Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Animal Machines

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 8 ratings · 2 reviews

When you think of Ruth Harrison, who died at age 79 on 13 June 2000 at her London home, your immediate thought would be of her long crusade against factory farming. But you could also think of Henry Salt, Mahatma Gandhi, George Bernard Shaw, Rachel Carson & Richard Ryder—movers & shakers, all.
Harrison was one of them & together they ushered in the modern era...more When you think of Ruth Harrison, who died at age 79 on 13 June 2000 at her London home, your immediate thought would be of her long crusade against factory farming. But you could also think of Henry Salt, Mahatma Gandhi, George Bernard Shaw, Rachel Carson & Richard Ryder—movers & shakers, all.
Harrison was one of them & together they ushered in the modern era of animal protection—call it what you will: “welfare” or “rights” (Ruth preferred the former, even tho she is thought of in the context of “rights”).
She was catapulted into that league of reformers with her '64 book, Animal Machines, a faultlessly documented & indignant assault on the excruciatingly intensive housing of veal calves, chickens & pigs. When she learned that no one else was speaking out against these atrocities, she dropped everything & began her book. She was following Rachel Carson’s path in writing Silent Spring because no one else wanted to expose pesticide dangers.
She visited these heart-breaking prisons, especially those of crated, infant, male dairy calves taken from their mothers soon after birth, tethered in small, dark stalls, not allowed to suckle anything, given little water, fed antibiotics & iron deficient artificial milk to fatten them & keep them anaemic so they could be killed at 12 weeks to fill the plates & satisfy the palates of customer-preferred, tender, white meat. She also described in detail the overcrowding of caged laying hens, broilers & pigs.
Ruth pointed to the economic forces behind it all. “Life in the factory farm,” she wrote, “revolves entirely around profits, & animals are accessed purely for their ability to convert food into flesh or ‘saleable products’.” She also reported on the feeding of antibiotics, growth stimulants, hormones & tranquilizers with no regard to the consequences to the human consumer.
She sent her completed manuscript to Rachel Carson, whom she had never met, & asked her to write the foreword. So stunned by what she read, Rachel asked a mutual friend, Christine Stevens, “could it be true?” Christine replied, “Indeed, it is true” & encouraged her to write the foreword. In it, Rachel expressed hope that the book would “provoke feelings of dismay, revulsion & outrage” calling for consumer revolt.
Carson’s endorsement, a good publisher, her husband’s graphic photos & serialization in a London newspaper helped to spread the word. The public reaction was so intense that the Ministry of Agriculture ordered an investigation chaired by Prof. F.W.R. Brambell. The Brambell Report led to an Act of Parliament governing farm animal welfare. It wasn’t long before the veal crates were abolished & better conditions were provided for chickens & pigs.
Despite her modest manner, Ruth was a genuine “whistle blower.” But she never dreamed that her “radical” efforts would be rewarded by inclusion in the 1986 Queen’s Order of the British Empire honor’s list. In her youth, she had dreamed, however, of a career in the theatre. That dream was interrupted by World War II hospital service in the Friends Ambulance Corps post-war service in Germany. But soon thereafter she graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her career as an actress & director was on its way—helped by coaching from by a neighbor, George Bernard Shaw. Also, she absorbed his views on a hypocritical society, especially when it came to fox hunting & meat eating.
Her father, Stephen Winsten, was a friend of Shaw’s & authored three books about his life. Both men looked to animals’ greatest unsung champion: iconoclast, vegetarian, author of Animals Rights, Henry Salt (1851-1939). (Gandhi was inspired by Salt & Henry Thoreau in throwing off the British Rule of India. Gandhi entered Ruth’s life when her mother, Clare Winsten, painted his portrait.)
Her promising theatrical career met a roadblock when she received a leaflet on the plight of veal calves. Not only did that permanent detour lead to reforms in England, but in many other European countries. (Her book was published in seven countries & was the inspiration for the European Convention for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes.)
Animal Machines also lit the fuse for greater animal advocacy when a group of British scholars in 1971 wrote Animals, Men & Morals: An Enquiry into the Maltreatment of Non-humans. Ruth’s essay opened the book which also included a chapter by Richard Ryder who coined the term “speciesism.”
Up until her death from cancer she was deeply involved in the development & acceptance of alternative methods of raising meat animals. Helping her in this were several animal behaviorists, as well as Diane Halverson, AWI Farm Animal Advisor & her sister Marlene of Northfield, Minnesota.
Her honors, numerous affiliations & many contributions to animal welfare—such as blowing the whistle on the cruel electrocution methods of euthanasia unknowingly used by a large shelter for dogs, which was quickly changed when it learned the electric current must pass through the brain—are too many to list but her never-ending dedication & focus on helping factory farm animals, hopefully will spur long overdue reforms in the USA.
--Ann Cottrell Free
(less)

