulsions grew so relentless that doctors had to put her in a coma for nine weeks. When she emerged, she could no longer walk. The affliction had ravaged her nervous system and left her paralyzed.

Stephanie Smith, 22, was paralyzed after being stricken by E. coli in 2007. Officials traced the E. coli to hamburger her family had eaten. Stephanie Smith was in a coma for nine weeks after being infected with E. coli.

Ms. Smith, 22, was found to have a severe form of food-borne illness caused by E. coli, which Minnesota officials traced to the hamburger that her mother had grilled for their Sunday dinner in early fall 2007.
 
http://www.grist.org/article/warning-this-product-may-cause-sickness-paralysis-and-death
 
A top official at the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service observed that his options were somewhat limited since he had to “look at the entire industry, not just what is best for public health.” Note the fact that his phrasing sets the meat industry’s needs at odds with ours—the two can’t be reconciled in his eyes. What does that say about the government’s ability to ensure a safe food supply? No matter how you structure it, the industry now appears too big and too powerful to be regulated. What other explanation is there for the fact that the top food safety job at the USDA remains unfilled if not regulatory paralysis—the meat industry seems to have veto power over its regulators and hasn’t found a federal overseer to its liking.