The Compassionate Carnivore, or How to Keep Animals Happy, Save Old Macdonalds Farm, Reduce Your Hoofprint, and Still Eat Meat by Catherine Friend (2008) Paperback

by Catherine Friend

Catherine Friend tackles the carnivore’s dilemma, exploring the contradictions, nuances, questions, and bewildering choices facing today’s more conscious meat-eaters. The Compassionate Carnivore is “perfect for people who would like to eat meat but have moral, ethical, or health concerns about doing so” (Marion Nestle, What to Eat). Based on her own personal struggle, Friend’s original, witty take on the meat and livestock debates shows consumers how they can be healthy and humane carnivores, too.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Environment, Animals, Memoir, Health, Agriculture

Paperback

First published April 22, 2008

About the author

Catherine Friend had what she calls a "boring" childhood, but she says that boring was just fine -- because it gave her more time to read. She read so much her parents had to set a "no-reading-at-the dinner-table" rule. She was slightly shy as a child, but enjoyed playing Beauty Parlor with her sister, taking family trips, and watching STAR TREK and TIME TUNNEL.

She studied Economics, but because of her love for books and stories, she eventually found herself drawn to writing. Since then, the author has written six children's books, including THE PERFECT NEST, a hilarious read-aloud illustrated by John Manders; and two books in Candlewick’s Brand New Readers series. She is also the author of the acclaimed adult memoir, HIT BY A FARM: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BARN. When it comes to her writing, Catherine Friend likes to try new things and seek new challenges -- but she always likes to write stories that make her laugh.


Catherine Friend lives on a small farm in southeastern Minnesota -- which inspired both THE PERFECT NEST and HIT BY A FARM. There, she raises sheep, goats, and llamas, and has an energetic border collie named Robin.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a load of rot. Written by two women, a couple, who have made their packet and have given up the city life to have a green farm and breed mostly sheep.

The book's purpose is to tell us all that we should eat local meat where we have personally inspected the farm (seriously, the author gives details on exactly how to find local farms to inspect and how much to 'tip' the farmer for showing you around even if you are later going to give him hundreds of dollars for his animals). It is recommended that you buy a whole animal at a time - try and find a friend who likes endless cuts of lamb. If you do go for this mega-meat option, which they recommend, but they would, wouldn't they, they give you instructions on how to personally instruct the butcher who will kill the animal for you, on how you want it cut up and then you can store it in your freezer for a million mutton meals or sell it.

This will make the farmers and butchers very happy, not so much their dead animal going to a good home (!) but you spending a lot of dosh! This will enable the farmers and butchers to make a good enough living to continue and, as a side effect, the local electrics retailer gets a bit of help since you will have to buy at least one huge vast freezer.

Yes, they admit its going to cost you a lot more money, but its soooo worth it. Think of the animals raised in such a green way, think of the butcher practicing his craft for you individually (think of the power company making a fortune from running your freezers). Yeah right, all very green (not) and we all live in farming country and have huge disposable incomes and like to eat a whole sheep day after day. Mutton roast, mutton shepherd's pie, mutton rissoles, mutton bolognaise, mutton kebabs, mutton burgers, mutton stew, mutton mutton mutton. The idea of it is enough to turn me vegetarian if I wasn't already (unless I'm offered smoked salmon pizza then I'm not). Still it could be worse, it could be a whole cow...

The kicker: The authors recommend that you become vegetarian if you do not want to buy your meat in this way, as buying supermarket meat, while affordable, will detract from their 'green' farming movement.

[Wendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a vegetarian for over twenty years now. For about the past three years, I have - for a couple of personal reasons - been considering eating meat again. Pretty much every website is extremely biased - either "If you're a vegetarian, you're an idiot!" or "If you're not a vegetarian, you're an idiot!" and one day about a month ago I was frustrated, thinking, "If only there was a book to help me think about this... relatively unbiased, to present a 'good' way to go about eating meat, if I so chose to." I fantasized that such a book would be called "Compassionate Carnivore" and I went to Amazon and put it in as a search... and this book was the result.

Friend is a farmer and you might think that she is biased. I honestly think that she tried her best not to be. She actually encourages readers to - if they cannot eat sustainable, humanely raised meat - forgo factory farmed meat for a vegetarian meal. Many people would believe that she could not truly love the animals she raises and then sends off to slaughter but this is a very black and white way of looking at the world and I personally felt the love, respect, and honour that she feels for the lives she cares for.

