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Nov 23, 2009

Lisa rated it:

As I read this book, I vacillated between saying to myself “well, duh!” and then thinking it was an exceptional book, one where this subject has never been written about before in this exact way. It’s a slim book but it contains a lot of food for thought.

I felt as though I were back in a college psychology class because my mind was being stimulated in just the way it was during some of those classes. It’s written in a very reader friendly manner and even though there’s a lot of termi More...

17 comments like (18 people liked it)

Mar 24, 2011

Steve rated it:

Dr. Melanie Joy is a psychologist and this book is about the psychology of using animals for food. Her main message is that using animals for food involves holding cultural beliefs that many people are not aware of.

The book is intelligent and respectful to all types of people. It illuminates why it is often hard for people to give up using animals for food despite the strongly negative ethical, health and environmental consequences involved. In this respect I think it is very u More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 06, 2010

Karen added it

I love reading books that don't preach to the choir about animal issues. This one's tone and language walk the fine line between the veg mindset and the carnist mindset, or I guess you could call it "neutral" or "middle of the road." I am much more likely to hand this book to a non-veg who "wants to know more" than I would one that is full of inflammatory rhetoric (even if I agree with every word).

Another commenter described the book as "graphic." More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Gary rated it:

In Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism, vegetarian animal rights advocate Melanie Joy writes:[return][return] We have a schema for every subject, including animals. An animal can be classified, for instance, as prey, predator, pest, pet, or food. How we classify an animal, in turn, determines how we relate to it whether we hunt it, flee from it, exterminate it, love it, or eat it. Some overlap can occur between categories (an animal can be prey and food), b More...

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Jan 03, 2012

Rebecca rated it:

Although it's interesting that Joy chose to combine the current research on the food industry with psychological and anthropological research, she takes what could have been a sound argument for a more humane food system and pushes beyond that into overblown rhetoric. On the internet, Godwin's Law would have shut this book down before Joy had gotten even half way. To claim that a food source is somehow comparable to Nazism and the Holocaust, slavery, or misogyny is simply wrong, and does a disse More...

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Aug 22, 2011

Leanne rated it:

The psychology seems sound enough, and it's nice to know that I'm not crazy for not eating meat! However, I wish the author had spent a bit of time talking about the people who are aware of animal suffering, etc., but who don't care and don't seem to use any cognitive defenses in order to maintain this non-caring attitude. Some of these people would not be considered sociopaths or psychopaths, because they are kind to other people, but they never give animal suffering a second thought. How ca More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 28, 2010

Keith rated it:

This is a simple, straightforward answer to the question implied by the title: why do we love dogs, eat pigs, and wear cows? It's about psychology, actually social psychology. Melanie Joy actually is a social psychologist, and has used her expertise to focus in non-technical language on a question that is not only baffling to a lot of people, but of great social relevance. This is an ideal use of her gifts.

It's obvious to vegetarians that society's attitudes towards animals are inc More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 03, 2010

Kate rated it:

Ideally qualified to investigate the mindset that permits humans to mistreat and eat so-called "food" animals while lavishing love and expensive veterinary care on dogs and cats, the author is a social psychologist and professor of psychology. She describes the suffering not only of the factory farmed animals, but of slaughterhouse workers, people living near factory farms who become ill because of the factories' waste products, omnivores who consume a variety of pesticides, hormones, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2010

Tracy rated it:

The book explores the psychology behind eating meat, which goes beyond simply being raised to eat meat.

The author examines the ways that animal agribusiness, and society as a whole, prevent people from questioning and changing their behavior.

Melanie Joy coins a new term to describe meat-eaters: carnists. These are people who _choose_ to eat animals.

