Eating Animals

By: Jonathan Safran Foer

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

Jonathan Safran Foer spent much of his teenage and college years oscillating between omnivore and vegetarian. But on the brink of fatherhood - facing the prospect of having to make dietary choices on a child's behalf - his casual questioning took on an urgency.

His quest for answers ultimately required him to visit factory farms in the middle of the night, dissect the emotional ingredients of meals from his childhood, and probe some of his most primal instincts about right and wrong.

Brilliantly synthesizing philosophy, literature, science, memoir, and his own detective work, Eating Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits - from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth - and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting. Marked by Foer's profound moral ferocity and unvarying generosity, as well as the vibrant style and creativity that made his previous books, Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, widely loved, Eating Animals is a celebration and a reckoning, a story about the stories we've told - and the stories we now need to tell.

©2009 Jonathan Safran Foer (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"The everyday horrors of factory farming are evoked so vividly, and the case against the people who run the system presented so convincingly, that anyone who, after reading Foer's book, continues to consume the industry's products must be without a heart, or impervious to reason, or both." (J. M. Coetzee)

"A work of moral philosophy...After reading this book, it's hard to disagree [with Foer]." ( San Francisco Chronicle)

"For a hot young writer to train his sights on a subject as unpalatable as meat production and consumption takes raw nerve. What makes Eating Animals so unusual is vegetarian Foer's empathy for human meat eaters, his willingness to let both factory farmers and food reform activists speak for themselves, and his talent for using humor to sweeten a sour argument." ( O, The Oprah Magazine)

Ruined by the narration

While I am sympathetic to the goals of this book, I could only stand about an hour of the slow, tedious narration. I'm going to switch to the printed version. Plus, the first part spends way too much time on the author's own journey. I didn't need yet another "Jewish grandmother as survivor" story. Nor could I relate to the author who admitted that he grew up hating dogs until finding one cute enough to melt his heart. But if he succeeds in raising awareness about animal cruelty and ensuring that fewer of us cause them hurt, then bravo.

Excellent book on the subject

If you are curious at all about what goes on behind the scenes in the production of meat or if you want to understand the ethical, environmental, and epidemiological concerns of the meat industry then read "Eating Animals". I've read a few books on this subject already (Peter Singer, Gary Francione) and would recommend this book to anyone, particularly to those who are apprehensive about reading about such dark matters. Foer's style is engaging and highly readable. Though it's a book of investigative journalism it can also be enjoyed for its autobiographical digressions, philosophical speculation and Foer's fair treatment to the different actors in this drama.

Great Listen for a Fake-atarian

In high school when I began dabbling with vegetarian in a small, conservative Texas town, my friends called me a “fake-atarian” because I would sometimes break my vegetarianism for random reasons (like drunkenly eating chicken nuggets at 3 am.) Over the past 8 years, I have dipped in and out of vegetarianism, pescaterianiam, and sometimes just not eating red meat. After reading this book I am resolved to be a vegetarian and even vegan when possible. The book is not as incendiary or biased as some books you might read on this topic. Instead, the narrative structure presents several different perspectives and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions. In a healthy way, it’s also less clinical in approaching hard facts, making it more interesting overall. Recommend for anyone who wants to take a philosophical approach to the issue of eating meat.

Unneeded fluff

The book has a lot of valuable information. Unfortunately the author tries to emotionally charge his argument unnecessarily. The facts are compelling enough. There's also all this extra crap about himself and his opinions. That part of it is just awful and manipulative. The author wants to turn you into a vegan behind a thin vale of neutrality.
If he would have left himself out of it the book would be great but instead it's tedious in places.

very informative

I really enjoyed this book. Being an environmental scientist I became a vegetarian because of the problems factory farming is causing our environment, but now I'm not only proud to help the environment but the animals as well. some of the accounts brought up were truly eye opening.

Changed my life

Where does Eating Animals rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Most life changing no doubt. Don't listen unless you are prepared to go full out vegan.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

This book presents the full perspective on the harm done - to the animals, to our bodies, and to the environment - from eating the flesh of other beings.

A must listen

Any additional comments?

A compelling and incredibly important book about factory farming and meat consumption. Foer does a phenomenal job covering the full gamut of animal welfare, food consumption, and our overall agricultural history. This book gets a bit graphic at points, but I think it's important to include these terrible truths about the details of factory farms. The point of this book isn't to make a case for vegetarianism, however the eventual solution for ethical / scalable reasons is actually a vegetarian diet. I loved how honest Foer about this truth. It was clear he had personal struggles on how he should approach this subject. He is clear that forgoing meat is a sacrifice and, in a way, the death of a part of our culture. This needed change though is for the sake of countless animal lives around us. If you're considering this book, definitely pick it up. I hope it changes your outlook as it did mine.

A non-dogmatic portrayal of industrial farming

I was happy to find that the book was not at all manipulative, and laid down the moral, cultural and commercial grounds for our relationship with consuming animals as food. Very interesting. If you're not already sourcing your animal food from family farms, surely you'll do so after listening to this.

Rough but important topic

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book but it is not for the faint of heart (or stomach). There were times that the book made me physically nauseous. I assume most readers are already inclined towards a vegan or vegetarian diet, so there is some preaching to the choir, but it arms you with facts and figures and more information than a person could gather on their own without the time to devote to serious research. After reading this book and watching Cowspiracy, I think the take away is that one day we will not be able to choose a plant-based diet or choose to eschew meat, but that the choice will be made for us as the planet will be unable to sustain factory farming in its current form. I think the author sometimes resorted to dramatization and scare/guilt tactics, but I liked the story-telling format.

Published in 2009

I hope humane conditions in factory farming have improved in 2024.
It is disturbing to learn of the profound cruelty 1 out of a 1000 animals suffered. I need to find an updated report.