Project Animal Farm: An Accidental Journey into the Secret World of Farming and the Truth About Our Food

by Sonia Faruqi

Born out of a global expedition fearlessly undertaken by a young woman, Project Animal Farm offers a riveting and revealing look at what truly happens behind farm doors.

Sonia Faruqi, an Ivy League graduate and investment banker, had no idea that the night she arrived at the doorstep of a dairy farm would mark the beginning of a journey that would ultimately wind all the way around the world. Instead of turning away from the animal cruelty she came to witness, Sonia made the most courageous decision of her life: a commitment to change things.

Driven by impulsive will and searing passion, Sonia left behind everything she knew and loved to search the planet for solutions to benefit animals, health, and the environment. Over the course of living with farmers, hitchhiking with strangers, and risking her life, she developed surprising insights and solutions—both about the food industry and herself.

Lively and heartfelt, Sonia takes readers on an unforgettable adventure from top-secret egg warehouses in Canada to dairy feedlots in the United States, from farm offices in Mexico to lush pastures in Belize, from flocks of village chickens in Indonesia to factory farms in Malaysia.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Animals, Science, Audiobook, Nutrition, Agriculture

336 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 2015

About the author

Hello! I am the author of THE OYSTER THIEF, an underwater fantasy novel with themes of ocean conservation. The book features a bright, beautiful world of merpeople. I am also the author of critically acclaimed PROJECT ANIMAL FARM, a work of global investigative journalism about the world's food system. I live in Toronto and maintain a website and monthly newsletter at www.soniafaruqi.com.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time for a proper review. What I have come away with from this excellent book is:

1. Any label of an animal product that features a wholesome countryside picture is almost certainly lying and there to deceive you that the animal had a lovely life.

2. Organic farming is a joke. Don't pay the extra for organic unless you check that it really is first. If it is a plant then consider it's transport, does it get exposed in open crates to exhaust fumes, is it sprayed with ripening-retardents, is it packed in extended-life packaging that gives off chemicals? If so why pay the extra?

3. In one farm the author visited the farmer had gone organic so that he could exploit the market for it. The cows had to spend one day in every three outside, so they did. Standing on concrete. Inside they were in individual pens with a device above their heads that would deliver them a painful electric shock if they did not position themselves exactly right so that their excrement ran directly into the proper channel.

Pigs and chickens were treated much worse than the cows.

4. Abattoirs. It's all right to read Temple Grandin and how she has made a difference to the humane despatch of animals, but the (widespread) reality of it is that animals are killed with extreme cruelty. Stunning, if it is done at all, and quite often the slaughterers can't be bothered, wears off too fast. Animals are not killed with one stroke of a blade, they might even be pounded to death in an area where the slaughterers are standing in blood of previously killed animals. Chickens might be boiled alive as the stunning wasn't successful and the throat-cutting incomplete. Some slaughterers enjoy what they do in a very sadistic way.

All abattoirs must have a Federal Meat Inspector on the premises. These Inspectors are paid directly by the abattoir and may be sourced by them themselves. Ie. If the abattoir is not working to standards and the inspectors decide to enforce them, they are out of a job!

5. There are farmers out there who love their animals and treat them with respect. But it is up to the individual to research them and not trust labels, PR or what the supermarket or butcher says, they will lie to get a sale.

6. American feed manufacturers and breed specialists have exported their goods and animals to the third world where there are few if any government rules about animal welfare. If the US allows 5 birds to a tiny cage which is very cruel, the third world will cram in 8. Anything for money.

7. America is by no means the only country where animal cruelty is routine. However, along with Australia it has laws known as ag-gag laws, that forbid the acts of filming or photographing activity on farms without the consent of their owner. Thereby absolutely silencing whistle-blowers on cruelty and unhygienic setups. This is against free speech and is protection for an industry where the depths of its depravity towards animals can be covered up in the name of profits of where capitalism trumps health or welfare.

So, either accept that you are going to go for the cut of meat or poultry you want at the price you are prepared to pay in the supermarket and don't think about the animals or find a local butcher and check where the animals are coming from. If you are lucky enough to live near farmers' markets, go locavore. Or vegetarian.

Notes written on reading the book. My two main reactions to this book are that I never understood the locavore movement as being anything except ultra-foodyism for the moneyed classes. I do understand it now. And my second reaction is that Temple Grandin, famous for her humane approach to animal death with her abbatoir reform has made a career out of cynicism and hypocrisy. The book only mentions her once and that was enough to make me think: what do I care about most, animal life or animal death?

If I care about animal life shouldn't I also care about how they die to become meat for us? Conversely if I care that they die without pain and stress shouldn't I also care that they lived their lives in a pain and stress-free way? Unless what I really cared about was stress free animals in an abattoir are not only easier to process, ie. kill but also do not release adrenaline that toughens up the meat fibres and drives down the value of the meat. Commercial interests above humane ones?

Proper review to come when I think out the best way to approach a book that stars off "I'm out of a job on Wall St right now and I'ma Hindu vegetarian going to investigate how animals are raised and transformed into meat" and ends up with "Now you've read all this research and field work and you know how not only are animals suffering but it is forbidden even to report it, how are you going to unthink this?"