The book, though, doesn't criticize carnists. In fact, it's written for them, for people who haven't escaped anim More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 11, 2010

Tierney rated it:

This book changed my life. Though I was familiar with many of the facts presented in the book (the perils of factory farming, etc.), I had no idea just how much cruelty and torture is endured by most of the animals who become our meat. Nor did I have any clue how intelligent and sensitive many "livestock" animals really are (especially pigs). As an animal lover, and a meat lover, I felt very conflicted while reading. But the author effectively points out the absurdity of our cultural a More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2010

Cristina rated it:

Have you ever wondered why we think differently about certain animals? Why do "we" think it's OK to eat a pig or a cow but shudder at the very thought of eating the family dog? Read this book and find out. And then ask yourself...why do we need to eat animals at all? Why don't we, as a society, view and treat all animals with the same love and respect that we shower upon our beloved family pet? A very thought provoking book that asks you to look inward to yourself and question the v More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 16, 2011

Kathryn rated it:

My first impression of this book is that I need to re-think my diet. I am a carnivore, and I don't feel apologetic about this. However, descriptions of how animals are treated by the industrial food complex were stomach-turning, to say the least. In the past year I have searched for meat sources that provide more humanely raised and slaughtered products; I'm willing to pay more. However, there are limited sources for this. This book will make a reader uncomfortable and force some contemplation, More...

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Feb 19, 2010

Peacegal rated it:

A significant contribution to the dialog on animal protection, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows seeks to answer a fundamental question that has alternately fascinated and frustrated me for many years: How can most Americans fret over Fluffy's runny nose and weep over Bambi's mom while simultaneously supporting and defending the flagrant abuse of billions of farm animals by the meat industry?

While no book may be able to indisputably define humans' complicated and contradictor More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Robin rated it:

This book portrays itself as a book on the psychology behind which animals we eat and which we don't. It did that for about two chapters. Then it launched into a liberal diatribe on the evils of the meat industry in the U.S. I felt tricked. And sickened. Supposedly, the book evolved from her Ph.D. dissertation in psychology. If a work like this can be accepted for a dissertation, I don't want to interact with any psychologists who graduated from the same school.

If the author wan More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 01, 2011

Wendy rated it:

Oh, Ms. Joy, this was not very good at all. Or perhaps it's written for an omnivore audience. It's very very basic animal rights philosophy and an introduction to a system Joy calls carnism. Perhaps the most interesting conclusion she draws, and one that, in retrospect should be obvious to vegans (but wasn't to me!) is the worldview that only veg*nism is a choice, that meat-eating is seen as the normal, natural thing to do when in reality it is also a definite choice. Joy explores some of th More...

2 comments like

Mar 23, 2011

Darlynn rated it:

I think this book should be incorporated into our educational system. Mandatory reading for as long as we continue to teach our children to read and gather information from which to make life choices. Children, as young as they are able to understand, should be made aware that there are CHOICES and they are NOT mindless programable machines, born to unconsciousness and intended for assimilation into a physically, emotionally, and intellectually corrupt system designed primarily to produce profit More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 13, 2010

Erica rated it:

I really loved this book because it put into words a lot of thoughts I had but could not articulate. It examines the hypocrisy our society commits in its treatment of animals we keep as pets and the animals we eat as food. Compelling, and through, it's a must read for anyone who wants to advocate for the elimination of animal consumption. Melanie Joy provides logical arguments for why people are able to rationalize eating some animals over others, and how this reality perpetuates itself through More...

0 comments like

Jan 10, 2010

Ginny rated it:

This is an enlightening book for anyone interested in the psychological and social mechanisms that behind certain food choices. It's based on the author's doctoral research in psychology--but is highly readable and engaging.

Melanie Joy coined the term carnism to describe the belief system that sees eating certain animals as ethical and appropriate. She describes the elaborate system that has evolved to keep consumers from actually examining their food choices. As long as we care More...

4 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2011

Christina Stind rated it:

When I read non-fiction, I read it very differently from reading fiction. And when I read a book like this about animal ethics, about vegetarianism and how to stop eating meat, I try to read it very carefully and I try keep my emotions out of it - which is very hard when reading about how we treat animals, even though this is a decent book without a lot of emotional blackmailing.
I'll just mention before anybody reads further, that there will be a few graphic details in the review below so More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 28, 2010

Liz rated it:

The reason why I'm only giving it three stars is because much of what the author had to say about meat production came from sources that I had already read (i.e. Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma) and while I really got a lot out of these sources the first time I read them, there was a lot of skimming this time around.

