Eating Animals -Jonathan Safran Foer

Eating Animals - As the name suggests it deals with the food habits and the cruelity to animals.The author chronicles the development of farms and farming techniques.I was fascinated by the staggering growth of factory farming and its influence in our food habits.

The author has done lots of research before writing this book which helps him to convince with the fact that factory farming is destroying the nature as well as spoiling the health of the public.He never urges us to become a vegan but he wants the reader to take 'conscious' decision on his/her food habits.As he is preparing his first thanksgiving day with his son , he wanted to provide something good , healthy and a positive life style by informing the benefits of choosing proper food.

" I realized that an excruciating life is worse than an excruciating death.These factory farmers calculate how close to death they can keep the animals without killing them. That’s the business model."

The above statement is the reality,i can say that on my own since i have seen many videos taken in those farms, very cruel.Even though the United States government has enacted the law to prevent cruel killing of Chickens and Pigs still the cruelty continues in majority of the factory farms which is very sad.Im not sure whether in India we have any law/legislation to prevent cruel killing of chickens and other animals,anyhow most of the Indians still respect and eat less meat when compared to americans or europeans.

The author compares how much meat different countries people are eating,Americans are far more ahead of any other nationalities.Chinese and Indians if they started eating as much as americans, then there will be a big mess in the whole ecosystem.The book first explores the chicken farms and its illegal activities.Infact more chickens are killed for feed than for human consumption, that is astounding!The KFC gets its chicken from the farms where more cruelties takes place than in other farm,another eye-opener for those who eat KFC atleast once in a week.Since the day i vomited KFC chicken in 2010 May, i never ate it again.Good for me!! The author explains the diseases caused by birds.Below is the paragraph the describes it:

"Each mammalian species is vulnerable to only some of the viruses carried by birds.Humans, for example, are typically vulnerable to only H1, H2, and H3 viruses, pigs to H1 and H3,and horses to H3 and H7. The H stands for hemagglutinin, a spike-shaped protein found on the surface of influenza viruses and named after its ability to “agglutinate” — that is, to clump together red blood cells. Hemagglutinin serves as a kind of molecular bridge that allows the virus itself to flow into the victim’s cells like enemy troops crossing a makeshift bridge. Hemagglutinin is able to accomplish this deadly work through its remarkable ability to bind itself to specific kinds of molecular structures, known as receptors, on the surface of human and animal cells. H1,H2, and H3 — the three types of hemagglutinin that commonly attack humans — are specialists in binding to our respiratory systems, which is why the flu so often begins in the human respiratory tract."

Then comes pig farms, i almost cried when i read these chapters, unthinkable cruelities, thanks lord i have never tried pork/meat.One example in page:96,

"Piglets that don’t grow fast enough —the runts — are a drain on resources and so have no place on the farm. Picked up by their hind legs, they are swung and then bashed headfirst onto the concrete floor. This common practice is called “thumping.”

can you imagine the above?I dont know how those employees are doing these kind of things!!
The author explores the fish farming and its impact on our food habits.As our old saying goes "Food is medicine" now its "Medicine is food", we are eating only chemicals .We are waging a war against animals no, no, in fact its animal genocide.

Now i should take conscious decision about eating animals, should i eat animals or not!! Im still struggling with the answer.This book changed me forever how i will look food items here after.It is a book that moves you to do something but can we do ?? There are lots of pictures/graphics in the book which makes the reading even more interesting.The book cover is in green , you would have guessed the reason.I will definitely suggest everyone to read this wonderful book.
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