Here at the Vegan Slodown, we talk a lot about vegan food and restaurants. While driving to San Francisco last week, listening to my audiobook of "The Pig Who Sang to the Moon" by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, I was thinking about how much a few very important books strengthened my vegan foundation.
"The Pig Who Sang to the Moon" is probably my favorite animal rights book. Masson is psychologist and scholar who uses anecdotes and research to gently point out the lack or morality in today's farming practices. He is invested in both the science and emotions of animals, giving in-depth histories of what our current domesticated farm animals were like in their wilder days. This is a touching, thoughtful, scholarly book that is appropriate for anyone who wants to enhance their own veganism, or maybe try to convert a friend or family member.
"Farm Sanctuary: The Emotional World of Farm Animals," by Gene Baur. First of all, Gene Baur, the founder of Farm Sanctuary, is my personal hero and also one of my biggest crushes. He is a lean, mean vegan machine silver fox with sparkling blue eyes. And he looks great in a pair of overalls with nothing underneath. Oh, sweet Jesus. Anywho, I digress. His book was the first animal rights book I read, and I went to a book signing and drooled as he signed it. Needless to say, it's very special to me. It clearly and plainly maps out the different factory farming issues. It's a great place to start. I highly recommend it for anyone who knows nothing about veganism yet, or anyone wanting to brush up on their animal rights/environmental statistics and facts.
"Dominion" by Matthew Scully. I have to admit, this is not a book I have gotten through. I pick it up and read parts of it, but it is thick and intimidating. It is philosophical, academic, and poignant. Scully is George W. Bush's former speech writer, by the way...I find that odd somehow. This is a great book for someone super smart, who isn't afraid of a thick book, and is open-minded to new philosophies. I would recommend this book to someone like my sister, who is fiery passionate about politics, and is a staunch libertarian. She understands what it is to get mad at a worldly WRONG, and want to do something about it. Now, I just have to get her mad about eating meat!
"The Kind Diet," by Alicia Silverstone. This is a sweet book, that introduces the reader to animal rights issues. It's full of super-healthy recipes, which look great, but might intimidate a new or potential vegan (umeboshi paste in errrrything intimidates me, too!).
I do NOT recommend any of Rory Freedman's books. This Hollywood piece of crap has a message that Vegan = Skinny = Healthy and Not Vegan = Fat = Gross. It perpetuates eating disorders and body image issues and I HATE it for that. However, a lot of people turned vegan after reading it, so I guess I can't hate it this much. Just...don't give it to a teenage girl.
