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MAD COWBOY: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat
by Howard F. Lyman

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35722.MAD_COWBOY_Plain_Truth_from_the_Cattle_Rancher_Who_Won_t_Eat_Meat?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="MAD COWBOY: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168627637m/35722.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35722.MAD_COWBOY_Plain_Truth_from_the_Cattle_Rancher_Who_Won_t_Eat_Meat?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">MAD COWBOY: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19144.Howard_F_Lyman">Howard F. Lyman</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8031818?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 4 of 5 stars<br/>This book was an eye opener, strangely because I approached it knowing alot about the issues Lyman discusses.  It became apparent within just a few pages that, as we often discover about this "great country" things are alot worse then I imagined.  I knew what a renderer was, but had no idea how diverse its processing contents really were.  I knew about Mad Cow disease but not how much the real threat of it has been covered up by the same people that were too cowardly to do anything about it.  I knew the dangers of a meat based diet, but didn't know how dangerous.  This book made me feel really good about my current diet and only confirmed my general disdain for the political factions that are supposed to be bettering our lives but are too busy trying to make as much money as possible that they turn a blind eye to the poisoning of this country in just about every angle.
<br/>
<br/>With any book like this there comes skepticism.  Many of us don't want to believe things are as bad as they are (I'm a pessimist and thus a believer).  A number of things set this book apart. 1) Lyman is a man who ran a 5 million dollar a year cattle ranch and used all the standards and practices deemed safe by the FDA and USDA until he nearly died from his diet and chemical exposure.  This man knows everything there is about cattle and the industry, he is a very legitimate source.  2)All the info is based on historical and scientific fact.  There is nothing claimed true that isn't backed up by evidence, and even the hypotheses and predictions of the author are identified as such, hunches.  The scary part is that the book was written about ten years ago and more than half of Lyman's predictions have come true.  3) Lyman was a doubter himself.  He lived off the industry and made a fortune.  He denied anything being wrong even though he was doing the wrong.  He mocked health nuts.  When he finally had to accept things were wrong, he was forced to make changes.  Selling his farm and falling on the hardest times of his life, having to give up his cowboy image.  Even dealing with the internal, and extremely convoluted belief that being a vegan was making him less of a man.
<br/>
<br/>This is a great book for those who don't know about this industry and how it is one of the sole culprits in the destruction of our ecosytems.  Its also a great book for those who are already health conscience and want to know more.  This was a great book and a real eye opener and I came to it with a pretty firm understanding of the issues (or so I thought).  If you come through this book and still doubt, then the brain wash affect is stronger then anyone realized.
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/139747?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

James's review
rating:
bookshelves: nonfiction-environmental
recommended for: Everyone

This book was an eye opener, strangely because I approached it knowing alot about the issues Lyman discusses. It became apparent within just a few pages that, as we often discover about this "great country" things are alot worse then I imagined. I knew what a renderer was, but had no idea how diverse its processing contents really were. I knew about Mad Cow disease but not how much the real threat of it has been covered up by the same people that were too cowardly to do anything about it. I knew the dangers of a meat based diet, but didn't know how dangerous. This book made me feel really good about my current diet and only confirmed my general disdain for the political factions that are supposed to be bettering our lives but are too busy trying to make as much money as possible that they turn a blind eye to the poisoning of this country in just about every angle.

With any book like this there comes skepticism. Many of us don't want to believe things are as bad as th...more This book was an eye opener, strangely because I approached it knowing alot about the issues Lyman discusses. It became apparent within just a few pages that, as we often discover about this "great country" things are alot worse then I imagined. I knew what a renderer was, but had no idea how diverse its processing contents really were. I knew about Mad Cow disease but not how much the real threat of it has been covered up by the same people that were too cowardly to do anything about it. I knew the dangers of a meat based diet, but didn't know how dangerous. This book made me feel really good about my current diet and only confirmed my general disdain for the political factions that are supposed to be bettering our lives but are too busy trying to make as much money as possible that they turn a blind eye to the poisoning of this country in just about every angle.

With any book like this there comes skepticism. Many of us don't want to believe things are as bad as they are (I'm a pessimist and thus a believer). A number of things set this book apart. 1) Lyman is a man who ran a 5 million dollar a year cattle ranch and used all the standards and practices deemed safe by the FDA and USDA until he nearly died from his diet and chemical exposure. This man knows everything there is about cattle and the industry, he is a very legitimate source. 2)All the info is based on historical and scientific fact. There is nothing claimed true that isn't backed up by evidence, and even the hypotheses and predictions of the author are identified as such, hunches. The scary part is that the book was written about ten years ago and more than half of Lyman's predictions have come true. 3) Lyman was a doubter himself. He lived off the industry and made a fortune. He denied anything being wrong even though he was doing the wrong. He mocked health nuts. When he finally had to accept things were wrong, he was forced to make changes. Selling his farm and falling on the hardest times of his life, having to give up his cowboy image. Even dealing with the internal, and extremely convoluted belief that being a vegan was making him less of a man.

This is a great book for those who don't know about this industry and how it is one of the sole culprits in the destruction of our ecosytems. Its also a great book for those who are already health conscience and want to know more. This was a great book and a real eye opener and I came to it with a pretty firm understanding of the issues (or so I thought). If you come through this book and still doubt, then the brain wash affect is stronger then anyone realized....less

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