If you read the first few chapters of this book, you would never bother buying organic meat again. All the farms the author visited did the minimum allowed by law to qualify as 'organic'. That is, cows have to be outside for x no. of days per year - and the rest they are chained into a small metal pen with an electric prod just above their heads to make sure they stay in place when relieving themselves. 'Outside' is just that. Not pasture. And it's no better for pigs and much, much worse for chickens who might be stacked 8 cages high in a dimly-lit warehouse and die and not even be noticed for days. The stench of ammonia and death ever present.

Pasture-raised though, means just that. Animals wandering around meadows and being cared for by people who love animals and farming, rather than the factory farmers who care only about profits.

Where I live, all animals are free-range. They range freely along the roads, the cows and sometimes the goats and sheep. They freely eat your organically raised tomatoes and anything else they fancy in your garden. Cows are clever too, they know exactly how often to visit, when everything will have grown again ready for them to have a good munch. Cows are never killed young but baby bulls are killed for beef. It's a very cheap and profitable way of 'farming' relying as it does on householders to provide the feed.

(There is a slight benefit, at least in the rainforest area where I live. Grass can grow 8' in a month or so and it is expensive to get in a man with a machete to chop it down. So when the cows came by I used to tell my son, shhhh, don't frighten them off. They might stay and eat the grass.)

There are several ways of keeping the cows out. The best is a heavy wrought iron gate and fence. Another is by having a cattle grid. I know a guy who had a drive with a double entrance, like an upsidedown Y shape. The legs of the Y are separated by about 15 yards, he has a cattle grid on one side. The cows just go up the other one!

Read March 2016

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is scarier than any horror film I’ve watched. 4 1/2 stars

The reason it is so chilling to read this is because it is reality - this is where your food comes from. The happy cow in a field with the sun shining down that’s often depicted on milk cartons is not real. If they drew a depiction of where the milk actually comes from on the box, no one would buy it.

This isn’t even a hidden dark side of the food industry - all it takes is a google search, a documentary, even just not immediately shutting down and zoning out when you hear things about the system from which your food comes from.

Sonia Faruqi decided to volunteer at a dairy farm for fun, expecting it to be like Little House on the Prairie. Of course, she is in for quite a shock when confronted with the harsh reality of the dairy industry. Impulsively, Sonia decides to seek out the truth of animal agriculture as an industry, getting an inside look at pig farms, veal production, slaughter plants, and factory farms in Malaysia, just to name a few.

I have researched the topic of animal agriculture heavily. I’ve been vegetarian on and off since I realized what meat was and I’ve been vegan for a year and a half with no intention of stopping. I consider myself highly versed in this topic and can rattle off any number of disturbing statistics at a split second’s notice (trying not to do that as much though lol).

Even with my prior knowledge, Project Animal Farm: An Accidental Journey into the Secret World of Farming and the Truth About Our Food still managed to shock and disgust me.

Sonia is coming at this from a complete outsider’s perspective, so she’s learning alongside the reader. Her shock at the conditions in these farms truly permeates the text. The slaughterhouse chapter was one of the most vile things that I have ever read.

It’s becoming harder and harder for me to accept the fact that society seems so determined to remain ignorant to the true conditions of the farms their food comes from. Why? Is it too hard to hear? Is it so they can claim plausible deniability?

I’m tired of seeing people tweet about how dogs deserve the world before shrugging on their Canada Goose coyote fur-lined coat. I’m tired of clicking on a video of an adorable piglet playing to find someone felt the need to comment a gif of roasting meat (the people who do that, I imagine, likely are the most insecure about their meat eating habits).

Books like Project Animal Farm remind me why I need to keep advocating and fighting for the animals of the world. Yes, it’s difficult to read, but that’s all the more reason that it needs to be read.

This book is incredibly well researched, but it’s also a personal journey. Sonia is brave and a bit reckless in her pursuits. She is brutally honest and gives the facts while trusting the reader to be able to make their own conclusion from the information provided.

The beginning is captivating - I felt caught up in Sonia’s horror and propelled by her determination to learn more despite the dangers. It loses a bit of steam in the last 100 pages, but it’s still by far one best books on this subject that I have read.

I really hope that if you’ve stumbled upon this review, you’ll perhaps look a bit more into the topic of factory farming. If you’re new to this subject, Project Animal Farm and Eating Animals are great introductory books on the subject. I can’t wait to share this book with others!

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

An amazing look into the world of agriculture and farming. Very eye-opening.

[Ellen Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I switched to buying organic as often as possible years ago both for health reasons and because to me, organic means nicer. After reading Project Animal Farm by Sonia Faruqi, I realize that’s not always the case. When I see the word “organic” on my milk carton, I picture pretty cows in a field of grass on some small farm in Vermont. I’m sure that’s probably what a lot of people think.

Really though, not all animals that are raised as organic are treated well. There is horrible abuse, disinterest and a lack of caring even on some organic farms – especially the large ones. That abuse extends from the farms to the “kill floors” and beyond. Instead of running away, Sonia Faruqi tried to change these conditions. As disturbing as her story is, I’m very glad I read it. Because it makes me want to make a difference even if it is buying more things from our local farms where I know the farmers and know the conditions aren’t like the ones in the book.

I hope that you’ll take the time to read Project Animal Farm by Sonia Faruqi and maybe make some changes yourself.