Friend explains her belief that a person who chooses a completely vegetarian lifestyle take themselves “away from the table” in making an economic vote in how meat animals are treated. It is only people who eat the meat of animals and yet also care about how they live and die who remain at the table to financially support the farmers who are earnestly trying to raise animals in a sustainable and humane manner. I appreciate her argument and gained a new perspective with her words. Upon finishing the book, I felt better educated and with many personal and spiritual questions to consider. I feel that if I choose to start eating meat again, I will feel that I’ve done it with knowledge and by making the choices that make the lifestyle change an acceptable one for me.

[d4 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Get ready to quit your life and start a farm. Don't name your animals though because you will feel sad when you send them off to slaughter. It's okay to name them though if you are only going to slaughter their babies.

Okay, the author doesn't actually say quit your life and start a farm. She just assumes you have a fuckton of financial resources and a high tolerance for cognitive dissonance.



I rated this low because I don't see myself recommending it to anyone. I appreciate the detail given to what goes on in modern farms and slaughterhouses, but the argument of forgoing vegetarianism or veganism in favor of "remaining at the table" is complete nonsense. "Sustainably raised meat" is not a practical solution for 7 billion people. Raising the demand for such meat does not solve the environmental concerns she raises nor does it lower the production of factory farmed meat.

She later states "Choose meatless meals over meat from animals raised in factories," and although this makes the concluding list of "four things a carnivore can do," it's a sentiment that somehow still feels lost.

If you were actually inspired by this book to replace factory farmed meat with meatless meals, let me know.

And if you have read or will read this book, consider some supplemental material such as Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy, or Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.

To see a lot of this book's logic illustrated in comic form, visit https://m.facebook.com/vegansidekick

[Angel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Part of the reason I disliked this book may be that it was just not the book for me at this time as a reader. Part of it may be that much of the arguments Friend makes are things I have seen in other books such as Fast Food Nation and Supersize Me. I will admit that I skimmed parts of the book due to the repetition. It is not that I disagree with the arguments; it's just that I have seen a lot of the stuff before, so I did not really need to see it again. The memoir parts, to be honest, had a little bit on the "Pollyanna" tone. I think she makes a valid point: that you can be a carnivore and be compassionate about the meat you eat; more importantly, be very aware of where your food comes from and try to choose more compassionate and healthy alternatives. But a lot of the message is repetitive throughout the book (yea, I got it the first time). The recommendations at the end, while noble, are fairly unrealistic to the average person. I mean, how many folks do you know can afford to buy a whole hog or steer, let alone have a place to store all the butchered meat? I think the idea of buying your meat directly from a sustainable farmer is a good one, but as I said, not necessarily realistic, which, noble as it is, is where things fall apart for this book. And while Friend says people should just not choose to not do anything, there are no realistic alternatives, or they would take way too much work. I know I would not be able to buy even a quarter of a steer (an option in some places), let alone have the place to store all the meat. As much as I dislike factory produced meat, personally at least, I do not have too many options to go the more natural route the author suggests. The whole thing is a bit too much on the idealistic side, which is a pity because there are some good points in the book. Overall, not a book I would recommend.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this book because I was looking for it to be something other than what it was. I felt it was somewhat repetitive and didn't have much true information in it. Also, I was shocked that Catherine Friend didn't ever actually witness the "compassionate" slaughter of her own food-farm-animals, so how could she really know? While that is a personal choice, the whole point of the book was about creating a connection to your food and killing it responsibly. I expected more. As someone who is starting to farm and slaughter meat for the first time in my life, I was looking for a closer connection to the process in this book. For more on this book and the thoughts it stirred in me see my blog post: "Do I Need This."

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was good. I used to be a vegetarian. I just sort of fell into eating meat again. Inattentiveness, I think. Laziness--it was easier to cook one rather than 2 meals (and now three). So I was eating meat and sort of looking the other way. I preferred not thinking past the plastic wrap. When I saw this book at the library I felt I should read it. As a way of taking responsibility.

She writes well. A lot of what she had to say was difficult to read. But in between the hard stuff she tells stories, and her own take on things. She says (again and again) that change comes in small steps. Her book has helped me set some small goals.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent, personal, honest look at modern animal agriculture. I didn't agree with all of Friend's arguments, but they were coherent, without the mental backflips of authors like Nina Planck and Michael Pollan.

