Customer Reviews

Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating

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Erik Marcus has done a masterful job of introducing non-vegans to the vegan perspective. Along with John Robbins' The Food Revolution (which I also highly recommend), there is no better book on the subject. After reading both books, I have decided to become a vegan. It's healthy, ecological, and much kinder toward animals. That said, you need only care about one of the above to make the single most important change in your life. Allow me to begin with some facts: 1) A vegan diet can reduce the risk of heart disease to nearly zero. 2) Vegans have half the chance of getting cancer as meat and dairy eaters. 3) Vegans do not die from Mad Cows disease. 4) The meat industry teats animals so horribly I had to skip over that section in the book. Note that vegan diets do not harm animals at all. 5) 40,000 children die each day, mostly from starvation or hunger-related disease. 6) The entire world could be fed on a vegan diet; instead, we run our grain through cattle and sell it off to the rich. 7) Vegan diets consume much less of the earth's resources: less water, grain, and energy. 8) American rangeland is an ecological moonscape. Although by not means a rigorously proven scientific fact, it should also be noted that many vegans report increased energy levels, better brain functioning, higher self-esteem, and increased resistance to disease and colds after making the dietary switch. The author asks, "Is it reasonable to assume that the human brain...functions identically no matter how it is nourished? Is it logical that a diet of beef and chicken and ice cream will produce the same thoughts and emotions as a diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains?" As scientists learn more and more about the nutritional and healing powers of fruits and vegetables, we are gaining a better understanding of the relationship between diet and physical and mental health. In any event, there is a long list of great vegetarians that point toward this relationship: including Leonardo Da Vinci, George Bernard Shaw, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Mahatma Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, and so on. Some of the most intelligent and kind-hearted people in the world were vegetarians before the -ism was even born. They intuitively grasped the relationship between a plant-based diet and health, and recognized the need to act compassionatley toward animals. A very disarming book, the author's writing style is easy-going and matter-of-fact, affecting a clear, earnest, scientific tone. The preface was even written by former rancher/300lb. football player turned vegan, Howard Lyman, who's story will move you. After meeting him, you be introduced to doctors, nutritional biochemist, epidemiologists, and ecologists who have discovered many objective reasons to make a leap of dietary faith. I cannot over-recommend this book. While you are at it, pick up a copy of The Food Revolution. Read them both, and then pass them on. Just as the cover promises, reading and internalizing this book is the surest way to heal our planet and your body.

Two birds, one stone. Give it a shot.

j.w.k.

I've been a vegetarian for about three years now and am just beginning to switch to a completely vegan diet. Not only has this book reaffirmed my decision but it has convinced me that I need to make a much stronger effort to educate my meat-eating friends and family about why they too should consider eliminating animal products from their diet. I'm going to begin by sending a copy of this book to all of them. Marcus delivers the message about the drawbacks and dangers of eating meat in a non-inflammatory but nonetheless imperative manner that even the most die-hard meat-eaters will find hard to ignore. In particular, I think Marcus was wise to spend the first several chapters of the book focusing on the medical problems associated with eating meat and the powerful healing effect of switching to a vegan diet. Although I believe concern for the environment and animal welfare are equally good reasons to go vegan, I appreciate the fact that diving right into those arguments can turn some people off. When Marcus does bring up those issues, he does so tactfully but without losing any of the poignancy needed to make people understand why the institutional slaughter of animals is so horrific.

This is a very important book because it has the power to help those of us who are already vegetarians explain to the people we love why they should become vegetarians too.

This is a fantastic book that gives a persuasive case for vegetarianism. The only books out there that are better are Kerry Walters's Ethical Vegetarianism from Pythagoras to Peter Singer and Mary Moore Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet. You can quit eating meat for health reasons, but the bottom line is that carnivorism inflicts suffering and death on innocent creatures. Read Marcus, Walters, Lappe, and others, and go veggie!

Erik Marcus, operator of Vegan.com (an excellent website, btw), reaches out to vegan and non-vegan alike with "Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating". As a previous vegeterian who still enjoyed ice cream and eggs, I thought that abstaining from meat still helped animals as well as my health. After reading this book, I can see my reasoning was flawed! The dairy and meat industries are closely linked.

For example, if you shy from meat but still drink milk, you're continuing the endless cycle of cows being impregnated (like other mammals, cows don't produce milk unless they give birth). The cows are then milked for it all (pun not intended!), and when they're worn out after a few years, their exhausted carcasses are sold to be ground up into low-grade fastfood hamburgers. But wait, what about all the calves being born so the cow produces that milk? Female babies replace their mothers for years of endless pregnancy, milking, and infection. The male calves, who have no use in the milk process, are stuffed into veal crates and fed an anemic diet of watered-down formula for their short lives ... before they're lead to the slaughterhouse.

Shocked? I know I was! I'd always disliked milk but loved ice cream (now, I enjoy Soy Delicious soy "ice cream" ... yummy!). Besides the ethics of eating these tortured animals, Marcus also points out the health aspects. Obesity, numberous cancers, heart attacks, angiograms, and many other diseases kill or severely limit the life quality of millions of Westerners. In Asian countries, where low-fat, plant-based diets are the norm, these diseases are virtually unheard of (and I'd like to point out that, at 19 years old, I no longer have perpetual headcolds or the baby fat from years of eating animal products). Included in the book is a chapter on how the beef industry routinely grinds up cattle into "protein concentrates" to feed back to the herd (thus spawning Mad Cow) and how the dairy industry targets young children from the moment they step into a school with tales of "milk is great for you!!". Neither industry mentions that the animals (and thus their products) are pumped full of chemicals, so the paying customer is also ingesting the same! For example, chickens have been genetically modified to grow HUGE in a shorter amount of time than they did 25 years ago. After six weeks of age, 26 % of chickens die from heart attacks thanks to the chemicals and increased growth spurts, which explains why broiler hens are slaughtered before then. Do you really want to eat that??

Also included is a chapter on how cattle ranching is gobbling up America's natural terrain and that meat production contributes to world hunger (I believe the exact number was it takes the same amount of water and land to produce 16 pounds of grain as to make 1 pound of beef ... you can definitely feed more people with that much grain!! Contrast that to 1 pound of beef ... how many folks can you feed that to??).

So the book isn't totally filled by numbers and facts, Marcus smartly includes success stories: people who beat an unhealthy life through a switch to a vegan diet, tortured animals who escaped the slaughterhouse, and Marcus himself, who in the last chapter explains why he made the switch from omnivore to herbivore. It's a sweet, effective humanistic touch to a book that otherwise would be filled with a lot of disturbing data.

It's an excellent book, including a complete biblography in the back with all of Marcus' sources so you can check his information yourself. I wish it was pocket-sized so I can carry it everywhere (I practically do, anyway!) and I've already given copies to family and friends who've found the book just as startling as I did. No, the book doesn't include recipes (check out the "Vegeterian Italian Cookbook" or "Vegan Delights" for those!); this book's sole purpose, which it succeeds admirably at, is informing the public what's REALLY in our food and how it affects us and our planet. This book is very empowering so while the facts are frightening, I find it a light of hope.

"Vegan" is an absolutely wonderful book! Facts are presented clearly and fairly. This is not a book bashing carnivores or people who wear leather shoes. There are no "guilt trips" or "scare tactics" used to try and trick the reader in to adapting a vegan lifestlye. Rather, it contains clearly-stated, well-documented facts regarding health, the environment, and animal rights issues. I sent copies to all my family members to help them understand the reasons why I feel this lifestyle is the correct choice for me. "Vegan" is very educational. I would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about better health or saving the planet and/or the animals that live here. (including humans!) This book is not "preachy" at all. You won't walk away feeling hopeless, like the world is in terrible, unchangeable shape. Instead you will find yourself excited and happy- feeling that you actually have a little p! iece of that knowledge key that can help make a difference in the quality of your (and everyone elses) life!

Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating is a very convincing and poignant concise argument sure to convince any meat eater or vegetarian to dedicate and change their lives to veganism. I have read many books on the subject, this is the first one I feel comfortable giving to my in-laws. The Farm Sanctuary stories are my favorites!

No other book that I am aware of so aptly discusses the topic of veganism and the many subtopics that spring forth. I really had no idea just how inhumane the meat, egg, and diary industry truly are. Marcus uncovers these animal exploiting machines and their affects on both humans and animals.

What makes this book a five star book is that Marcus interjects entertaining stories to present his facts. While a book of fact after fact would lose many potential vegan converts, this problem is nicely handled with Marcus' very own personal experiences.

Overall, there is not a single book that covers the full spectrum of vegan topics-nutrition, ethics, environment, and animal rights as well. Most importantly, Marcus doesn't make any moral judgements throughout the book, rather he just supplies his information to the reader. If someone inquired to me about veganism, this is the first book that I would recommend.

Be warned: This book simply supplies the reasons why you should consider a plant based diet. This book does not include the least bit of practical advice on becoming a vegan.

Also, you can download this book...

Wow! I read this book in one sitting, staying up until 2:00 AM to finish it. I am not an animal activist by any means. And although there is plenty of info in this book to satifsfy the activists out there, even more compelling are the first few chapters concerning cholesterol, heart disease, cancer, and weight-loss. The chapter on so-called "mad cow" disease alone should be enough to turn anyone into an instant vegan. And did you know that gelatin (the key ingredient in confections such as marshmallows and jello) are made up of the ground-up bones of slaughtered cattle? All I can say is: YUCK! No more gummy bears for me!

Vegetarians and Vegans should save money on shipping by trusting me and just buying 5 copies to start. Give your family and friends this book for Christmas, birthday, etc. and they will thank you for saving their lives from heart disease. The book also goes into probably all the other reasons i can think off why to go vegan. Did you know that the Sahara desert used to be forests, but grew and is spreading because of cattle ranching? Also, only 3% of beef in Brazil is from the Amazon, but after 3 or 4 years...LITERALLY THE BLINK OF AN EYE IN HISTORY...rich rainforests turn to deserts. The U.S. and Canada import most of this beef for fast-food restaurant hamburgers. "So, your saying because I grew up eating meat and it tastes good (even though I've never tried any vegetarian or vegan meals or soy or tofu in my life), because of this ignorance the human race will not last as long on this earth without widespread hunger and permanent ecological ruin?" YES STUPID! If the world were vegan, there would be no poor. We would respect animals so much, we would love fellow humans to death...and cattle ranchers are the biggest owners of private property and the cause of poverty in some places of the world. ESPECIALLY AFRICA. Poor Africans are not allowed to cut down trees, but rich white farmers practicly own all the rainforest. HALF THE LAND ON EARTH IS USED FOR CATTLE RANCHING! GO VEGAN! Read the book to find out in more detail. You don't have to have visited a slaughterhouse to know what goes on inside...the workers only work their for the same reason sweatshop workers work in sweatshops-its either me or them. Of course I'd rather kill an animals to save my life...but we don't have to...its just the opposite...ANIMAL-BASED DIETS CAUSE THE DEATH OF HUMANS AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A WHOLE. Sooner or later you'll have to turn vegetarian and even vegan because in the next century, resources will run out because of factory farms using so much, grains will cost more money, and meat will only be affordable to the millionaires. "So why not wait?" Because it will save your lives, animals lives, peoples lives. Today, more than ever there are more alternatives to meat and milk and eggs than ever before. I'd put a stock in these companies as they will be even more widespread and cheaper in the future. These estimates could be off significantly, but you should get the point that a vegan country and world is possible: Now, the biggest meat consuming country in the world, the U.S. has 3% of its population vegetarians and 1% vegan and 7% not eating "red" meat. Usually (by the help of this book) vegans like to spread their message, and every few years, someone they know becomes vegetarian or vegan or whatever. If this trend continues, by 2030 or 2050 or 2070 (its tough to estimate), the entire U.S. will be vegetarian, except of course the greedy 1%-10% of the population that has lost their sence of compassion, and laws can be made to ban slaughterhouses and factory farms. Plus, once around 10% of the population turns vegetarian, prices for soy will drop, animal abuse will be covered more by the media, alternatives will be widespread, and people will turn vegan/veg more eaiser. Let's spread the message and turn everyone vegetarian before all the rainforests are gone (estimated 50 years) If we survive that long lol

This book will not tell you the hows, but it certainly will tell you the whys. "Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating" is split into three sections: the health reasons, the abuse food animals endure, and the devastating effect animal "agriculture" has on our planet.

In detailing health reasons, Marcus talks with Drs. Dean Ornish and Terry Shintani, who devised near-vegan diets for patients and met with success. Ornish's trials have shown actual reversal of heart disease with his low-fat, near-vegan diet. Shintani created the Eat More Index, based on the theory that humans need three to four pounds of food a day, and approximately 2,500 calories. He determined how many pounds of food would be 2,500 calories. Most vegetable products (nuts, oils and avocadoes excluded) were remarkably high, while animal products were nightmarishly low. He theorized that people weren't eating too much, but eating the wrong foods. This section also details the mad cow epidemic in Great Britain and the government's blind eye to the problem. Howard Lyman, whose appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show sparked a lawsuit, also shows up.

The second section deals with the horrors so-called food animals endure on the factory farm and the efforts of one couple, Gene and Lorri Bauston, to help them. The Baustons started Farm Sanctuary, which has facilities in Watkins Glen, New York, and Orland, California, for the purpose of housing animals who have been rescued from appalling conditions, including the "dead piles" at auctions. Featured throughout this section are photos of animals they've rescued and their stories, some of which are heartbreaking. Perhaps the worst part of it, as Gene Bauston points out, is not one death is necessary because we do not need milk, eggs, or meat to survive.

The third section details the environmental destruction that meat production causes, along with the population explosion. Large companies are allowed to use public rangelands very cheaply--essentially corporate welfare--and they also kill thousands of wild animals who set foot on their property. Intense factory farming also wastes millions of gallons of water every year--what it doesn't pollute, that is.

If you want to do your part to make this world a better place, get this book. Then go vegan.