Living Among Meat Eaters: The Vegetarian's Survival Handbook [Paperback]

Carol J. Adams (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 6, 2001

Is there a blocked vegetarian in your life?

If you are one of the over twenty million Americans who have adopted vegetarianism, you know that living with and eating with meat eaters can present a myriad of difficult issues. Summer barbecues, Thanksgiving dinner, or even a simple business lunch can be cause for discussions questioning vegetarianism as a lifestyle choice—leading at best to awkward situations, and at worst to anger and defensiveness. Beyond these often tense encounters, simple day-to-day tasks like grocery shopping and preparing the evening meal can be tough, especially when your husband, wife, partner, or child doesn’t share your commitment to living as a vegetarian.

In this bold and original book, Carol J. Adams offers real-life advice that vegetarians can use to defuse any situation where their dietary choices may be under attack and suggests viewing meat eaters as blocked vegetarians. Always insightful, this practical guide is full of self-tests, strategies, meditations on vegetarianism, and tips for dining out and entertaining at home when meat eaters are on the invite list. Offering more than fifty of Carol Adams’s favorite vegetarian recipes, Living Among Meat Eaters is sure to become every vegetarian’s most trusted source of support and information.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Adams (The Sexual Politics of Meat), a writer and lecturer on vegetarianism, offers advice to practicing vegetarians about eating with omnivores. She covers everything from how to answer the question, "Are you a vegetarian?" to tips for dining out and handling meals in a business setting. She also includes a selection of favorite recipes, adapted from classic vegetarian cookbooks. Adams argues that vegetarians today have it rough: "we see death in [meat eaters'] meals, they see it in ours. Attempts will be made to disempower your viewpoint. Your diet is the issue, but you become the target." Point well made. Vegetarians indeed have far fewer options than omnivores at restaurants, at peoples' homes. And as Adams observes, they are often looked down upon. But she shoots herself in the foot with her central thesis: that vegetarians "should see every meat eater as a blocked vegetarian." To her credit, Adams understands that eating is a complicated and emotional issue, influenced by culture, family and politics. By making broad, general statements about vegetarians and omnivores, however, she ultimately helps no one, especially the people she tries to empower. (Nov.)Health

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Vegetarians abstain from eating animal products in order to lead a peaceful lifestyle, but when food choices clash, conversations and mealtimes aren't so harmonious. To aid in the discussion, Adams, author of the underground classic The Sexual Politics of Meat, offers vegetarians ways that can change the quality of their interactions with carnivores. She first asks, "Are you at peace?" because vegetarians who are insecure in their choice represent meat eaters' worst fear: that vegetarianism equals denial and scarcity. Once vegetarians know that the insecurity is not from within, they can see the verbal abuse and emotional blackmail as a sign of the meat eaters' insecurity. Then Adams lists various techniques, from deflecting sabotage to identifying subtext ("If you loved me you'd eat this meat" isn't about food it's about love), and suggests how these techniques may change work, living, and family situations. Besides her own experience, Adams shares stories gleaned from readers' letters fitting in a book about social interaction. For all libraries that have practical books on how to become a vegetarian but none offering advice on communication. Elizabeth C. Stewart, Portland, ME
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; First Edition edition (November 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609807439
• ISBN-13: 978-0609807439
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Animal Rights

More About the Author

I'm the author of The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory. It's been called "ground-breaking" and "pioneering" (interesting how our description of books draws from our invasive relationship to the land). Many say it is an underground classic, which I guess means that lots of people know and love it, but it goes unnoticed by the dominant media. Of course, when it first came out, that was slightly different. Then, right-wing reviewers held it up as the latest example of academic excess and political correctness, which was funny to me, because I am not an academic. I used to teach a course I developed at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University on "Sexual and Domestic Violence: Theological and Pastoral Issues" -- but very infrequently. Basically, for as long as I have been an adult, I have been an advocate, an activist, someone trying to figure out how do we transform this d*#! world that is built on inequality.

I have published more than 100 articles in journals, books, and magazines on the issues of vegetarianism and veganism, animal advocacy, domestic violence and sexual abuse. I am particularly interested in the interconnections among forms of violence against human and nonhuman animals, writing, for instance, about why woman-batterers harm animals and the implications of this (it's in my book Animals and Women). Besides advancing scholarship and developing theory in the area of interlocking oppressions, I have created a series of books that address the vegetarian/vegan experience: Living Among Meat Eaters: The Vegetarian Survival Guide, Help! My Child Stopped Eating Meat! and The Inner Art of Vegetarianism.