If you're debating whether or not to go vegetarian/vegan, there are better books out there—at the very least, take a look at Peter Singer's Animal Liberation, which considers the arguments much more thoroughly. But if you're committed to eating meat but still want to eat a little more ethically, this book is a good choice.

[Cheryl]

Picked up to see if I really do like Friend's style, before I work harder to hunt down her other books. And the subject matter seemed potentially interesting. Well, I will look for her memoir and her children's books. But I will not bother to read all of this. The conclusion is unsatisfying and I have no idea how she could have said anything meaningful to lead up to it. For myself, I will continue to serve beans, tvp, egs, and fish as much as I can get away with, given my very carnivorous family.

[Elizabeth Topliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you care where your meat comes from and how it's treated from birth until it reaches your plate, then read this caring, practical, quirky story told by a Minnesota lamb farmer. She discusses the best meat options for us with consideration to nutritional value, humane treatment of animals, environmental impacts, and concern for genetically modified feed/growth hormone (rBst)/antibiotic fed food animals.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Friend loves eating meat. She makes no bones about it. But neither does she preach nor take cheap potshots against vegans or vegetarians. She refuses to take part in the charged debates between vegans and meat-lovers. What her book does is outline her path from a thoughtless meat-eater and consumer of convenient fast food to someone who’s learned to take a close look at where her meat comes from and how the animals are treated.

Her book is thoughtful, in depth and shines with intelligence and consideration. When Ms. Friend and her partner became shepherds, they learned to care for their animals because they felt the creatures deserved happiness and a contented life. She points out how it’s impractical, unrealistic and frankly detrimental for animals and humans alike simply to cling insistently to a vegan diet and she makes her case in a very convincing manner.

I’m also becoming concerned about what I eat. In this modern age, concern about our food is everywhere; there’s really no avoiding the issue. Ms. Friend states how you can go about reducing the amount of “questionable” food in your diet and, yes, going meatless every once in a while if that’s what you want or need.

The book is savvy, informative and friendly. Best of all, it gives you an insider look not just at the meat industry but Ms. Friend herself. She comes off as being approachable, warm, genial and truly caring about the beasts in her care. Whether you’re vegan or not, there’s something in this book to inform the discerning and concerned food lover.

[Ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very unsatisfying account of how to eat animals in a humane way. Makes a series of presumptions about the necessity and value of killing animals. Would've preferred something more incisive. Makes an interesting economic argument at the end about the value of supporting more humane practices rather than abstaining from purchasing meat.

[John McKenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a meat eater I was eager to learn how I could still eat animals and say I love them but this book was disappointing and poorly written. The arguments were unsubstantiated and it relied heavily on anecdotal arguments which didn't really make sense. Unsatisfying and a waste of time. I guess I'll keep looking...

[Hana Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great practical guide

I wish I'd read this book before I started eating more ethical meat! It really breaks down concrete steps (like ordering meat from a farmer and having to get it from a butcher or how to have a conversation with a farmer about visiting their farm).

10/10 would reread and recommend to friends looking into ethical meat eating.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not everyone wants to be a vegetarian, but the author argues that if you choose to eat meat, you should be aware of the different ways animals are raised and sold for eating and make their choices based on knowledge. The author and her partner have a small farm where sheep are raised in pastures and treated humanely.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meggan recommended this book to me and I started reading it, thinking that it was going to be a bit boring, sort of, "blah, blah, blah, I've already read plenty about this stuff. I know it all." Well, I was pleasantly surprised. I think it's the best book I've read so far in terms of helping to convince me that we need to change our meat eating habits. It's also the book that I will now be recommending to anyone who asks me about why we eat meat the way we do. It's a bit more approachable than Omnivore's Dilemma and definitely more doable than Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Those books are very important but for someone who's not yet committed to the idea of changing the way they eat, I think this book is a good first step. I would recommend reading this book.


Her main points (from page 251):
1. Pay attention to what you eat.
2. Waste less meat.
3. Replace factory meat with meat from animals raised humanely.
4. Choose meatless meals over meat from animals raised in factories. (This is particularly relevant for us when we are eating in a restaurant where we don't know where the meat comes from - the best choice is a vegetarian meal.)

In order to understand these quotes, you also need to know that the author is a sheepherder - she and her partner own a small sheep farm in Minnesota.

