The Omnivore's Dilemma

Ever tried to explain to your totally non vegetarian mother why you dont want to eat meat after spending the first twenty years of your life eating it pretty much everyday? At first she thought it was a fad. Then she thought it was joke. And then when she realized I was sticking to it much longer than she thought I would or could, she started to think I was rebelling. Then she started forcing me to eat it, only making me more disgusted with meat in general. It went on like that for a while, and finally when I left home, I was left on my own to make choices about what I was eating. After all these years, she seems to have gotten somewhat used to it, finally. However, she is still lost about what to cook for me when I go home, and so ends up making all the non veg stuff, all over again, because thats what everyone looks forward to eating, right? :)

Well... I am glad I found this book. It finally put into words everything I ever wanted to say about why I dont want to eat meat. I am not talking about the environmental effects or health effects that is described in detail in the book. I am talking about the final part where the author tries to hunt and eat food that he killed, himself. He describes his revulsion at seeing meat and the dead animal and not wanting to go anywhere near it. Thats really just what I feel like, each time I see non vegetarian food. Its like the author was giving shape to all the hazy fears and revlusion I feel each time I see dead animals.

Well.. thats enough digression. The book goes a lot into detail about farming and the effects of it on our planet. It goes into alternate farming practices as done by Joel Salatin, the difference between big organic and local organic, and a lot about the philosophy behind organic farming. Reading the book made me sign up for CSA boxes actually :). 

Good read, if you put as much thought into what you eat as I do.