That said, the author did something many authors fail to do and that was take a strong stand that said don't eat meat, she also really did a fine job of exp More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 21, 2010

Lindsey rated it:

Awesome one-of-a-kind, objective look by a psychologist at how a violent (to both animals and humans) food system is so entrenched in our animal loving society of people who mostly all have good intentions. I recommend this book to everyone because everyone eats and everyone lives in this system! Also, this book is concise and easy to read, so it's well worth your time. Everything flows together very well, and I didn't find myself getting bored at all.
You can also get to know yourself bet More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 16, 2010

Jessica rated it:

"Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows" is a good follow up read to "Omnivore's Dilemna", "Fast Food Nation" and their ilk. This book gives a slightly different perspective on the issue of eating meat though...a psychological perspective. It delves into why we as Americans are okay eating cows, chickens, and pigs but not dogs, cats, and horses. It also discusses how most chose to ignore the issues of factory farming.

This was a pretty quick read, clo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

Maratara123 rated it:

Quick read. Enjoyable. I've been reading a lot of books about this topic lately, and this was the perfect book because it filled in a few gaps regarding the psychology and ways people are able to distance themselves from their food and how it is produced. All in all, an enjoyable, well-written book that helps cement your overall understanding of humanity's perception of our food and how it is produced. Nice work!

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Nov 15, 2010

Alistair rated it:

Foundational analysis of human psycology and the way humans manage to live blindly with the inconsistencies in our attitudes to non-human animals and their suffering.

This work redirects advocacy from what people are doing, instead to getting people to look at their own "why they are doing".

This is a complete frameshift that can empower our advocacy for animals.

Strongly recommended.

0 comments like

Mar 13, 2011

Micah rated it:

Very fascinating information on the way we think and talk about eating animals. I found chapter two most interesting—the discussion on carnism and ideology. I liked the author's point that the discourses on "meat eating" and "vegetarianism" are fundamentally different. We assume that meat eating is the natural thing to do (somewhat isolating the behavior of eating meat from any value-driven action), but both vegetarianism and meat eating (carnism) involve choices that have More...

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Apr 13, 2011

Meor rated it:

That's pretty interesting, mostly because it defines carnism.
However I find that pretty short, and it reminds me few other books about vegetarism and meat, but better ones.
Anyway, it worth the reading, because it's well done.
Maybe that's even worthy for "beginners" with vegetarism/veganism/carnism concepts.

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Jan 18, 2011

Lynn rated it:

This book would be good for a middle school student who is thinking about animals rights for the first time or a teacher to excerpt for a class writing assignment. It's way too simplified for a critically thinking adult. It took me less than an hour to read these 150 pages of superficial fluff.

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Nov 21, 2011

Old_airman rated it:

I am was a vegetarian until I read this book. Hello VEGAN Larry. Her arguments about the meat industry resonates for so many situations today with large corporations. We are happy to sit and watch TV and be told what to think. I will be reading this again soon to reinforce her well written concise thesis.

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May 02, 2011

Youngteach rated it:

When this book arrived from Amazon, I had to put my Bill Bryson book aside (sorry, my main man!). I'd wanted to read this for awhile because I was interested in the psychology behind the idea of "carnism." Joy touches on issues of ethics, environment, health, and animal welfare as well, but this is more of a study in human behavior and why we make the choices that we do and why we find it culturally acceptable to eat some animals and not others. This book would be perfect for a book club (wit More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 27, 2010

Vegetarian rated it:

I LOVE how Dr. Joy so concisely expresses how we see, feel, and believe about these issues and why we choose consistent ethical vegan living over the moral inconsistency that harms the vulnerable.

This is a MUST read for all of us; it's been a real EYE-OPENER for a great many whom I've met recently who also have read this book (or heard Dr. Joy speak).

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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