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When Vegans (Almost) Rule the World: and other hopeful projections from the Vegan Feminist Agitator
What would life be like if vegans ruled the world, and what is their plan for global domination? How does a suburban paleo diet aficionado hunt down his food? What's it like to fail at being an omnivore? And why does eating soy result in horrible embarrassment followed by certain death? These questions and other even stranger ones are answered with a mixture of snarky hilarity and heartfelt inspiration over the course of 32 essays from the popular blog VeganFeministAgitator dot com written by satirist Marla Rose. This collection is sure to delight and comfort any vegan who gets frustrated by the unwillingness or inability of their friends, family or coworkers to accept their cruelty-free lifestyle. Marla draws from years of experience as a feminist, a journalist, an activist and a mother to celebrate a vibrant and compassionate community that she herself is helping to create. Some of these pieces wield the English language like a weapon, using humor and wit to rip through the veils of industry propaganda and expose the hypocrisy and lunacy of the argument for eating animals. Others are quiet gems gently wrapped in poignant reflection that perfectly explain the vegan experience. If you or someone you love is a vegan or thinking about becoming one, this book is sure to put a smile on your face and a little clarity in your heart.
- GenresVeganNonfiction
144 pages, Paperback
First published June 7, 2013
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 15, 2020
I’ve followed Vegan Street on social media for a few years, and I appreciate Marla Rose’s no-nonsense writings and memes. I admire her activism and outreach. I received this e-book as a freebie.
The book is a compilation of articles from the Vegan Street blog, from the years 2009-13. Some are satirical - she wields her pen well - some are hilarious, at least one is (intentionally) revolting, and some are exposés on vegan issues or life in general. Blog posts are perhaps better absorbed individually on a daily or weekly basis, rather than being read straight through in a book, but I am glad I read them all.
The publication needs a good proofreading - there are quite a few missing or wrong words throughout. Readers can overlook small flaws in blog posts, but errors are less forgivable in published books, including e-books. These are some: hoard/horde (p. 21), footage/forage (34), mammary and correspondents (73), pants (78), Andersen (91), brakes (97), tamp/tamper (101), toeing the party line (122), Inferior/interior (138), coarse/course (139), readers’ (back cover).
The book is a compilation of articles from the Vegan Street blog, from the years 2009-13. Some are satirical - she wields her pen well - some are hilarious, at least one is (intentionally) revolting, and some are exposés on vegan issues or life in general. Blog posts are perhaps better absorbed individually on a daily or weekly basis, rather than being read straight through in a book, but I am glad I read them all.
The publication needs a good proofreading - there are quite a few missing or wrong words throughout. Readers can overlook small flaws in blog posts, but errors are less forgivable in published books, including e-books. These are some: hoard/horde (p. 21), footage/forage (34), mammary and correspondents (73), pants (78), Andersen (91), brakes (97), tamp/tamper (101), toeing the party line (122), Inferior/interior (138), coarse/course (139), readers’ (back cover).
September 3, 2013
3.5 stars -- Marla Rose is wildly talented and a gifted humorist. This is not a book designed to offer tips on vegan eating or argue on behalf of the lifestyle; rather, it's just a sidesplitting little collection of essays for the already herbivore-inclined.
When Vegans hits the high notes with its satiric pieces, which may not make a lot of sense to those unfamiliar with food politics. "Soy will kill you DEAD," for example, mocks the over-the-top rhetoric of the Weston A. Price Foundation--a meaty think tank that is the source for nearly every dire statement about soy you may encounter. I also found myself barely able to contain the laughter while reading "I Killed Kale: A Love Story," a pitch-perfect skewering of Barbara Kingsolver and other smug upper-class omnivores who find Great Spiritual Meaning in raising and then slaughtering "backyard" animals, usually while their children look on.
While "happy meat" may keep Kingsolver and her ilk in lucrative book deals, it still represents only an infinitesimal proportion of all meat sold. This is not something average Americans want to hear, Rose observes. That Big Mac, those mall food court chicken kebabs, that Lean Cuisine frozen turkey dinner--all from storybook farms, yep.
The USDA's own census shows that more than 99% of animals come from industrial settings--somehow, as if wishful thinking made it true, humanely procured animal products are all that everyone eats. In the house and out of the house. For breakfast, lunch and dinner.
At times, however, Rose shows that she may be writing from the privilege of living in an area with numerous vegan choices:
When the only vegan item a restaurant offers is a hummus wrap, it feels like an act of aggression against your very person.
I disagree. When a restaurant has absolutely zero vegetarian choices on the menu, that's the ultimate middle finger.