[Peacegal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a lot of books about modern agriculture, but PROJECT ANIMAL FARM is one of the best written, most evocative, and most thought-provoking out there. I would recommend it to omnivores as much as to vegans—both will learn something; both will have their worldviews jostled a bit.

Faruqi’s words are clear-eyed and fair, perhaps because she is wholly new to the agriculture scene. She left a soulless job on Wall St. to write this book—she has no history in either farming or animal advocacy, so she brings no previous biases to the table. The author visits all kinds of animal farms, all over the world, so the book has the feel of a particularly urgent travelogue.

We meet animals and farmers. We step onto the premises of farms from the most bucolic pastures to the most industrial factory complexes. We see the entire gamut of animal emotion, and the surprisingly complex range of attitudes farmworkers have toward the beings in their care.

I have never seen farms described as successfully and hauntingly as they are in PROJECT ANIMAL FARM. The author is truly talented, her immediacy and use of language makes you feel as if you are standing right there in the chicken shed or the milking parlor with her. The section in which the author visits a factory pig farm is likely to make you wince the next time a dining companion orders ribs or a coworker brings a ham sandwich. The sheer demoralization of these famously intelligent animals in conditions whose crowding and smell defy belief…you just really have to wonder how we as a society have allowed ourselves to sink so low.

True, the author does get rather starry-eyed when touring pastoral farms, those extremely rare entities that see to animals’ welfare before they see to their bank accounts. (“Free run,” “family-owned,” “natural,” and “local” don’t mean much and sometimes don’t mean anything at all in terms of sustainability and animal treatment, as the author demonstrates times and time again. Don’t rely on pretty websites and product packaging to tell you everything you need to know.) Pastoral farms still rely on the ultimate betrayal—the “one bad day” we’d never wish on friend or foe, and certainly not on our beloved pets. Faruqi’s descriptions of what she saw at her visit to a slaughterhouse that probably services some of these small farms should amply confirm that. However, I’m a realist. I would much rather animals experience less cruelty than more cruelty. I am with the author in that I agree that pastoral farms are light years better than factory farms, and would much rather see omnivores supporting them.

Multiple times throughout the text, the author emphasizes that consumers have the power to change things. They can speak with farmers. They can seek out higher welfare animal products. However, it is my view after countless observations and discussions with people about food, is that higher-welfare needs to be the only choice. Generally speaking, the average person seeks familiarity, convenience, and low price when selecting foods. They don’t want to extend themselves or take any special steps. Higher welfare meat, eggs, and dairy are frequently sold in “natural foods” sections in stores, and I have had multiple people—including fitness devotees—admit to me they’ve never even entered that section of the grocery store. Suggest to many people that they pay a few extra cents for cage-free eggs or source their meat more carefully, and they get that horribly put-out expression, like you’ve just asked them to bike to the moon.

So, for Faruqi’s idea to work, higher-welfare needs to become the norm. Pasture-farmed meat, milk, and eggs need to be the only animal products available at grocery stores which once sold both factory-farmed and (a small amount of) higher welfare, and restaurants which only sold the factory farm-sourced stuff. There are so many impediments, both mental and societal, that keep even otherwise intelligent and kind people from making humane choices.

But the question is, could this work? The author believes it can, but she also acknowledges question of how much land would be needed if we were to raise all of the animals Americans alone currently use and consume in a free-range fashion—some estimates put it at more land than the continental US possesses! So clearly, diets will have to change too. Meat and other animal foods would have to go back to what they have been for much of human history, occasional ingredients instead of items to be taken for granted multiple times per day.

Not discussed in FARM, but a hot topic nonetheless, is the viability of lab-grown meat. If we get to the point that the majority of meat consumed is lab-grown, with some niche pastoral farms supplying specialized markets, it would be no more weird and unnatural than what is currently happening with factory farms dominating the scene—but it would be a heck of a lot less cruel.

Factory farms currently produce nearly all of the meat, eggs, and dairy people consume. But it wasn’t always that way, and it doesn’t have to be this way forever.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

From chapter 1, I was captivated by Project Animal Farm. Sonia's courage and drive to travel around the world alone, visiting farms, is remarkable. She captured these experiences in vivid, detailed writing; each place she visited came alive in my mind. Every page I read affected me in some way. I couldn't stop talking about it. As I was reading it, I even bought two more copies as gifts for friends.

I love how Sonia's book is a narrative. It is not simply a dry, factual report of her findings, but an emotional, honest, introspective, engaging account; it reads like fiction.

This book made such an impact on me that I no longer have any desire to eat meat...and I think twice about where I buy milk/eggs from.

I highly recommend Sonia's book. It will be life-changing!

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most shocking reveal in this book is when the horrors of animal agriculture is revealed over hundreds of pages and then the conclusion is “well but it’s good actually.” The author asserts in the conclusion that shopping at farmers markets and whole foods will save the industry if individual consumers are just willing to spend a liiiiiittle more money, somehow forgetting her correct note that the business owners in animal ag are making absolute bank and have more than enough money to already be improving the conditions in farms but choose not to and choose to not even pay minimum wage to the workers in these vile environments. Any farming under capitalism will necessarily trend to exploitation of animals and workers. Individual consumer action is not the answer. It is sad that after the immense work that the author went through to investigate farming that she came to such a gutless conclusion, that cows having a half foot more to stand in their own shit is good enough.

