|
| 
 enlarge | Author: Catherine Friend
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $10.76
You Save: $13.24 (55%)
New (43) Used (10) from $9.60
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 190490
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Da Capo Press Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 291
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2
ISBN: 1600940072
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.36
EAN: 9781600940071
ASIN: 1600940072
Publication Date: April 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New - Fast shipping from trusted wholesaler with many exclusive publisher contracts.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Hitting the nail on the head. October 1, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
In writing The Compassionate Carnivore, Catherine Friend strikes a balance between the extremes of unwittingly eating factory meat, and not eating meat at all. It's refreshing to have described to you a level headed point of view that offers viable solutions to a problem that's largely ignored in our society today. I loved the non-accusatory manner in which Friend gently urges, not a sea change for every American's diet, but a simple tweaking in order to slowly begin a shift away from our current non-sustainable system of animal husbandry. Also deserving of praise are the numerous quotations from other texts written by experts on agriculture. If you have a lot of time on your hands, read every book you can find on this subject. If you don't, look no further than The Compassionate Carnivore.
 The Delusional Carnivore September 26, 2008
2 out of 10 found this review helpful
Catherine Friend likes the taste of the flesh of animals and isn't about to stop eating animal flesh, menstrual secretions or milk. That's the most honest thing she says, and the rest of the book is the mental acrobatics necessary to make it acceptable to slaughter animals and call it compassion.
I'm sure it's true that small farms are better for the environment than factory farms, so I have no argument with that. But the compassion part is patently absurd and also creepy. Friend claims to "love" the animals, whom she knows (because she's done her research and she also has experienced this) that the animals have individual personalities and experience emotions and are far more intelligent than we give them credit for. Yet she has no problem betraying them by taking them to their slaughter. Perhaps the most chilling part is the "Letter to My Lambs," wherein she claims to be honoring the lives of the sentient beings she's about to kill (actually, have killed).
What Friend fails to understand is that the animals want one crucial thing she'll never allow: a reprieve from slaughter.
Animals don't care what we say; they care what we do. Talk of love and respect is empty if it's purpose is to produce tasty flesh (and there's a chapter about the taste of flesh that basically says that she treats the animals the way she does because that makes them taste better).
Finally, to say that staying "at the table" with animal exploiters and abusers is better for animals than leaving the table is absurd. If you want to reduce the use and suffering of animals, you make the choice to not use them and you support companies that have the same values. There are plenty of them.
Friend insults vegans, as well as sentient nonhumans, by claiming that eating animals can ever help them.
Mary Martin, Ph.D. (in Applied Linguistics from New York University, for all those who might be compelled to question my education or its relevance)
[...]
Insightful read! August 5, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I was a meat-eater, then went to a ranch where I helped with the birthing of baby lambs (which were so sweet and innocent) and immediately gave up meat... for a year. After 12 long months of meat-free meals, I caved in -my body really craved the protein you can really only find in animal meat, so now I'm trying to find a happy balance between being a vegetarian and being a "compassionate carnivore". This book really gives great insight into finding that balance - a great read for anyone who struggles with the decision to eat, or not to eat meat.
Compassionate carnivore is no Friend of animals July 29, 2008
6 out of 17 found this review helpful
In "Compassionate Carnivore," Catherine Friend offers an appalling Orwellean misrepresentation of compassion.
The definition of compassion includes "a feeling of deep sympathy for another's suffering." How can Friend (or any would-be "compassionate carnivore") seriously claim to be deeply sympathetic with an animal's suffering while acting as the cause and perpetrator of that suffering?
Friend's book title includes the phrase, "keep animals happy."
How happy are these animals as they are suspended by their hoofs and have their throats slit?
The word "humane" tossed in many times by Friend. Humane means to act with "tenderness, compassion and sympathy for ... animals." How tender is the edge of the meat processor's knife? How compassionate is the theft of a veal calf from the nurturing utter of his loving mother? How much sympathy is involved in the rape of female animals through artificial insemination?
Friend egregiously claimed that animals are here for one purpose: to feed us. No they are not. Animals, as they think and feel, have purposes of their own. The purpose of a pig is to root for food, make soft beds of dry leaves or straw, and to seek the company of other pigs. The intention of a meat-eating human toward an animal, and the purpose of an animal herself, are two entirely different matters that should not be confused.
Friend excused animal agriculture based on a farmer's drive to be productive with that land. Agricultural productivity does not require killing animals. When farmers begin to look beyond their own fence line and consider the productivity of the land as well as the best interests of society and the planet there will be a turning away from animal production. To excuse slaughter for the sake of profit places Friend in the same ethical basin as Jim Perdue.
Friend asserts that the "lives of the animals are worthy of our consideration." Should she ever express consideration for my life, I'll be certain to cover my throat in fear of the coming assault.
