Ethical Vegetarianism [Paperback]

Kerry Walters (Author), Lisa Portmess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 1999

For vegetarians seeking the historical roots of vegetarianism, for animal rights activists and the environmentally concerned, and for those questioning their consumption of meat, here's a book that provides a deep understanding of vegetarianism as more than just a dietary decision.

This is the first comprehensive collection of primary source material on vegetarianism as a moral choice and includes the writings of Carol Adams, Bernard de Mandeville, Mohandas Gandhi, Oliver Goldsmith, Anna Kingsford, Frances Moore Lappe, Porphyry, Pythagoras, Tom Regan, Albert Schweitzer, Seneca, Peter Singer, Leo Tolstoy, and Richard Wagner, among others.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...thought-provoking... Walters and Portmess have done a good job in bringing together the various strands of ethical vegetarianism. ...there are some new voices who offer some telling arguments, and I particularly enjoyed reading the late 19th-century pioneer Henry Salt's wry and trenchant essay. -- The Boston Book Review, April 1999

About the Author

Kerry S. Walters is Professor of Philosophy and Lisa Portmess is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Gettysburg College. Professor Walters is the editor of Re-thinking Reason: New Perspectives in Critical Thinking, also published by SUNY Press. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (January 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791440443
• ISBN-13: 978-0791440445
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,320,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long-awaited and excellent anthology, January 12, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ethical Vegetarianism (Paperback)

What Walters and Portmess have done is to bring together important arguments about the use of animal flesh as human food from classical writers to the present day. A veggie reader like this is something I've wanted to see since I became vegetarian several years ago, and I'd encourage anyone who is thinking seriously about what they eat and why to give it a look. To the book's great credit (and usefulness), the editors include a very useful appendix of anti-vegetarian writings, which is a useful resource for the inevitable arguments that meat-eaters offer vegetarians. I am very much lookin forward to the volume of religious writings on vegetarianism that the editors have in the works. This book is a great contribution to telling the truth about vegetarian history (which is anything but trendy) as well as a fine collection of compassionate, ethical, and important voices. Keep it next to your cookbooks in the kitchen.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This made me a vegetarian!, January 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Ethical Vegetarianism (Paperback)

My wife, a vegetarian, gave me (up to this time a nonvegetarian) this book for Christmas. After reading it, I'm a believer. I never took all the health arguments for vegetarianism seriously, but it's hard to deny this book's claim that a meatless diet is the right thing to do. I especially liked the selections from contemporary vegetarians-Peter Singer, Mary Moore Lappe, Harriet Schleiffer, Carol Adams. They point out that meat eating not only needlessly tortures and kills millions of animals, but that it is also economically wasteful. For me, this is the strongest argument. If youre thinking about going vegetarian, read this book.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History's most eloquent vegetarians, all in one book!, December 28, 1999

By 

Jamie ([e-mail]) (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethical Vegetarianism (Paperback)

The editors did an excellent job of choosing, organizing and editing this fascinating book. The book includes writings from over 30 people (including relevant biograpical info), and useful bibliographies both pro- and anti-vegetarian. I spent a lot of time at libraries looking through the compact shelving until I discovered this book and found a lot of what I needed already organized and laid out before me. A must-read for all those interested in vegetarianism and humanity's relationship with other animals!