[Brian Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This exploration of animal farming around the world took enormous moral courage. Faruqi's visitations are both horrifying and uplifting. Her accounts highlight both the depravity of industrial-scale cruelty and the heart-warming beauty of farming with respect for the creatures concerned. Best book on the subject I ever saw.

[Laurenjf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Faruqi provides an informative, engaging, and highly readable account of the farming industry. Her unique writing style made me feel as if I were with her during every step of her journey.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even when you know that there’s mistreatment among dairy and animal farms, as I do, this remains a shocking and detailed expose into the disheartening and mostly cruel world of food production. I dare any meat eater to read this book and not think about the farm to table process. Author Sonia Faruqi worked on Wall Street after graduating from Dartmouth College. When the market plummeted and she lost her job, she decided it might be interesting to volunteer on a farm for a bit. A vegetarian, Faruqi visited a dairy farm, a pig farm, a chicken farm, an organic farm, a pastoral farm and a slaughter house in Canada. She then traveled to Indonesia, Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore and Belize and then Vermont [primary agricultural state in New England] and California [second in the nation in animal agriculture behind Texas]. Both Vermont and California have no AG GAG laws—laws which prohibit undercover investigations on the conditions of industrial agriculture operations) to visit farms and factory farms there.

“Certain forms of enjoyment are dependent on drinking a drug of ignorance. Where suffering exists, it’s always there in the shadows, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Our method of acquiring wealth says more about us than the wealth we acquire.”

Faruqi writes about her experiences at each farm with meticulous details and vivid descriptions. Interspersing her personal experience with facts and figures, Faruqi provides an eye-opening, devastating and shocking explanation of why the food industry must change. At these various farms, she witnessed animals living on top of each other, never getting outside, animals dying from abhorrent conditions. The farms reeked of ammonia as animals stood in their own waste. Dead animals often weren’t located for days because of the over-crowding. In the egg industry, the norm is to slaughter hens at 18 months old. Hens are de-beaked with a hot blade. Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark banned this barbaric practice. Animals get artificially inseminated and are bred with particular strains that serve one purpose: to feed the masses. Chickens have abnormally large breasts that make it difficult for them to move. Faruqi writes: “Artificial insemination is not only unnatural, but harmful. Millions of dairy cows today all over the world are the descendants of only a few dozen bulls. This is the equivalent to passing a complex, swirling pot of genes through a needle pinhole. Such narrow genetic limitation never occurs in nature, because the long-term survival of any species depends on genetic diversity.”

Most factory farmers don’t need to interact with the animals or spend any time near the cages. Using a smart phone and various apps animals can be feed, watered and monitored. 70% of antibiotic use in the United States is in farm animals. Americans spend 10% or less of their salary on food while Europeans spend 50% of their salary on food. Throughout her journey, she meets people with various approaches to farming. Some extremely kind, some who treat animals as products. A few get stressed out by their jobs. Others turn the other way and ignore the negative impact farm life takes upon the animals. Interestingly many of the farm workers or owners are vegetarian. Faruqi notes: “I realized that I’d hardly ever heard about vegetarianism more than I had in this animal farming community that I happened to stumble into. It can’t be a coincidence that some of the people closest to the system of meat production are boycotting meat.”

“When animals suffer, people also suffer. Many farms I investigated were in the throes of disease.”

One question I have is why we are crueler to animals than Europeans. Why does Europe have many more sensible and humane protections for animals and farms? Americans love their cats and dogs but it’s completely different when it comes to how that hamburger or chicken breast arrived at the grocery store. Most choose not to think about it or to just think that the way it’s always been done is fine.

If you don’t care about the animals maybe you care about your carbon footprint: “a single factory farm can generate as much waste as an entire city.” While Project Animal Farm commands the reader’s attention through its well-written prose, conversational style and thorough research, it’s so disturbing at times I had to leave it for a bit. The United States remains one of the worst offenders in humane treatment and protection of animals in the food industry.

Some other tidbits [and there are plenty, so read the book]:

— hens are slaughtered at 18 months
— 9 out of 10 sows in the United States and Canada spend their lives in crates.
— about piglets at a pig farm, Faruqi writes: “From head to hoof, they lived marinated in manure.”
–the veal industry is a by-product of the dairy industry. If you support the dairy industry you support the disgusting practice of “raising” veal. Male calves aren’t wanted by the dairy industry and are sold to veal farmers.
–eight and a half billion chickens, 239 million turkeys, 112 million pigs, 32 million cattle and 2 million sheep and lambs were killed for human consumption in the United States and Canada in 2013. “It is impossible not to view the raising and butchering of animals for food as wasteful and hopelessly inefficient.” Approximately 50% of an animal is actually consumed.
–in Malaysia [population 30 million] there are 500 KFCs, 300 Pizza Huts and 300 McDonalds. Malaysians eat more fast food than Americans. 1/3 of Americans eat fast food once a week while 3/5 of Malaysians eat fast food once a week.
–Mexico [population 122 million] has 240 Walmarts, 150 Sam’s Clubs, 30 Costco, 500 Dominos, 380 McDonalds, 300 KFCs and 180 Pizza Huts.