It is a naive false hope that pastured-based farming is possible as a society-wide sustainable solution to increasing food production demands and the environmental devastation caused by livestock. When considered objectively from a standpoint of resources, psuedo-humane meat can never be more than a boutique product for a few elite consumers. It is not a path for true sustainability for a nation of 300 million people or a planet of six billion.
Sincerely,
Jim Van Alstine, President
Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society
 The Compassionate Carnivore July 25, 2008
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is a difficult book to review and, in a way, a difficult one to read. Catherine Friend is an extremely good writer and all of her previous books I rated with a top score and sometimes wished there was some way to add to that. This one falls short of the books that preceded it.
It is almost like there are two books; perhaps written by different authors, or at least, one author in two frames of mind. This author has always shown special abilities to express emotion and project her sense of humor. The first half of this book has an angry tone, so angry that any other emotions find it hard to show through. The tone softens in the second half and we again see the great writing strengths of Catherine Friend. It reminds one about the old story of how to speak to a mule: Strike him hard with a two-by-four to get his attention and then speak in his ear. Obviously, I am that mule and Friend got my attention with the first part of this book. After that, reading it became comfortable.
The fundamental message of the book is that while there are good reasons why a person might choose not to be a vegetarian; those who eat meat should respect the animals that provided that food and insist that the growers treat the animals with compassion. Further, carnivore humans should make sure the food with which they nourish themselves is of the best possible quality.
For several decades, big corporations have taken an increasingly greater share of growing food animals and processing the meat. They have applied factory methods that often mistreat the animals; or, if not mistreating them by illegal means, placing a low priority on the animal's well-being. In further maximizing their bottom line, they load up the animals with growth hormones that are not beneficial to the humans eating the meat. The food the animals get is selected to maximize growth and does little to enhance the flavor when the food reaches the plate. The big meat processors also apply factory methods to maximize throughput and profit.
Friend believes that animals need room to roam and they should get food that is good for their health - food that they would eat naturally. Processors of meat animals need to maximize sanitary conditions and place a highest priority on serving the needs of the people who eat the meat. This applies equally to the middlemen who are often in the chain between the pasture and the plate.
The greatest burden is on me and thee, the people who buy the meat with the intent of eating it or feeding it to our family and guests. The corporations will respond to the short-term profit greed of their stockholders. It is up to us, the purchasers of food to see to the quality of the food on our tables. That requires us to think, to learn, to exert a little more effort. We need to inform ourselves. This book starts that process and provides lots of references. We need to learn about the farmer growing our meat products. We need to know about the people who stand between the pasture and the plate. That requires new habits, but it is possible. Many people do it today. The more that do, the more influence they will have on the people providing the food we eat.
It means getting food from farmers we know or whom we have good reason to believe treat their animals right. It means knowing who kills the animal, cuts the carcass, wraps the meat, and cares for it until we buy it. That usually means getting meat that comes from smaller farm operations that send their meat direct to a processor that we know takes the utmost care in their work. If we buy the meat directly from the farmer or the processor, so much the better. If not, we need to know what happens between the processor and the vendor from whom we buy. In general, it means foregoing much of the fast food available in stores and restaurants. It even means that we will probably prepare more of our food ourselves. People who eat out in restaurants need to be good consumers; asking questions and taking care to make the best choices possible. And, yes, we may have to pay a little more for raw ingredients, but certainly not what the same nutrition costs from a fast-food source. Read "The Compassionate Carnivore" to understand what all this means and the way to do it without it being too hard on the pocketbook or the time budget.
The writer is herself a meat grower. She knows that the animals grown on her farm are treated right. She and her partner are good stewards of their land. They deliver their animals direct to a processor they know personally. The person who is going to put the meat on the table has often bought it directly from Friend and her partner, either before it went to the processor or shortly afterward. Friend knows that what goes on the plate is good nutrition and excellent quality. She takes pride in that.
The writer faces one problem to which there is no solution and which leaves her book slightly open-ended. That is the question of standards by which to judge the farmer and the processor. Most grocery stores in cities of any size will have an "organic foods" section. Governments and organizations have set standards which give that label some meaning. Unfortunately, there is so much red tape involved in raising organic foods and delivering it to the grocery shelf that many small farm operations can't afford to participate. Friend herself is not able to label the meat they sell as "organic." The truth is that her meat, and a lot of the meat available, is produced to criterion that exceeds "organic" in many respects, but for which there are no enforced standards. It isn't really a problem for us if we inform themselves ("The Compassionate Carnivore" provides a good start), find out where the food we serve comes from, and buy only meat that is up to OUR standards.
If you can get through the first half of this book without crying or becoming more angry than the author herself, you will enjoy the second half. I bet that you will end up eating healthier and feeling better about yourself as a result.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