Some quotes (this is more to help me remember this but feel free to read them if you want to!):
1. "[America is:] throwing away 7,500 cattle, 18,000 hogs, and 1 million chickens a day.Carnivores who pay attention can increase their Compassion Quotient by simply wasting less meat." - In other words, acknowledge that an animal has died to feed you. Honor that sacrifice by not throwing it in the trash.
2. To find out where the factory farms are: www.factoryfarmmap.org
3. "I don't need my meat to come from animals that lived an entire life without pain or fear, since I know know that's almost impossible to deliver. What's more important to me is that domestic livestock be raised as living, breathing creatures with emotions and needs, not as inputs in a widget factory."
4. "To educate myself about the proc3ss, to acknowledge that an animals is being killed to feed me, and to use my meat dollars to support the way I'd rather have animals butchered on my behalf."
5. At the end of a letter to her lambs which will be slaughtered the next day: "I wish you a safe journey and I honor your role in my life."
6. "I fail to see how we non-hunters can take the moral high ground [against wild game hunters:] when we are paying factors to raise an animal in confinement like a widget and kill it as part of a disassembly line."
7. "When I spend my money on meat raised by a factory, I'm paying that factory not only to continue raising more animals that way, but also to continue killing them in a manner that harms us all."
8. "But if I take tiny steps, ..., I'm less likely to set off that urge to fell, so my thinking brain remains in charge and I move forward." - In other words, make changes in your diet slowly and don't expect to change everything at once.
9. Not a direct quote but she has a chapter about "not bowling alone" (a reference to the Putnam book, about finding a community of like-minded people who can help each other in their path towards eating meat responsibly.
10. "It's time to take back the idea [from McDonald's and everyone else:] that fast food is love, that convenience food is stable and secure. Slowing down and cooking for each other is love."
11. "We have the responsibility to improve the lives, and deaths, of livestock animals."
12. "Mahatma Gandhi warned against the seven social sins, but these three really struck me as a compassionate carnivore: commerce without morality, pleasure without conscience, science without humanity."
13. "Eating animals raised more humanely isn't a game of temporary self-deprivation. It's an act of respect that will affect the lives of the millions of animals raised and eat in this country every year."

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the author's first book, "Hit By A Farm", and really enjoyed it. This one however, felt forced and rushed to me, and I didn't find it nearly as informative or entertaining to read. The author raises some good points, but lacks the follow through to really make an impact.

Catherine Friend runs a sheep farm with her partner Melissa. They are low scale farmers, and produce a small amount of sheep bound for the slaughter as compared to larger farms or factory farms. But because of her daily workings with these sheep, Friend decides to take a more in-depth look at the type of meat she's eating in other areas other than lamb. More specifically, she raises the question of whether she should be eating these creatures if they were not raised humanely. As she explores these questions she looks at research from factory farms, methods used to slaughter animals, and the diet of the average American when it comes to meat.

I'm not going to say that factory farms aren't painted harshly, because they are by Friend. She offers data and research to back up her claims and I don't disagree with her either. She also is careful to mention that just because someone is a small scale farmer, doesn't mean they treat their animals well. There is good and bad animal husbandry at all scales of farming. And she doesn't condemn the people eating factory farmed meat, but offers alternatives and says to start small with a goal to change personal consumption. It's easier to take baby steps instead of going full force into something. As someone who was a vegetarian for almost three years (but alas succumbed to bacon) I agree on many of her points. I've thought about going back to vegetarianism not because I don't like meat, but because I can't afford the types of meat I think I should be eating (sustainable, organic, and humanely raised). I like Friend's compromise in saying that just shoot for one meal a week that would have this type of ingredient to make it more doable.

While Friend has many good points, the book does appear rushed though. We're bounced about from facts, to Friend's own farm and animals, to different methods of slaughter, etc. and are never really set on one specific topic for a great amount of time. It's like she was just trying to get everything on paper and the format suffered a little bit. I found it hard to read continuously even though topics like this usually keep me hooked into a book. Additionally, some of the websites she mentions (but not all) didn't work for me when I tried to type them in. Considering the book isn't that old it is surprising, but such is the way of life in the internet world and books should be careful referencing websites because they can be short lived. I did like that she provided a list of questions to ask a farmer about when looking for humanely raised local meat. I fully intend on referring to those questions when I do have an opportunity to buy meat like that.

Some good facts but a very rushed book. It can also cause a lot of contention between farmers who practice the methods Friend doesn't like in this book and on the other side of the spectrum, her thoughts about compassionate carnivores may not sit well with vegetarians who believe any meat consumption is cruel. There really isn't one right answer for everybody though because as with religion, people's thoughts on food are volatile and everyone thinks that they have the right answer. This is one opinion out of many that seeks a middle ground between no meat and all meat.