–review by Amy Steele

Sonia Faruqi will be reading and answering questions about Project Animal Farm at the Capitol Theatre in Arlington on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at 6pm.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Pegasus Books.


review posted at Entertainment Realm:

http://entertainmentrealm.com/2015/07...

[Coral · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book with lots of info. One issue: Author occasionally gets sidetracked by talking about how the people she meets want to date her. It's distracting and takes away from important message. Those sections sound like a teenager wrote them.

[Edison G.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye opener and heartbreaking

Sonia Faruqi reveals a world that most don't know exists and the few who do, choose to ignore its reality. That is the world of animal farming, if this can still be called farming and those poor beings can still be called animals. Farming has become a inhumane industrial process. Animals are seen and treated as pieces of the production process and not like living beings. As pieces, when they get damaged (sick) or are not producing, they are simply thrown away (killed). What's worse is that the farming industry as it is managed has negative effects on animal well being and health, human health, the environment and even the economy. If the industry changed its way of doing things, they would have more income. Yet the local governments turn a blind eye in this inhumane, no productive, and damaging industry. I assume because farmers support the local government in the first place. The book is well researched. Part 1 was very informative, but part 2 started to feel too repetitive and dragging. (That's why I give it 4 stars) Still, this is a book everyone should read.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the writing is professional, the book itself if full of PETA stereotypes based on on brief stints on poorly run commercial farms, many not in the USA. The agricultural industry could if ran the way the author describes. This is a highly biased piece based on a large number of Liberal, animals' rights sources that appear to look for bad examples instead of examining the issues fairly. This was a free review copy obtained through Goodreads.com.

[Lucille · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the most compelling of books for anyone interested in animal welfare and/or human health and/or environmental sustainability. "when we argue that saving a few cents on a egg is more important to us than the welfare of the hen that laid the egg, what we are saying is that our minor, trivial interests deserve greater consideration than the major welfare interests of a fellow living being."

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, informative, cleverly written and eye- opening. I took my time reading this because some chapters were just so graphic about the inhumane treatment of animals I needed to take a break. I haven't eaten animal meat for about a week either, it's just really grossing me out to think about!

[Lisa Lawless · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book. And, let's improve the state of animal agriculture everywhere.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very thought provoking. Definitely made me think about what I'm eating.

[Yana · Rating 5 out of 5]

completely changed some of my perspectives about farming and confirmed other.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and interesting read. Definitely enjoyed this and being able to know exactly what goes on at the different farms and to know the difference between them.

[Sonia Crites · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly believe everyone should read this book and be informed about factory farming. It's destroying our health and the environment. Not to mention the horrific animal abuse it normalizes.

[Ad Astra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully thorough and personable on the subject. I got a lot of different views, insider looks, and understanding of the animal industry. Considering how to best use the tools in this book to make better choices in food and labels. Dispelling some marketing ploys I have fallen for and gotten perspective on what kind of gaps in regulations are happening (plot twist, all of them). Like many- the labels of organic, free range, fair trade, ECT. can actually be misleading and all about profit. It's not always an ethos, and the picture of farmers holding chickens lovingly on a package is there to make you feel better about your food. Chickens do not get hugs. Dairy cows are often not grass fed. Let's not even talk about pigs.

Sooooo... I have work to do.

[Tina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my kind of book. That said this sparked a very lively and in-depth discussion at my book club.

In truth, I didn't find this book very well written and I could not figure out if it was fiction or non-fiction... Even if this was fiction based on actual events I do believe that the treatment of farm animals in factory farms is not what it should be. For that reason, I will be making better choices that I'm more comfortable with at the grocery store.

[Kristen Tarr]

Project Animal Farm
Sonia Faruqi

💥 This review contains spoilers and was written while reading the book. Some questions posed to the author and/or other readers have been address as book proceeds.


This book offers a unique perspective on animal agriculture. I have hesitated to both rate this book and write a review. I come from animal agriculture. I am not only a product of the industry but I work in the industry.

I my opinion and in my daily life in the agriculture community the author is taking a “snap shot” of difference sectors of the industry - most which seem to focus on the worst of the worst.

Furthermore the author does exactly what make the animal industry so closed - lying or omitting the truth to enter operations. Being truthful and following proper channels would have been the way to gain entry and see the whole operation. Sneaking, withholding information and not gaining bio secure entry puts the industry at disease risk and doesn’t allow the full assessment.


Let’s look at various chapters:

Part 1- Dairy:

The author mentions - Cows in chains all year if not organic. This is not a full scoop accurate assessment of information. There is no correlation between organic and non organic farming the does or does not require cattle to be chained to fall within either program.

In most instances chains are used to secure the females while being milked. If I’m cold climates cattle can be tied indoors to keep them healthy during extreme temps. This however is not the norm.


Now let’s discuss Al needing and the comment “it is breeding into a corner limited genetic diversity”. AI breeding is a great tool for many reason.
- Removes the need to house multiple bulls on the farm. Removing both the danger of the bull and the added expense to house, feed and tend multiples (need multiple to keep genetic diversity).
- Allows the producer to breed to a variety of options. AI catalogs offer a wide array of both breeds, genetics and options. Allowing the producers to select bulls that improve their females weaknesses. An example would be poor hooves - you can select a bull which shows a trend of producing sound legs & hooves.
- Selectively breeding for specific traits does not “limit” the breeding pool as the variety and vast number of bulls do not all go back to the same dam and sire.

