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Eating Animals

Jonathan Safran Foer

Eating Animals

18min

18min

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Beginning with the story of his own family, and in particular of his grandmother who survived the Holocaust, Jonathan Safran Foer delves into one of today’s burning issues: the choice to eat, or not to eat, meat. Food is nourishment, but it also represents a strong contradiction, especially in today's society, and many of us are painfully unaware of the ramifications. Eating Animals came out of the author’s desire to learn more about nutrition, and help increase awareness of the conditions in which animals destined for slaughter are raised.

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Analysis and key concepts

01.

Our food is also our story: eating and storytelling are inextricably linked

02.

“If nothing matters, there is nothing left to save”: the story of the grandmother’s experience during the war

03.

Dogs are pets, but in some parts of the world, people eat them: a cultural issue

04.

Factory farming: producing large quantities of meat at the lowest possible cost

05.

Anthropocentrism, anthropodenial, anthropomorphism: the story of humans and animals

06.

From care for our pets to the industrialisation of animal slaughter

07.

The “chicken of tomorrow”: the use of genetics in meat production

08.

Intensive farming is not the only way, there are still plenty of alternatives

09.

Contracting illnesses from food is a consequence of industrial farming

10.

The ethical debate on the breeding and slaughter of livestock

11.

Fish suffer too, but we tend not to think about it

12.

Becoming vegetarian is not the only way to say no to intensive farming

13.

Quotes

14.

Take-home message

01. Our food is also our story: eating and storytelling are inextricably linked

Humans do not eat everything on Earth that is edible. Their choices are the result of conventions and narratives that build the rules on which societies are based. An important change is about to take place in the author’s life, so he stops to reflect on nutrition, and the role that food plays in the lives of human beings. One of the crucial points he focuses on is the consumption of meat: the news that he was about to become a father made Jonathan Safran Foer think about how much we actually know about the conditions in which animals destined for slaughter are raised.

One of his most vivid childhood memories is of his grandmother making food for the family, and what a great cook she was. Her chicken with carrots is a very important part of the family story: he knows that if he raises his son as a vegetarian, that he will not eat his great-grandmother’s dish, and will never receive that unique expression of her love, and perhaps never think of her as the greatest chef who ever lived. The writer’s goal is not to turn the world vegan or vegetarian, but to explore farming practices and understand all the different aspects related to the consumption of meat.

02. “If nothing matters, there is nothing left to save”: the story of the grandmother’s experience during the war

03. Dogs are pets, but in some parts of the world, people eat them: a cultural issue

04. Factory farming: producing large quantities of meat at the lowest possible cost

05. Anthropocentrism, anthropodenial, anthropomorphism: the story of humans and animals

06. From care for our pets to the industrialisation of animal slaughter

07. The “chicken of tomorrow”: the use of genetics in meat production

08. Intensive farming is not the only way, there are still plenty of alternatives

09. Contracting illnesses from food is a consequence of industrial farming

10. The ethical debate on the breeding and slaughter of livestock

11. Fish suffer too, but we tend not to think about it

12. Becoming vegetarian is not the only way to say no to intensive farming

13. Quotes

14. Take-home message

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Many useful tips to:

  • Increase our awareness around the food we put on our table.
  • Make us think about the methods used to rear animals.
  • Look closer at our relationship with food.

Jonathan Safran Foer is an acclaimed American writer, who became famous after the release of his novel, Everything is Illuminated, in 2002. His Jewish family heritage and the holocaust are common themes in his work, and he was appointed to the United Nations Holocaust Memorial Council in 2013. He has won numerous awards, including the Holtzbrinck Fellowship at the American Academy in Berlin. Safran Foer teaches creative writing at New York University.

Publishing house:

Back Bay Books

Year:

2010

Pages:

368

ISBN:

978-0316069885