The Compassionate Carnivore
Copyright 2008
261 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2013

More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com

[Teo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. I borrowed it for a balanced perspective on the food/meat issue and I guess I got it. While I maintain my principles about boycotting meat altogether, I accept that I will have to agree to disagree with the writer who does offer an alternative to many omnivores out there reluctant to give up their meat.

In this book Friend explores in depth an issue that was briefly touched on by Foer in "Eating Animals" - small, sustainably-run humane farms. And for those who hold the fundamental belief that animals are meant for food (as much as I disagree) will find this a much better alternative to factory-farmed meat. I mean, it does sound good, the whole idea of animals living out their natural lives on wide pastures and dying in a quick, painless, fuss-free manner. And even as a vegan I'd much rather that everyone else's meat came from sources like that rather than the abhorrent factory farms that practically monopolise the industry right now.

But even for this argument, there are problems as other reviewers have so astutely (and angrily) pointed out: Sustainable farms are not able to feed the entire world population. Or even a single city, for that matter. Sustainable farms require so much more resources into producing the same amount of meat, and in cities (like my own country) there is no way to find "sustainably-produced" meat at all. The writer puts that down to a lack of demand and perhaps it's true, but it's difficult to see how we could begin pushing for a movement like that with nothing at all to work with. Then in response to the problem of a lack of availability, the writer suggests something else that I cannot agree with.

She writes in the book something along the lines of, the first person you have to practice compassion on is yourself. It's ok if you are unable to find sustainable meat or choose to go vegetarian for that meal which you can't; don't beat yourself up for buying factory-farmed meat. Understandably, this is a way of thinking that is going to appeal to most people, but at the same time "practising compassion on yourself" is not a good enough excuse to scrimp on your moral principles. I wouldn't propose that everyone hate on themselves for not being able to go veg, but going lax on oneself like this would seem horribly close to complacent passiveness. If there are certain principles you choose to hold, pray hold on to them at all costs. As Foer so astutely observed in "Eating Animals" (sorry I seem to refer to him a lot it's because I read these three books as a "set" of different perspectives to the same issue), you can't change the factory farming system if you chose to give them your dollars once in a while. (And the civil rights movement would never have succeeded if Rosa Parks decided it was ok to sit at the back of the bus once in a while out of convenience, or if boycotters continued to take the buses in Montgomery simply because it was too much of a hassle to avoid buses.)

But of course that's me picking on the details; I really respected the largely balanced perspective presented in this book. A good change, I guess, that would appeal to the majority of us who will just have the accept the inconsistencies of our lives as a human shortcoming. And what I really appreciated about this book was its readability, with the really humorous and conversational writing, and the writer's insertion of many personal anecdotes.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is great, and one I would recommend to anyone who cares even the slightest about their food and where it comes from - how it lived and died. I've tried and failed many times to give up meat, and just this week I was told that hey, this is how it is, one person can't change anything, just face facts. Catherine Friend shows that this way of thinking is not only dumb, but untrue. We vote with our dollars whether we are going to eat factory meat, where the animals live and die miserably, or sustainable meat, where both the animals and farmers/ranchers are treated with respect.
I appreciate that Friend understands that it is hard to make changes, or to always be able to eat how we want - she gives 4 main ideas to keep in mind (pay attention, waste less meat, replace factory meat with humanely raised meat, and choose meatless meals over meat from factories). I am appalled at food waste in this country in general, and when I read that Americans waste (throw away) 15,000 cattle, 36,000 hogs, and 2 million chickens everyday, I felt sick. So in my quest to move to all humanely raised meat waste is the first thing I'll tackle. My challenge to those of you reading this is to join me in refusing to waste lives any longer. Ready??


*Habits of care. Habits of responsibility. Habits of mercy.*
*If 225,000 people made the effort to find one meal a week from meat raised by small, sustainable farmers instead of by factory farms, that shift in revenue would pay the average annual income of 3000 farm families. This is huge.*
Stay at the table. If you leave, the animals will have fewer and fewer voices speaking on their behalf. ... But as carnivores, because we're responsible for animals' deaths, we are also responsible for their lives. Paying more attention to where your meat comes from, and making changes in the way you eat meat does make a difference.*
*Just as boats of various designs leave very different wakes in the water behind them, so too do various approaches to living send out different waves of reverberating influence on the world. - Duane Elgin*

[Aspasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Factory farming first hit home to me in March 2008. My husband and I were driving home on the interstate from Gainesville, Florida, when a semi passed by me. This semi was full of live chickens crammed together throughout the bed of the truck. I remember it was cold out and that there were lots of feathers floating through the air. My husband and I looked at each other, horrified, decided we were not going to have chicken for dinner that night, and my research into American food issues began....