Chicken:

The author reviews a discussion with a farmer about how they fill their freezers and feed their families through deer hunting. There are photos on the wall which leads her to say - “Deer hunting - pleasures Of killing animals”.

I would offer the challenge of looking at this from the other side of the coin. Populations have to be kept in check. Deer are one of the highest costs for crop damage - food or row crop damages. If through hunting you can reduce the amount of crop damage, feed your family and assist in keeping populations in order - where is the harm in being proud of your kill? Now, trophy hunting is different - You kill strictly for sport. Often in those instances the meat is not it utilized and the only salvaged portion is the “trophy” head.


Now on to the comment referring egg laying operations resembling hunting. “Egg Layer farm - “Caging is the indoor equivalent of hunting”. I struggle to find the similarity between these? Egg laying operations are designed to provide eggs for human consumption with the hens ending in processing for human consumption. How is this the same a hunting which is done in random locations on various species?

Pork:

I believe it was in the pork chapter that the author goes about comparing farm animals to pets. This is ultimately the largest misconception in animal agriculture. Farm animals are not pets. They can be treated with respect and humane but they are not the same as the dog sitting on your couch. These animals are providing a service. They deserve to be cared for properly and be treated humanely but ultimately they are for food consumption. In many cultures those furry pets sitting on your couch are also farmed as w animals as well.


There was a whole discussion between the producers and the author regarding Bio security. How this is out in place to remove the outsiders ability to visit and see how good is grown. This is false. Bio security is the farmers last line of defense to keep their animals healthy. Many integrators (author refers to these as factory farms) place strict bio security programs in place to ensure both the safety of the animals but also the food chain. An example would be swine flu or avian influenza. No one wants to have to terminate food animals that can not enter the supply chain.

Ammonia is a challenge and concern in animal agriculture. Since this book was research and published there have been many changes to how ammonia is monitored and responded to. Things such as ammonia meters, ammonia control agents and general well-being for both human and animals have been set to higher standards. In most industries 20ppm is the max threshold that is tolerated.

The author portrays these farmers as animal owners who have no care for the animals. “Their owners know little more about them than how they convert feed to flesh”. Growing any animal is extremely challenging. It’s a live product that has good days, bad days and everything in between. Understanding how your flock/herd/etc is acting and responding is how an owner produces a good product. By using technology and automated systems the farmer is able to assess other issues. Instead of using all their time hand feeding (for example) they can allow the automated system to do this so they can then focus on the animals condition. The author states “No Personal connection to make living conditions beneficial”. Living conditions directly affect how the animal grows and how well the animal will do daily. There is a large correlation.

Veal:

No matter beef or dairy there is always an over abundance of male cattle. The author claims “males are a byproduct of the dairy industry”. There is less need for male cattle per operation that females. Females can be divided into breeding groups (30 or so) that 1 bull can cover, thus reducing the demand for males. What other alternatives are there for male cattle? Males tend to be much more aggressive than females. Most dairy operations do not keep males as they tend to be more aggressive than even beef bulls.

Veal is an industry that has evolved quite a bit since this book was researched and published. As mentioned in the book the calves are fed either milk replacer or milk from the bull tank. The comment of milk replacer is most cost effective than feeding the calf milk, however is false. Dairy farmers in general are paid an extremely low rate for their milk, where milk replacer is extremely costly in comparison. The calves maybe removed for their dams at 3 days of age but they often times are raised with milk.

Slaughter:
During this chapter the author mentions the “other options” for fields in row crop productions. Other options span into food to feed the population in a vegetarian direction. How would this be sustainable? If those row drops were replaced with only human food options - what do the livestock eat? Removing row crops for animal consumption removes animals. Animals will not sustain without a food source. Are we proposing to not only eliminate animal agriculture and to become a vegan world
But to remove animals all together?

The author mentions this comment from an auditor- “You want the slaughter place to like you.” Usda will shut down a plant, without hesitation. Maybe the issue is who the auditor reports too, why is the plant paying their salary directly instead of to the government? If shut down, a plant in the US still pays the auditor because they are still auditing whatever repair, change, etc is needed to become operational.

Part 2:

Part 2 revisits many of the comments and/or author observations shown in part 1. Such as:
- [ ] Tech advancement In other countries.
- [ ] Genetic change for growth selection
- [ ] Biosecurity

I would challenge the author to explain how the world of agriculture can provide food for a world with over 8 billion people with the same “old school” technology, slow growing genetics and/or farming practices.

Biosecurity:
Biosecurity is mentioned numerous times during this part of the book. It’s portraying the high level of disease travel & infection to be the result of “factory farming”. No matter the style of farming - indoor, outdoor, family owned, integrated, pet animals, etc. disease can infect a flock/herd/etc. It is more commonly talked about and is tracked in integrated operations as they are essentially the food supply chain. The disease can still travel and infect even if integrated operations did not exist.

