Ready to try out a plant-based or vegan diet? Here are some inspiring reads to help you go vegan, for Veganuary and beyond.
So, you've taken the challenge to go vegan this month and join Veganuary, but you're finding it hard to stick to it?
Changing your diet from a meat and dairy-based one to primarily plant based is something that we all have in our power to do, and one of the easiest things we can do for the environment, as well as for animal welfare and our health. But sometimes staying on track can be hard.
Here are five books to help you stay committed to eating vegan.
1
Animal Liberation by Peter Singer
This seminal work written by Australian philosopher Peter Singer in 1975, is still a quintessential text for all interested in animal rights and the ethics of animal agriculture. By exposing the realities of factory farming this book awakened millions of people to the existence of "speciesism"—our systematic disregard of nonhuman animals—inspiring a global movement advocating for animal rights. An important and persuasive appeal to conscience, fairness, decency, and justice, it is essential reading for all who want to understand the environmental, social and moral implications of animal exploitation.
2
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
After becoming a father the author reassessed the moral dimensions of eating meat. Part memoir and part investigative report, Eating Animals is an in depth exploration of the environmental and moral repercussions of our meat-dependent diets. Going into the dark corners not just of our eating habits, but also of the meat industry, revealing the gruesome and stomach-churning reality behind animal agriculture, its impact on the environment and animal welfare. A convincing argument on eating responsibly to ensure a sustainable future on the planet for all.
3
This book is an indispensable health and nutrition bible in our household. Physician and author Greger makes the connection between our diet and numerous preventable diseases like Alzheimers, diabetes, Parkinson's, high blood pressure and various cancers. By proposing a plant-based diet, Greger reveals not only how to treat and reverse many preventable illnesses but also how to prevent them so that we can live healthier and happier lives. Backed up by strong scientific evidence, you will learn which foods to eat and which lifestyle changes to make to live longer. The book also includes studies on the importance of exercise, diet as well as plant-based recipes.
4
Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat by Philip Lymbery & Isabel Oakeshott
As food production and animal agriculture has become more and more industrialised, we no longer really know where our food really comes from or what is entering our food chain. From the antibiotics routinely given to industrially farmed animals—contributing to the emergence of deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs—to the systematic destruction of wildlife, Farmageddon is a fascinating and terrifying investigative journey into the modern food industry. Every meal we have is a choice to either contribute to the problem, or make a difference. Farmageddon will make you question the origins of your food, and the impact of farming on your heath, biodiversity and the planet.
5
The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer & Jim Mason
A continuation from Animal Liberation, this text explores the impact our food choices have on humans, animals, and the environment by examining the food choices of three American families. Written in a thoughtful and non-sensationalist manner, The Ethics of What We Eat intersects issues of ethics with sustainability, exploring our eating— including eating meat, eating locally, organically, and fair trade— as well as an in depth look at the reality of factory farming.