Gristle: from Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat)

By Miuyn Park, Moby, Miyun Park

The musician and activist offers "a collection of compelling, well-researched essays . . . shining light on the world of agribusiness" and Big Meat (Publishers Weekly).

For everyone from omnivores to vegans, this eye-opening guide offers food for thought on today's meat industry. Moby, renowned musician and passionate vegan, and Miyun Park, leading food policy activist, bring together experts from diverse backgrounds including: farming, workers' rights activism, professional athletics, science, environmental sustainability, food business, and animal welfare advocacy. Together, they eloquently lay out how industrial animal agriculture unnecessarily harms workers, communities, the environment, our health, our wallets, and animals.

In the tradition of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, Gristle combines hard-hitting facts with a light touch and includes informative charts and illustrations depicting the stark realities of America's industrial food system.

Contributors include: Brendan BrazierLauren BushChristine Chavez and Julie Chavez RodriguezMichael Greger, MDSara Kubersky and Tom O'HaganFrances Moore Lapp and Anna Lapp John MackeyDanielle Nierenberg and Meredith NilesWayne PacellePaul and Phyllis Willis

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159558191X
• ISBN13: 9781595581914
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: New Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Recommended reading for all who eat

I've read several books on the topic of animal farming, and this is the most accessible. I learned much from Gristle and it changed the way I think about my food choices. It's a beautifully designed and edited book, covering a broad range of issues and perspectives, with an introduction and epilogue that help connect the dots. Highly-recommended to all those who are interested in how our food choices affect public health, animal welfare, and environmental quality.

A must-read for anyone who....well, eats food.

The information in this book is simply necessary for anyone who EATS. I love how compact it is, because it really helps folks who don't have a great deal of time or who would be intimidated by a thick tome to connect with the information. It's also beautifully organized and, considering how short it is, covers an awful lot of ground, in a readable, clear, interesting prose. One reader review pooh poohed Gristle because its arguments were supposedly more about factory farming than animal products themselves. Once I read the book, though, I saw that most of the arguments do apply to smaller-scale farming, and that our large population, craving for these products, and limited farmland render any significant "manufacture" of animal products unsustainable and ethically suspect, a point I found interesting to ponder. I highly recommend this book.

Essential reading for vegetarians and meat eaters alike

This easy-to-read book covers so much ground in a clear, succinct manner. It's full of facts that are presented in short essays with charts, graphs, and pictures. It's a handbook for anyone who wants to become informed, quickly and easily, about the impact of meat on the planet, their health, animals, workers, their community, and society in general. I highly recommend this powerful little book!

exceptionally valuable info, concisely and passionately delivered

I got my copy on Tuesday at the book signing / discussion in Los Angeles. Since I wrote the "Health" chapter, I was well versed with that section, but I hadn't read the rest of the book. The "Environment," "Climate Change," Tax Payers," and "Global Hunger" chapters stood out to me. Backed by major studies from reputable organization such as the UN, and the World Health Organization, the often-complex info is distilled into simple, relatable terms. I like that. The whole book is well written, and I especially appreciate the fact that it's concise and delves straight to the point. The amount of info packed into its 140 pages is impressive, but it doesn't feel overwhelming. It's well organized and every few pages of text are interspersed with easy-to-understand graphs that drive main points home visually. Honestly, considering the value of its info and the negative impact that ignoring it will have on all of us, I think this book would be an excellent inclusion as part of curriculum taught in school at an early age.