Animal Byproducts:
Animal by-products are utilized in a variety of different avenues to ensure no waste is accorded in the industry. Byproducts can range from human consumption, rendered to a meal or oil for use in animal feeds or used as various types of fertilizer. Ones by-product is manure which is then rendered for field use instead of manufactured fertilizers and the use for gardens/house plants. The authors comment of sick animals are feeding sick animals portrays a false sense of how by products work. In the US there are various processes that occur to ensure animal health. Before, during and after processing.

Examples of byproducts:
- [ ] Footballs
- [ ] Marshmallows
- [ ] Dog bones
- [ ] Leather
- [ ] Wool

Antibiotics:
The authors comments regarding antibiotics are a bit extreme. Again, there are exceptions to the rules but antibiotics are not cost effective to just dole out daily or on large doses when it is not just. The loss of sellable products, withdraw periods and stringent overwatch on antibiotics make it extremely hard to over us.

Food Labels:

The USDA requires proof they auditing of processes when using labels and claims on products. Such as but not limited to: antibiotic free (ABF), no antibiotic ever (NAE), vegetable fed (veggie fed), organic, process verified (PVP). There are also independent companies farmers and integrators can utilize such as but not limited to global animal partnership (GAP), which provides different levels of their program ranging from natural lighting to 100% pasture raises. Not all words mean the same when in conversation but labels can not be bought. Understanding food labels and how the term is allowed is a part of understanding food, where food comes from and being a responsible consumer.

General/Ending Comments:

The current climate shows the general public is so far removed from the day to day of agriculture they do not understand how it functions. I commend the author for taking an interest and immersing herself in agriculture. However, I would challenge you to go find the norm not the exception. Todays agriculture is primarily family farms - even if partnered with integrators (factory farms). The level of animal welfare, animal husbandry and technology that mingles and merges to provide a quality product that is humane is astounding.

Coming from agriculture one of the largest “head scratch” moments I have is how much the argument against animal agriculture changes. The author portrays a world where animals are (I assume) pets since they would not be in production. A world of a vegan community. However, the same general community condemns when children are in agriculture programs that promote responsibility, respect, understanding and growth alongside animals. Society continues to fight organizations like FFA and 4-H protesting at fairs and condemning “making the animal partake.” Clearly, the author indicates the need to respect animals, even mentions how cared for certain farms or events are but is this not the same thing?

I would challenge anyone interested in agriculture to talk to the next youth in agriculture they see or take a ride down to the local feed store or watering hole. Meet the local agricultural community, ask questions and embrace what they share. It can not be a one sided already predetermined mindset discussion. There is always a “bad seed” but 99.99% of farmers, ranchers and integrated operations strife to promote and uphold animal welfare, quality care, all while they feed the world. Ask those producers their story - why do they get up each day? Why do they work for pennies on the dollar? Why do they fight to keep their farm in their family?

I challenge the author to spend time with a family farmer, go learn your local community’s agriculture. Revisit today with the upgraded animal welfare levels and truly embrace the experience.


Questions I leave to be pondered:

- Where do the 8 plus billion people in the world find quality, price conscious food if not in animal agriculture?
- Who employs the 16 plus million people directly employed in agriculture if not agriculture?
- Who employees those working linked to agriculture (example: truckers, train operators, manufactures) if not agriculture?
- How do we shape youth to see the power behind knowing where your food comes from (not condemning meat consumption but knowing where it comes from)?
- How do we feed the world but continue to improve and promote animal welfare?
- How do we show the public/consumer the difference between animal welfare and animal rights?
- How do we allow there to be an exception to what each person allows or feels the norm can be? Organic-pasture raised-conventional-etc.
- How do we promote the type of animal agriculture the world had in the 1800’s into todays populated world? How can we conventionally produce meat they also lays on the bounds of that past day?
- How do we provide food for an ever growing population on an ever shrinking available landmass? As populations move to rural communities and farming land is converted to retail or housing how do we feed the world?
- You say that the consumer is willing to accept anything but how can a consumer (the majority) accept anything when they don’t know where their food comes from? How can someone who thinks their meat comes from the back of the store really have a true opinion or understanding?

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sonia Faruqi (Dartmouth) gets let-go as an investment banker on Wall Street & decides to do something different in her life.
Her journey starts out on Michael Miller (57) & Irene Miller organic dairy cow farm. Their daughter Annie Miller (31) is part of the operation also. They have 3 other children.
The 2 farm hands are: Ken (29, 2 boys), & Danielle (18).
Arthur (40, Semex contractor) does the artificial insemination.
Next stop for Sonia Brick Roberts who runs a chicken laying egg farm. Jane Roberts is his wife. Nick Roberts (23), & Paul (50) were the hired hands. Will Roberts (14, son) helps out also.

Journey on Sonia visits Charlies pig farm. The breeding facility was separate & artificial insemination is used also.
Sonia heads out to Jane Roberts turkey farm.
Next stop for Sonia Roger Harley (50) pig farm.
Next stop for Sonia pierce (Dutch) & Mary Vela calf farm.
Sonia’s journey next takes her to a sheep slaughter/processing plant owned by Abdul (Pakistani). Nader (Muslim), Moss & Victor work on the kill floor.

Her journey continues as she does her very best to get animal/organic farming industry to open up. But like all industries there are secrets.