Catherine Friend runs a small farm with her partner in the rolling hills of Minnesota. Although Catherine is a carnivore over the last few years she has worried how her meat consumption affects the planet and the lives of animals destined for the slaughterhouse. In a non-preachy tone, Catherine walks the reader through the increased meat consumption in the US, the rise of industrialization after WWII, the increase of corporations buying out farms, the decrease in small, local, family farms and step by step through the slaughtering process (not an easy section to read). If you want to continue eating meat while supporting your local farmers, Catherine Friend walks you through a list of questions to ask the farmer and butcher. She also advocates buying from small, conventional farmers: they need the money, they will be willing to try organic, grass-fed methods if the customers request it and have established relationships with the farmer. Friend also explains why organic, grass-fed organic meat is more expensive and encourages the reader to take baby steps in their eating-local strategy; she even admits to "falling off the (meat) wagon" especially when busy or when she has an empty freezer.

I would recommend this to meat eaters that want to be responsible meat buyers and don't want to be preached at while doing research.

***You can read more of my book reviews at www.thesouthernbookworm.blogspot.com***

[Amanda Reynolds-Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! In the last couple of years, I've been reading a lot about the food industry thanks to helpful authors like Michael Pollan, Michael Moss, and Lucie Amundsen. Now I can add Catherine Friend to the ranks. Her book outlines a very simple idea that can cause emotional and mental distress to many of us carnivores - the idea of still enjoying our meat while endeavoring to make sure that the animals involved are humanely raised as possible. Not only does she showcase how this makes the animals much happier but ultimately how they are also much healthier, thus passing that on to us when we eat them.

My favorite thing about this book is how grounded it is. Several times the author makes it clear that she does not expect everyone to be perfect. Not only does she readily admit that she herself isn't, but she also is honest about how convenience, available resources, and income all play important parts in how we decide what and where to get our food. She offers ideas on how best to be a compassionate carnivore but 1) never becomes preachy and 2) advises that above all else to be compassionate to yourself. She offers suggestions, not ultimatums, leading me to think a few of the readers here either didn't actually read the book or only skimmed. Does she suggest getting a whole steer if you can? Yes, but only if you can. Earlier in that same chapter, she makes it very explicit to set realistic goals for yourself, especially tiny ones. For most of us, buying the whole animal isn't it and I don't think she expects that.

The only problem with the book is it can be a little repetitious at times. She repeats a few key phrases often and with gusto. Luckily, her tone is one that makes this not too annoying so I could easily forgive it in light of her brutal honesty and really revealing information. I actually do now want to be a more compassionate carnivore.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the author's no-nonsense, completely graspable philosophy about simply becoming AWARE of where your non-locally-raised meat comes from. She didn't use fear or guilt tactics, she simply stated the facts in a fun and entertaining way -- with lots of notes, resources and references along the way.

For the people who read this book and thought the author was recommending vegetarianism over eating factory farmed meats: you missed the point. She even admitted to eating quick and easy meat-based meals that were definitely not humanely raised over the course of writing this book. She urges everyone to create their own goals surrounding the way they eat: purchase one humanely-raised pork chop per week, for example, or just be aware of how much you individually might be responsible for the mass amount of food waste in this country. It's impossible to completely eliminate all factory farmed meats from your diet in one go. It's all about personal responsibility and awareness.

I really enjoyed her analogy about the people involved in the future of the meat industry at a long conference table, mostly taken over by big agribusiness companies. The vegetarians have left the table entirely. It's up to us, the compassionate carnivores, to help represent the sustainable, passionate, organic farmers to encourage them to continue doing what they do. If we pay attention, we can make a difference.

Read this book. It'll change you for the better!

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book because I was thinking of becoming a vegetarian again, and this caught my eye at a book sale in my town. Reading it, I had no idea how impacting it would be.

The point of this book is, as the title suggests, to make us become more conscientious about the meat we consume-- how much we eat a year, how many animals die in vain from plate loss and wasted food, and how the animals on the farms that provide the meat are treated.

