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by Lierre Keith
We've been told that a vegetarian diet can feed the hungry, honor the animals, and save the planet. The truth is that agriculture is a relentless assualt against the planet, and more of the same won't save us. In service to annual grains, humans have devastated prairies and forests, and driven countless species extinct, altered the climate and destroyed the topsoil- the basis of life itself. If we are to save this planet, our food must be an act of profound and abiding repair: it must come from inside living communities, not be imposed across them.
Lierre Keith compellingly and carefully argues for sustainability and health in a way that respects the underlying desires and principles of most vegans while adding a healthy dose of reality. Reality is manifested in two very uncomfortable facts: modern agriculture is the true destroyer of our world, and humans are omnivores yet mostly carnivorous.
Keith's logical yet caring deconstruction of the vegan position is organized by separate moral, political and nutritional arguments. The author is not out to disprove but to convince, and her empathy for the mental state and emotional needs of her desired audience comes through in every word.
The Vegetarian Myth is an eloquent and utterly persuasive argument against vegetarianism. While vegans' and vegetarians' compassion for justice is honorable and noble, their solution will will not save the world, but in fact hasten its destruction.
Lierre Keith spent twenty years as a vegan. Anyone interested in healthy eating will benefit from her painful mistakes and laser-like focus on the path to a sane diet and all that it entails.
309 pages, softcover
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