The Jungle, Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr. 1 of my favorite books as a kid, now American schools won’t let them read it.
Towards the end I felt it was jammed packed or hurried for a finish.
I worked in the slaughter meat packing business for 10 yrs. 2 years in production. I know what goes on. I also worked in the sale barn environment.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written informative book on the -, & + of the animal/organic farming industry. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another documentary great movie, science, agricultural college PP presentation or mini TV series (A & E, History channel). I really enjoyed the book. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Goodreads; Pegasus books; Autographed; ARC paperback book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Claudia Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this I recommended it to friends online, family members, neighbors, my toddler. I thought: between this and Michael Greger’s books I could never eat meat again, or dairy for that matter. And it wasn’t in a supercilious, I’m vegan and superior way, no, it was in a “holy shit I was vegetarian for years growing up, I have always considered myself an animal lover and yet holy shit I didn’t really get it... and now I’m starting to get it” way. And getting it means, just as the environment grows increasingly devalued and disheveled under our overconsumption and our health increasingly reliant on pharmaceuticals just to feel any normalcy, also getting our blindness to our relationships with other animals that aren’t deemed worthy of pet status. This fictional dominion over other living creatures has become abusive and these abused animals are what many of us consider sustenance. If you are what you eat then many have become the spoils of their abuse, whether directly or through indifference. And what is indifference but the opposite of love and what is the opposite of love but death? Anyway this is a book by a really bright, curious and daring young woman who went head first into industrial farms to see what they were like from the inside, and then visited sustainable, small, family farms. Her writing is both tenderly anecdotal and factual. I loved every minute of it and having listened to it on audible (the narration is incredibly good) will be buying a physical copy to wave about at anyone interested in looking past their own noses aka. plate of meat and cheese for a second.

[Kristyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has greatly enlightened me on so many levels in my life. To be honest, I never really thought about animal agriculture and welfare before. I appreciated the author's efforts in sharing her experience which I thought was very brave of her. In the many stories that she shared, I deeply admired her persistence especially in times when she was scared to push the boundaries to find out the truth. Being able to tell stories from various types of farming models and countries, helped tell a well balanced story about the agricultural world globally. The knowledge I gained, has empowered me to want to continue learning about this topic. Sometimes, or should I say most of the times, challenges in our food and agriculture system goes unseen and unheard. This book brought light to the many harsh truths that I was not aware of especially in animal agriculture. It is well written and it definitely drew me in through her research which hammered in on the issues that was discovered! My blinders are off now thanks to this book and my thinking/ investigative cap is remaining on! I definitely recommend this book to those who never thought that such a topic might be of interest to you. Take a chance on it and enlighten yourself like I did, it is worth it!

[Shannon Rubin]

Recommend this book highly enough that I just went through all the hurdles to sign up/write review! A remarkable author with an even more impressive personal and professional journey- with seemingly no writing background, this book is beautifully written, the story seamlessly chronicled, and, for better or worse, tells you all all you really didn’t want to know (but probably suspected) about animal agriculture. From the real definitions of organic dairy to the surprising facts about the rise of chicken farms in malaysia, I was consistently floored at how broadly the material was covered and all the realities to learn. The author’s guts, gumption, tenacity, and thoroughness to cover the material go far beyond what one would expect from such a story and deserve admiration in their own right. This is not a journalist who went looking for a story, but an in-between jobs Wall Streeter who found a higher purpose. We should all be so lucky to turn professional lemons into such lemonade. If this topic is of interest to you, you’d be hard pressed to find a more unique approach and telling of many things you probably already know and even more that you don’t.

[Kunal Sampat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for those interested in learning about the dark side of factory farming. After reading this book, I'm glad that we don't buy store bought eggs and are vegetarians. Animals for meat are poorly treated in industrial farming operations around the world. Greedy corporations have gone too with mass production of animal products. I was shocked to read the statistics on meat consumption, especially in China. Increase in wealth amongst the middle class has led to increased consumption of meat, which in turn has encouraged factory farming. The purpose of this book is not get to you stop eating meat but help you make wise choices when you shop for meat. The key takeaway here is to know the source of your meat and how the animals are treated. Opt for pasture raised (animals that have access to green pastures, sunlight, etc.), free range (actually have space to move and be outdoors), organic animal products.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading Project Animal Farm by Sonia Faruqi. This is a book everyone who has ever wondered about current agricultural practices should read. It is masterful research illuminating how animal genetics have changed and why, how the size of farms has changed and how animals are raised, how farmers cut costs to bring the world food that scarcely changes price year after year, and how these practices are catching on world wide.

This book will also explain what the labels you read on milk cartons, egg cartons, meat packages mean. It will inform as to how practices have opened the door to disease and a weaker food system.

Your food will never look the same again. Please read this book.

[Yumna Yousry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kept putting off reading this book because I knew it would be difficult to read about animal suffering. And it was indeed difficult, but it was also informational, interesting and eye-opening. I guess I'm used to books about agriculture being filled with nothing but doom and gloom, but Project Animal Farm also looks at the bright side, whether it be the good in people or best farming practices and solutions to existing problems.
This book brings us real, objective stories about farming and agriculture, with useful research and gripping character descriptions and conversations.
I have a lot of respect for Sonia for having the ability to visit farms and slaughter houses and reporting on them in a humane and unbiased way. Great read.