186 pages

Published

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 66)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 20, 2007 Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animal-rights, history, veganism, food-politics, journalism

If you've read about the chemical alteration of food to create taste and aesthetic appeal or the mass (de)assembly of live animals in factory farms, then "Animal Machines" will take you back to the UK in the early 1960's where these newly found forms of mass production were created. It explains the animal cruelty of the newly founded factory farm, looks at the ways meats, cheeses, and eggs were chemically altered to look and taste better, the conditions that lead to the mass industrialization of...more

like · see review

Oct 07, 2008 Erik Graff rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: persons interested in animal rights

Recommended to Erik by: Andy Stanger

Shelves: political-social-science

The first demonstration my little brother ever went to was a protest at the Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge against the showing of a hunting film. A score or two of us marched outside with handmade posters. So powerful was the vegetarian sentiment amongst young people in town that our infiltrated local Burger King had a vegetarian menu--Vegie Whoppers for 25 cents! The book circulated amongst us which probably had the greatest influence was Ruth Harrison's Animal Machines, a rather upsetting port...more

like · see review

May 12, 2013 Beto Go marked it as to-read

May 09, 2013 Anna Wade marked it as to-read

Apr 23, 2013 Vegetarian marked it as to-read

Apr 23, 2013 Beata Ciupińska marked it as to-read

Apr 22, 2013 Carolina added it

Apr 22, 2013 Ayşe Menteş gürler marked it as to-read

Apr 21, 2013 Thiago marked it as to-read

Apr 19, 2013 Ann Calnan added it

Apr 09, 2013 Can Erker marked it as to-read

Apr 06, 2013 Johanna Dieterich marked it as to-read

Recommended to Johanna Dieterich by: The Face on Your Plate

Mar 30, 2013 Mickey Gjerris added it

Mar 22, 2013 Alexa marked it as to-read

Mar 18, 2013 Serhat Yazıcı marked it as to-read

Mar 18, 2013 Lauren marked it as to-read

Mar 04, 2013 Ana marked it as to-read

Feb 21, 2013 Michaela Múdrá marked it as to-read

Feb 06, 2013 Hayley Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animal-behaviour-and-welfare

Feb 13, 2013 Maria A marked it as to-read

Jan 18, 2013 Lisa Heath marked it as to-read

Jan 18, 2013 Casey Bigger marked it as to-read

Jan 14, 2013 Siân marked it as to-read

Jan 06, 2013 María José marked it as to-read

Jan 02, 2013 Mariana Roedel marked it as to-read

Dec 20, 2012 Chelsea marked it as to-read

Shelves: animal-rights

Dec 05, 2012 Camila marked it as to-read

Nov 29, 2012 Samuel Leonidas marked it as to-read

May 04, 2013 Andrew Byrne added it

Nov 13, 2012 Matt Crowley marked it as to-read

« previous 1 2 3 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

Genres

History

2 users

See top shelves...

Books by Ruth Harrison

Animal Machines: The New Factory Farming Industry

Shattered Lives: The Impact Of Sudden And Unexpected Death

Farm Animal Welfare, What, If Any, Progress?

Offences Against the Person (Criminal Law Library)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Animal Machines

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Animal Machines

“In fact, if one person is unkind to an animal it is considered to be cruelty, but where a lot of people are unkind to animals, especially in the name of commerce, the cruelty is condoned and, once large sums of money are at stake, will be defended to the last by otherwise intelligent people.” — 34 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Animal Machines
avg rating	preview: Animal Machines Goodreads rating: 3.88 (8 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2314316.Animal_Machines?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1223418454l/2314316.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2314316.Animal_Machines?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Animal Machines by Ruth Harrison[/url]