I think a major thing that changed was my perspective on meat handling. Friend suggests in a very provocative way that eating humane meat has a much higher influence on the well being of animals than not eating meat all together.

This book really taught me a lot, and I intend to do further reading to learn more. I've already looked into local places that sell meat and eggs from animals that have been treated properly. This book very well could change your life, much like it did mine.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is NOT an argument about whether it is right or wrong to use animals as food. This book shows meat-eaters (and milk-drinkers) how they can improve the lot of milk, egg and meat-producing animals; how to improve the life-quality of livestock to make things healthier for us, the animals and the environment. Does a good job of describing the different methods of farming (factory vs pasture, caged vs barn-bound vs free-range vs feedlot), what 'organic' certification means (not always as green as people think, if organic animal-feed has to be shipped in from far away), and hints on how to set realistic goals to use our food choices to drive the meat/milk/egg industry into more healthy and humane practices. Makes good points on our obligation as consumers to grant the food animals we depend on proper respect and how we can help animals by taking responsibility for our food choices.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting perspective from the farmers point of view. Time will tell if humane husbandry, and the higher costs associated with it, is viable economically. In the mean time it is quite difficult to find meat products in the Los Angeles area that conform to this ideal. The other practical problem with this approach is that of demand - in order to support the current supply of meat in the US we would have to utilize every inch of land not used for crops for livestock pasture. Not sure how people would feel about clear cutting forest or draining wetland to create pasture. Seems a bit impractical. My overall impression is the same - well intentioned, but wishful thinking and, ultimately, impractical.

[Alexa Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't give up meat! That's a message I can deal with. Catherine Friend provides information on farming, factory farming and what it means to be a carnivore at this moment in time. She advocates doing what you can, in the manner of Michale Pollan, and voting with your food dollars by giving them to small, sustainable farmers raising animals the way you prefer (grass-fed? grass-finished? conventional? no problem!) rather than giving up meat entirely. I liked the book because I agree with her but there's some good information about meat consumption and meat production in the United States to help convince you if you don't already agree.

[Malina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Choosing to be a meat eater while looking for happy meat is something we started doing almost 2 years ago, partially due to The Omnivore's Dilemna, Fast Food Nation and Nourishing Traditions. While lack of employment makes that not possible at the moment, it is something that will be renewed as soon as we have stable income again.

This book is an excellent addition to the modern muckrackers of our food supply. She brings an interesting perspective as a small sheep farmer originally from the city. There are plenty of statistics and facts that I hadn't encountered elsewhere before. It was a worthy read that I recommend.

[Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine Friend writes with a humble, humorous sincerity that is hard not to love. Despite deep ideological differences between myself and the author, her recognition of the complexities of the issue and her sensible presentation of a wide variety of important considerations (health, stewardship, empathy, social interactions) engendered many productive discussions between my wife and I not just about whether or which meat to eat, but more broadly about why we make the food choices we do. A pleasure to read and a helpful starting point for someone wanting to start eating intentionally without necessarily having a particular ax to grind.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written by a lesbian sheep farmer who helps her partner in running a small, sustainable farm. Their goal is raising "happy meat." I learned a lot, and I feel I understand much more about the subject than I did before. That said...I think the core of this book could be distilled down to an article, there is so much repetition. As much as I agree with her goals, she presents a rather biased view. Since I mostly agree with her, it didn't bother me much - but she uses footnotes, quotes, and insubstantial statistics to make her case, and that does bother me. However, I'm still glad I read it.

[Sandy Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed both of the author's books chronicling her entry into and subsequent life on a farm and read this one simply to hear more from her. I think it's an excellent read for those who maybe don't understand the connection between the life of an animal and the death of that same animal when it's raised for food. I love that as a newcomer to farming she had to learn to cope with that transition and I think she explains why you should care if your edibles were "free-range" or "grass fed". As a chef this is one of the most asked questions I get from my clients, whats the difference and why should I pay more?

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I'm a vegetarian, but I like to learn about other sides of every issue. In some weird way, I have to have some respect for a person who can raise their own meat, it says something that the eater is very aware and respectful of where her food is coming from. The fact that I don't think I could ever do that is one of the reasons that I am and probably will always be a vegetarian, I want to remember where my food is coming from, and it would be too painful for me to do that with meat. Yup, definitely still a vegetarian but it was really interesting to read such a perspective.