Project Animal Farm
Reviews (101)
This book brought light to the many harsh truths that I was not aware of especially in animal agriculture
This book has greatly enlightened me on so many levels in my life. To be honest, I never really thought about animal agriculture and welfare before. I appreciated the author's efforts in sharing her experience which I thought was very brave of her. In the many stories that she shared, I deeply admired her persistence especially in times when she was scared to push the boundaries to find out the truth. Being able to tell stories from various types of farming models, countries helped tell a well balanced story about the agricultural world globally. The knowledge I have gained has empowered me to want to continue learning about this topic. Sometimes, or should I say most of the times, challenges in our food and agriculture system goes unseen and unheard. This book brought light to the many harsh truths that I was not aware of especially in animal agriculture. It is well written and it definitely drew me in to her journey which was also accompanied by the research which hammered in on the issues that was discovered! My blinders are off now thanks to this book and my thinking/ investigative cap is remaining on! I definitely recommend this book to those who never thought that such a topic might be of interest to you. Take a chance on it and enlighten yourself like I did, it is worth it!
Best Book I've Read in 2016
I devoured this book over the weekend, I found it riveting; I just could not put it down. I wish I could give it to everyone in my life as a gift-- to people I know and love, to people I can't stand, and even to the strangers I cross paths with on the street. This is a must-read for all ages. If you are old enough to eat animals, then you are old enough to know how they are raised and treated in order to be stocked on the supermarket shelves. Sonia Faruqi shared her experiences with such color, humor, thoughtfulness, and delicacy, that even the most sensitive (like myself) are able to keep turning the pages. A truthful, yet relatable insight into the lives of farmers and the reality of cognitive dissonance most people suffer from.
Eye opener and heartbreaking
Sonia Faruqi reveals a world that most don't know exists and the few who do, choose to ignore its reality. That is the world of animal farming, if this can still be called farming and those poor beings can still be called animals. Farming has become a inhumane industrial process. Animals are seen and treated as pieces of the production process and not like living beings. As pieces, when they get damaged (sick) or are not producing, they are simply thrown away (killed). What's worse is that the farming industry as it is managed has negative effects on animal well being and health, human health, the environment and even the economy. If the industry changed its way of doing things, they would have more income. Yet the local governments turn a blind eye in this inhumane, no productive, and damaging industry. I assume because farmers support the local government in the first place. The book is well researched. Part 1 was very informative, but part 2 started to feel too repetitive and dragging. (That's why I give it 4 stars) Still, this is a book everyone should read.
Fascinating, enlightening, equally sad and hopeful.
Fascinating, enlightening, equally sad and hopeful. Thank you Sonia for braving the reality and writing so clearly and objectively. Thank you for not just pointing that there is a fire out there, but also an extinguisher. Its really up to us as consumers. We have to demand better. I pray your voice will reach many and encourage us all to make the changes, even small ones, to end the atrocity of factory farming. There's nothing wrong with eating meat, eggs, or dairy, but they are entitled to a decent life before the end and a humane end. I hope one day books will be written to tell how far we have come. Sincerely.
A moral story
I will be thinking about some of the lessons in this book long after I read the last word. And I think that is a good thing! The author does an excellent job of putting the reader in her shoes - from being a new to the farm city girl to a weary traveler trying to make sense of it all. Docked one point because the last third of the book lost some of the punch and resonance of the beginning. But overall I highly recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about where the food on your table comes from and what it took to get it there.
Important book!
It's time to give up the blissful ignorance of the story behind industrial "farming". I stopped eating meat back in the 70's when I found out about factory farm conditions and the impact not only on animal welfare but on personal and global health. I appreciate this book for the update, though very saddened to learn the story has grown exponentially worse. We need books like this! I commend the author's courage to witness what she has in order to search for answers and report back what was found, despite the industry's efforts to keep secrets.
This book changed my life
How little we know about the agricultural system that affects all of us every day. Sonia Faruqi's incredibly brave journey to farms in 8 countries (often undercover) has insights for us all. In addition to being a great overview of the global food machine, Sonia has practical suggestions. I now shop very differently from how I used to and know what questions to ask when I buy. This book is one of a kind and is a must-read for everyone. You will never forget it.
Very Insightful and Interesting Read!!!!
First of all, this is not the type of book I would normally have picked up to read a few years ago, but it came highly recommended to me by a very reputable source and I decided to give it a whirl....I was NOT disappointed! I could NOT put this book down! I kept saying, "one more chapter" but one chapter would lead into another interesting chapter and I had finished it before I knew it. Do not let the hard cover scare you....it's contents are delightfully well-written as Ms. Faruqi really does have excellent story-telling abilities in a real-world fashion. I have become much more interested in where our food comes from and the events that go on in order to get it. I am extremely passionate about animal welfare and this book opened my eyes even wider. I was surprised at the sympathetic tones portrayed not only at the suffering animals, but also at the humans involved in such grueling and gruesome everyday tasks and the stories of how they got there. I also liked that after the stories helped put everything in perspective, Ms. Faruqi actually had a proposed solution to the problem. With ag-gag laws being passed in several states, animal suffering continues behind closed doors with no one to speak up for them as the public remains ignorant and uneducated as to the real truth. If you are interested in educating yourself and removing the "veil" over your eyes about factory farming, you should really give this book a try; you won't regret it and I assure you your outlook will change!
A gripping, poignant window into where (for example) that ubiquitous bacon comes from...
I grew up (and still live) in a small farming town in New England, but it took me a long time to realize that the food filling the grocery store comes from a quite different system from the small beef and dairy farms of my family and friends. This book is a fascinating, briskly-reported travelogue of industrial farms (organic and otherwise) around the world. Crucially for the reader, the vivid and sometimes distressing descriptions are leavened by the author's humor, her breath-of-fresh-air visits to large-scale grass-based farms, and--most of all--by her perceptive, three-dimensional, warm portraits of all the humans involved. (Surprisingly to me, one of my strongest memories after putting down the book was the isolation and loneliness of many of the factory farm workers she met.) As I read Project Animal Farm, I was repeatedly grateful to the author for investigating this world--in all its literal darkness, Orwellian doublespeak, dehumanization, counterproductive efficiency, and well-founded terror of both disease and journalism. It is unsettling to realize how much this world underpins our own. But in a subject that can be swamped in emotion, I also was grateful for Faruqi's calm, questioning, candid approach and for her business savvy. I see that among these reviewers is one who is concerned that reviewers report their connection to the author, if any. I read the first five chapters in draft form because I am on a list of professional writers at my college willing to mentor younger writers. I had no connection to the author, but was transfixed by these chapters. (Subsequently, I am glad to say, I have met her and told her of my admiration.) My final word on this book: I find it hard to believe there's a more readable overview of industrial meat and dairy out there.
Offers solutions
I am not vegetarian or vegan, but always felt some uneasiness about buying even "high quality" meat. This book helped me answer many questions. The best part is that the author provides solutions. I really give it up for Sonia Faruqi, who risked her life to find out what happens behind-the-scenes at factory farms.
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