Author:Peter Singer,Jim Mason
Written with investigative vigour, provocative and controversial but always accessible, Eating is a hard-hitting exploration of our eating habits, making us look at what we eat as a moral issue.
Organic foods are the fastest growing section of the food industry, and it is estimated that vegans are now almost as common as vegetarians. Veal consumption in the US has fallen by more than 75% since 1975, and in the UK, sales of free-range eggs have now passed in value sales of eggs from caged hens. Evidently we are concerned. But how concerned should we be about where our food comes from? Does the food we buy really affect the world around us? And what can we do?
In Eating, philosopher Peter Singer and environmentalist Jim Mason follow three families with varying eating habits, from fast-food eaters to vegans, to explore how the food we eat makes its way to the table, and at what expense. The authors peel back each layer of food production, and examine how they ought to factor into our buying choices. Recognising that we are not all likely to become vegetarian or vegan, they go on to offer ways to make the most ethical choices within the framework of a diet that includes animal products.
In their new book - commonsense in its approach, easy to read, packed with information - Peter Singer and Jim Mason show how market forces inexorably drive farmers toward cruel practices. But their overall message is not bleak. Factory farming is under pressure to justify itself. The day may not be far when we will return to a more ethical treatment of fellow animals, and there are many practical things that ordinary consumers can do to bring that day nearer.
—— J. M. CoetzeeAn absolutely indispensable book for anyone who thinks about what they eat. Eating is that rare combination of lively read and thorough research and investigation. It is a masterpiece, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
—— Jeffrey MassonIn this well-researched and deeply troubling book, Peter Singer and Jim Mason paint a devastating portrait of the meat industry that is bound to change the way you eat.
—— Michael PollanIt has changed the way i think about food.
—— Audrey Niffenegger , GuardianVital, urgent and disturbing
—— New York Times[McDonough and Braungart's] ideas are bold, imaginative, and deserving of serious attention
—— Ben EhFabulous ... What an incredible account of an amazing century
—— Kim WildeA wondrous telling of the history of the very English love affair with gardens and growing things
—— Jon Snow, Channel Four NewsThe Brother Gardeners is a delightful book. It brings the story of 18th-century gardening to life in a remarkably vivid way, and sheds new light on the personality clashes and prejudices which lay at the root of the Georgians' passion for plants
—— Adrian TinniswoodThe Brother Gardeners were a group of men involved in the 18th-century quest for new plants, at a fascinating period in garden history. Andrea Wulf brings their personalities vividly to life in her thoroughly researched and lively account.
—— Jane Fearnley-WhittingstallA totally engrossing read
—— Rosie Atkins, Curator, Chelsea Physic GardenImmaculately written and researched, this book brings to life the dramas and dangers of eighteenth-century plant collecting
—— Catherine Horwood[An] engrossing history of botanical obsession in England in the 18th century ... The author has a good eye for interesting detail and a fine sense of literary economy
—— Tim Richardson , Country LifeA 'biography' of the quintessential English garden, taking in Captain Cook, Carl Linnaeus, and the simultaneous rise of the British Empire and flower arranging - a delightful look at horticultural history
—— Scotland on SundayAs Wulf triumphantly shows, plants and gardens reveal a wider view of the forces that shape society ... An antidote to dry garden history; rarely has the story of English plants been told with such vigour, and such fun
—— Jennifer Potter , TLSThe best book this year is The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession
—— Leo Hollis , Independent on SundayAndrea Wulf has written a wonderful book, using a clutch of fascinating men to remind us the British Empire was once as much about white pine and Camellia japonica as it was about guns and steel ... enthralling story ... brilliantly readable book
—— Kathryn Hughes , Mail on Sunday