When Vegans hits the high notes with its satiric pieces, which may not make a lot of sense to those unfamiliar with food politics. "Soy will kill you DEAD," for example, mocks the over-the-top rhetoric of the Weston A. Price Foundation--a meaty think tank that is the source for nearly every dire statement about soy you may encounter. I also found myself barely able to contain the laughter while reading "I Killed Kale: A Love Story," a pitch-perfect skewering of Barbara Kingsolver and other smug upper-class omnivores who find Great Spiritual Meaning in raising and then slaughtering "backyard" animals, usually while their children look on.
While "happy meat" may keep Kingsolver and her ilk in lucrative book deals, it still represents only an infinitesimal proportion of all meat sold. This is not something average Americans want to hear, Rose observes. That Big Mac, those mall food court chicken kebabs, that Lean Cuisine frozen turkey dinner--all from storybook farms, yep.
The USDA's own census shows that more than 99% of animals come from industrial settings--somehow, as if wishful thinking made it true, humanely procured animal products are all that everyone eats. In the house and out of the house. For breakfast, lunch and dinner.
At times, however, Rose shows that she may be writing from the privilege of living in an area with numerous vegan choices:
When the only vegan item a restaurant offers is a hummus wrap, it feels like an act of aggression against your very person.
I disagree. When a restaurant has absolutely zero vegetarian choices on the menu, that's the ultimate middle finger.
November 13, 2024
I first found this text deep in the Gemstone mines of Gaza, and it was personally recommended to me by Professor Samonious Hydullah, who praised its author's sharp wit and ferocious, ravaging deconstruction of the Meat Industrial Complex (Marla's words, not mine).
This book, in essence, made me a proud vegan. She teaches concepts such as FAFO (Free Animals, Fight Oppression) which conceptually highlight the QLGBT2SIIA+, BLM, and ACAB movements as just as important as eating your greens.
It especially resonated with me when Xe included an ancient Hasidic spell in the book, which, according to Xer words is "a legit witch spell passed down from generations in my family", and roughly translated, equates to "Your body, my choice. Veganism's our way to thrive. Forever." That passage especially, just wow. Spot on, Mx. Rose. I can't praise this book enough. As the kids would say, it's "Lit AF."
Absolutely recommend reading. Signing off, Nayeli Jazmín Fuentes.
This book, in essence, made me a proud vegan. She teaches concepts such as FAFO (Free Animals, Fight Oppression) which conceptually highlight the QLGBT2SIIA+, BLM, and ACAB movements as just as important as eating your greens.
It especially resonated with me when Xe included an ancient Hasidic spell in the book, which, according to Xer words is "a legit witch spell passed down from generations in my family", and roughly translated, equates to "Your body, my choice. Veganism's our way to thrive. Forever." That passage especially, just wow. Spot on, Mx. Rose. I can't praise this book enough. As the kids would say, it's "Lit AF."
Absolutely recommend reading. Signing off, Nayeli Jazmín Fuentes.
August 9, 2016
I have long admired much of Marla Rose's writing. She's funny, biting, sharp, passionate, emotive, and incisive. There are so many passages from this I want to post on FB and tack to my walls and spray-paint on billboards. There's no way not to feel moved by someone who calls themselves the Vegan Feminist Agitator - I often feel like a vegan feminist agitator myself sometimes.
She also conflates veganism and human health (and strength, and slimness), which leads to the erasure of disabled vegans, fat vegans, and vegans not in perfect health. This isn't compassionate and it isn't intersectional or inclusive. A fat or disabled or chronically ill vegan is no less vegan than a slim, strong, shiny-haired, clear-skinned vegan athlete. This is a long-standing problem with veganism in general, and it needs to change.
Having nothing to do with Marla at all: I have never, in almost 4 decades of reading, come across a book in more dire need of an editor than this one. Misspellings are rampant, sentences just stop in the middle, words and sentence fragments are missing, punctuation is all over the place (or not present at all).
Still: recommended!
She also conflates veganism and human health (and strength, and slimness), which leads to the erasure of disabled vegans, fat vegans, and vegans not in perfect health. This isn't compassionate and it isn't intersectional or inclusive. A fat or disabled or chronically ill vegan is no less vegan than a slim, strong, shiny-haired, clear-skinned vegan athlete. This is a long-standing problem with veganism in general, and it needs to change.
Having nothing to do with Marla at all: I have never, in almost 4 decades of reading, come across a book in more dire need of an editor than this one. Misspellings are rampant, sentences just stop in the middle, words and sentence fragments are missing, punctuation is all over the place (or not present at all).
Still: recommended!
October 10, 2013
Marla writes about what it is like to be vegan in a non-vegan world. It made me feel less alone. By the end of the book, she felt like an old friend.
June 2, 2014
Hilarious book from a vegan perspective and how they see us as omnivore
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews