Customer Reviews

Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

If you're vegan or even considering it you'll want to pick up this book. Vegan Freak is like having a good friend cheering you on, reminding you that it is possible to be Vegan in a world that often labels vegans as freaks. Call it Vegan Freak pride, call it mentoring, or just call it fantastic support, this book is chock full of advice and information that's essential for anyone even investigating veganism. Bob and Jenna Torres bring together a ton of information from a wide array of sources into an extremely quick and easy read. Their conversational style is refreshing, warm and friendly. The book is much more about supporting a vegan lifestyle than slamming non-vegans, so if you're not yet vegan you won't feel like you're under attack. The subtitle for this book could be I'm an OK Vegan and You're OK, it's incredibly supportive and inspirational and I highly recommend it.

Vegan Freak is a great resource for new vegans, longtime vegans, people who are toying with the idea of veganism, or people who know vegans. Bob and Jenna Torres do a great job of explaining the feelings of "freakdom" that often accompany the shift to veganism, but offer comfort in the idea that being freaky really isn't such a bad thing.

There is a lot of great information here, written in a very accessible style, including a fair bit of wry humor. The book focuses not only on the ethical basis of veganism, but also includes suggestions for how to get along as a vegan in a largely meat-eating world. The appendix is chock-full of resources (including reading lists, helpful websites, online stores, veg-themed blogs, and so forth), which is incredibly helpful especially for new vegans and/or people who don't have a big ol' in-person vegan support system at the ready.

Vegan Freak does a great job of filling a gap in the vegan booklist: it's perfect for people who just want the straight story about living as a vegan. As a relatively new vegan myself, I've done a lot of reading in the past year, and I found Vegan Freak to be on par with Obligate Carnivore in the "tell it like it is" arena. This is a good thing--you won't be disappointed!

"Vegan Freak" is unlike any vegan book on the market because it is a survival guide to living vegan in a non-vegan world. According to the authors, "All of us who are vegan have at some point felt like absolute outsiders..." These authors embrace they're vegan freakdom and combine knowlege, wit, and personal experience into book that is both survival guide and handbook to living vegan.

"Vegan Freak" begins with the 'whys' of veganism. The authors give some basic definitions of veganism, how to go vegan in three weeks, how the authors went vegan, and possible pathways to veganism. The book continues with an indepth discussion of Animal Rights, specieism, and factory farming. The authors strongly suggest that the most horrific treatment of animals will only end if conserned persons chose a vegan lifestlye. This idea is furthur echoed in thier discussion of vegan health and nutrition.

The following section explains the 'hows' of veganism. The authors give a through discussion of dealing with others such as friends, family members, and co-workers. The authors even discuss dealing with vegetarians and how deal with those who believe veganism is "taking it too far". Bob and Jenna also give food advice in the chapter titled "What do vegans eat anyway?", giving tips on survival the grocery store, resturants, how to travel vegan, and even vegan pet food.

The final section gives a basic overview on the non-food elements of veganism. The authors cover alternatives to fur, leather, and wool and how to dispose of them once you become vegan. They also give advice of finding cruelty-free alternatives to most soaps, tooth pastes, shampoos, and other tolietries that are usually made with animal products. The book ends with two appendixes full of ways to get involved an extensive list of books about Animal Rights, veganism, health, and cooking.

While this book was an easy read (you could probably finish in a day depending on your free-time) it is not at all what I thought it would be. I was expecting good advice on how to survive as a vegan in our non-vegan world (hmm where could I have gotten that idea?) but all the advice was VERY general. As others have said, they reference other books and websites on nearly every page, basically telling you to read other work if you want the whole story. Finally, even as an ovo-lacto vegetarian looking to make the switch to veganism, I really didn't find much I didn't already know. The beer section was informative, but I don't drink. I suppose this book would be best for someone that doesn't know much of anything about AR or the vegan diet. The most I got out of it was a new reading list.

Vegan Freak fell into my hands just as I was seriously considering the world of vegan freakdom. I had been on the fence for awhile, hemming and hawing to myself about what I would have to "give up". No more than a quarter of the way through Vegan Freak, I jumped off the fence running into a life of ethical veganism, and I haven't looked back. Bob and Jenna Torres show us that ethical veganism is easy, feels good, and isn't any sort of sacrifice at all. Au contraire.

The Torres pair maneuver through the stickiest questions of going vegan and staying vegan with ease and a good deal of wit. Their introduction to Animal Rights is by far the best concise look at the many reasons for choosing ethical veganism that I have encountered. While this section is full of compelling evidence and moral imperative for ethical veganism on its own, it also points the reader to a great deal more resources in this arena.

Most importantly, Vegan Freak offers solid advice for dealing with the non-vegan world. Buy the book. Read it once. Rinse. Repeat as necessary. Seriously though, this is a book you'll want to keep handy, particularly if you are a new vegan trying to negotiate the grocery store, restaurants, and questions/challenges from friends and family.