I've worked to bring back into print Howard Williams's nineteenth-century classic text on vegetarianism, The Ethics of Diet. I have contributed prefaces to important vegetarian, vegan, and animal defense books and discovered an eighteenth-century vegetarian work that had never entered the vegetarian tradition.

Because I am so deeply moved by my relationship with animals, I have authored books of prayers for animals for both adults and children.

I am excited that the 20th anniversary edition of The Sexual Politics of Meat will be published next February.

I also write about literary topics, including two "Bedside" books: one on Frankenstein and one on Jane Austen. I am finishing a memoir on caregiving and reading.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Advice on Dealing with Meat Eaters May 22, 2002

By Melanie

Format:Paperback

Life as a vegetarian or vegan is not always simple or easy, especially when we have to deal with meat eaters in a primarily meat eating world. Millions of North Americans have turned to vegetarianism and embraced this healthy, compassionate diet, and our numbers are increasing. Unfortunately, we are still a minority, and problems or inconveniences with meat eating family members, relatives, friends, co-workers and others are commonplace. Our ethical diet draws a variety of responses, everything from kidding to anger. Using her own experiences and more than 200 surveys from vegetarians who live with meat eaters, Adams provides good advice on how to deal with the meat eaters in your life. Adams suggests that we consider meat eaters as "blocked vegetarians." In the chapter "Love at Work III: Living with Meat Eaters - Partners and Children" Adams discusses such topics as living with meat eating partners, raising children when only one parent is a vegetarian, raising vegetarian children and cooking with children. To complement the practical advice given to vegetarians, Adams has included more than 70 pages of vegetarian recipes. A section on "About Ingredients and Products" is also very informative describing items of interest to vegetarians and where and how they can be used. The appendices are also very useful and enhance an already insightful book. Appendix A, "Living Among Meat Eaters: Rules of Thumb," provides reminders of important points pertaining to living with meat eaters. Appendix B, "Letter to Parents of Vegetarians," contains wise advice for parents whose children have chosen vegetarianism. Appendix C is "The Vegetarian Patrons of Restaurants Card." The reader is encouraged to make copies of the card provided which can be filled in and left at restaurants so that the needs of vegetarians visiting the restaurant in the future can be better met. Appendix D is an "International Vegetarian Card" which says, "I am vegetarian. What do you recommend?" in 21 languages. Living Among Meat Eaters provides valuable information about how vegetarians can not only exist with meat eaters but thrive in their company to everyone's benefit! -Reviewed by N. Glenn Perrett

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read for both new and old veggies May 14, 2002

By B. R Sullivan

Format:Paperback

I picked this book up after hearing praises about it on a vegetarian website. I have been vegan for just over a year and before that was an ovo-lacto vegetarian for almost five years. In that time I had only a few bad experiences with meat-eaters finding out I was a vegetarian/vegan, but these experiences did stand out in my mind and made me rather fearful of confrontations. This book gave me quite a few tools for coping with any bad reactions that I may come across. While I still don't look forward to my aunt finding out that I'm vegan now, I feel better equipped to deal with her reaction this time.

I especially liked the author's point that meat eaters see the vegetarian diet as a diet of scarcity and that showing meat eaters just how delicious and abundant a vegetarian diet is can be one of the best ways of dealing with them.

As an added bonus, there are about 50 recipes included. So far I've tried three (Roasted vegetables with fennel seeds, mushroom cobbler, and tasty tofu) and found them all to be outstanding. I can't wait to try more.

I highly recommend this book and will be giving copies to many of my vegetarian friends.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Social advice for the committed vegetarian April 5, 2004

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Paperback

Written for people everywhere who have adopted a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, Living Among Meat Eaters: The Vegetarian's Survival Handbook by dedicated vegetarian Carol J. Adams is a very practical guide filled from cover to cover with thematically appropriate discussions of common issues facing vegetarians living in a meat-eating world. Ranging from fitting in during summer barbecues or Thanksgiving dinner; to living with non-vegetarian roommates, family, or significant others; to fifty delicious vegetarian recipes that broaden the vegetarian's palate selection, Living Among Meat Eaters is a superbly presented, down-to-earth, "user friendly", and thoroughly enjoyable compendium of tips, techniques and social advice for the committed vegetarian.