Meine Kuh will auch Spaß haben. Ein Plädoyer gegen die Massentierhaltung

by Astrid Lindgren, Kristina Forslund, Anna-Liese Kornitzk (Translator)

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

Published March 19, 2018

About the author

Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren, née Ericsson, (1907 - 2002) was a Swedish children's book author and screenwriter, whose many titles were translated into 85 languages and published in more than 100 countries. She has sold roughly 165 million copies worldwide. Today, she is most remembered for writing the Pippi Longstocking books, as well as the Karlsson-on-the-Roof book series.

Awards:
Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (1958)

Reviews

[MaggyGray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich war überrascht, dass dieses Buch schon relativ "alt" ist, ca. 25 Jahre. Insgesamt ist es schnell gelesen und relativ unterhaltsam, aber auch nachdenklich machend. Astrid Lindgren prangert hier die Tierhaltung und die Fleischverarbeitung an, indem sie verschiedene Artikel für Zeitungen geschrieben hat. Herrlich, wie sie und diverse Minister in der Zeitung einen "Dialog" führten, das müsste man hier auch mal machen. Und zwar nicht als diese hochgestochenen, überintelektuelle Schwurbelart, die man von der geistigen "Elite" hier teilweise so kennt, sondern eben auf eine herzliche, aus dem Bauch herauskommende Art und Weise. So wie dieses Buch. Auch wenn es um ein ernstes Thema geht.

[Annina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Und mit Schrecken stelle ich fest, dass ich nicht mal weiss, wie die Gesetze in der Schweiz lauten.

[Jelka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting look into (Swedish) animal rights history.
This book strongly reminded me of Eating Animals. Foer's book is more factual and Lindgren's more emotional. Both are valid and important, though.

Although these two works were written ca. 25 years apart, the situation for livestock described is awfully similar.

[Williesun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful collection of the back and forth between Lindgren and a Swedish veterinary and the newspaper articles they published in the 1980s (70s?) to promote better conditions for livestock. And you can tell, as with her passion for children's rights, this was important to her.

And because she is one of the most beloved Swedish authors out there, the government couldn't ignore her think pieces appearing in the newspaper for everyone to read. And I guess they tried but ultimately the lives of animals didn't improve that much. This edition had an afterword by the veterinary from 2018 explaining that ultimately the new law didn't bring the improvements they had hoped for.

I'm not sure if it was because of my body or Lindgren's words but she had me in tears when she was talking about how cows and meadows belong together. We need animals to naturally cut the grass and the animals need the grass as a food source instead of all the grains they're fed in captivity to grow faster. It was so plain and beautifully put, it makes you reconsider your eating choices. Well, I have done that a while ago already but this just manifested my decisions.

It's a short read and my library had it in the children's/young adult section. But I think we all can benefit from this discussion and think a bit more about where our meet and dairy products come from.