It sounds cheesy and clichéd, but trust me when I say that this book changed my life. If you're considering going vegan, are newly vegan or have been a vegan freak for a long time- this book is for you. It also makes a great gift for that parent or friend that really wants to understand what your veganism is all about, but never quite gets it. Bob and Jenna Torres give a candid, well researched and entertaining introduction to the what-all of ethical veganism.

The decision making process that occurs if you're interested in making the switch from omni or vegetarian to vegan is just that, a process. You need to understand what the ethical questions are, educate yourself and then make your choices. The world we live in will make a hypocrite out of you pretty quick if you don't. The authors are hard-core in their beliefs, and their view is black and white, so know this going in. Either you are or you aren't vegan. This can be really confusing and/or intimidating for someone in the beginning stages of checking out veganism, given the grey areas that we all have to work through. It's going to be different for everybody. Don't just blindly accept a stance because it seems punk rock and cool. Everything, the houses we live in, the vehicles we ride or drive, the clothes we wear and the world we live in have all been built the suffering of animals (humans included) in some large or small way, so beware the slippery slope of absolute truth and inflexibility. Also, I don't know anything about the authors personally, but they often do come across on the written page as smug hipsters at war with a good portion the world, which might be a turn off for you if you don't get the joke (as it were). Definitely small on the facts and heavy on the words. I finished several sections wondering why they went to such great lengths to make the same point over and over. Read it, but balance it out with other perspectives before you make the decision that's right for you.

First of all, I really thought this book was going to offer some valuable information or at the very least, a new insight for an old timer vegan like myself. I do like keeping a fresh perspective on the issues that I find important. Unfortunately, like many of the other reviewers, I was left disappointed. This book seemed a bit juvenile, and I kept thinking that I would have been more into it in my teen years, or even my early college years. It will also appeal to those who are really pissed off and have a huge vegan chip on their shoulder. This definitely isn't for the kind vegan or the first-time vegan newbie... and if you are new to veganism, please know that this is just one viewpoint and there are plenty of other more expertly written books on how to become vegan that are much more welcoming, less negative, and less exclusive. For the seasoned vegan with a broad mind, pass this one up. Personally, I don't care for the black and white view of anything, and their all-or-nothing stance on veganism seems repellant. I believe that for any cause to be taken seriously, you have to drop the club cards and open the doors to everyone. It's interesting how they blame Oprah for inspiring people to take the cause less seriously as if it were a passing trend, and that may be true, but I don't see them doing much better as far as getting people to take the cause seriously with their writing style. The repetitive negative opinions grate on your nerves after a while, as do their unsuccessful attempts at wit and curse words (woo, we can say the eff word in print, how cool are we?) and I found myself zoning out halfway through chapter one. They seem to contradict themselves often, for instance they are very critical of Peter Singer's suggestion that it's okay to eat vegetarian if you can't eat vegan while traveling, yet they say it's okay to drive a car even though the tires contain animal ingredients. Let me get this straight? They plainly say that it's not okay to get a slice of cheese on your sandwich while you are traveling in France, but it's okay if animals are killed and ground up for tires? I mean, come on! If you are going to preach all or nothing veganism (like they are), then you had better get a good pair of (non-leather) walking shoes! Oh the pompousness! I had a very hard time taking them seriously. Aside from all of that, the book was poorly edited, there were a handful of typos just in the first chapter which were annoyingly distracting. Luckily I checked this out from the library, and I will gladly be sending it back.

Being new to veganism, I thought this book would be a good buy. Although it had a few good tips, it mostly references other books. There are a LOT of sentences like "For more information on this read (insert book title here)". It seems I could have learned more (maybe better?) information by not wasting money on this but buying the books they keep quoting lines from.

Bob and Jenna Torres' book, Vegan Freak, is a down to earth, down and dirty, look at how vegans can survive happily in a non-vegan world. I absolutley loved this book. I read it in one sitting.....it's compact size allows one to do that. The authors make great efforts to footnote and document all research sources. The appendix guide in the back of the book is absolutetly awesome! I actually took the book with me to a health store (in pursue of some vegan bath products). What I like best about this book is that I really heard the authors' "voice." The approachable tone of the book made me feel like I was chatting with Jenna and Bob over coffee....vegan cups of joe, of course. So, go on and buy this book.....you will not regret it.

I had a hard time not giving this book 5 stars, but I decided upon 4 because it is too narrow in scope for me and targets a specific audience - those who chose to be vegan for ethical reasons. I, however, am one who also likes to study the nutritional benefits.

If you're "on the fence", curious, or would be entertained by a vegan viewpoint then you will like this book. If you're against animal abuse, animal cruelty or are a member of PETA then you will absolutely love this book!

If you're more interested in the nutritional benefits then I would recommend T. Colin Campbell's, The China Study. It's excellent in that regard.