I’m now a week into my Vegan New Year, and I’ve bought (or in some cases already had) the following books about the ethics and practicalities of veganism. Just as I think it is important to know religious arguments against my atheism, I’ve also bought some books outlining carnivore arguments against my veganism.
I will gradually read these books during the year, and occasionally write about them. I’d welcome any suggestions as to which are the most useful and why, as well as ideas for any other books or videos that I should also read or watch. All links are to the Kindle edition of the books, where you can read reviews about them.
Ethics and Vegan Living
- Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction – by David DeGrazia, Oxford University Press 2002
- Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions – by Cass Sunstein and Martha Nussbaum, Oxford University Press 2004
- Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal Suffering – by Mark Hawthorne, Changemakers Books 2013
- Conscience: A Very Short Introduction – by Paul Strohm, Oxford University press 2011
- Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals – by Gary Francine and Anna Charlton, Exempla Press 2013
- Eating Animals – by Jonathan Safran Foer, Penguin 2010
- Ethics: A Very Short Introduction – by Simon Blackburn, Oxford University Press 2003
- The Expanding Circle: Ethics, Evolution and Moral Progress – by Peter Singer, Princeton University Press 2011
- How to be Vegan: Tips, Tricks and Strategies – by Elisabeth Castoria, Artisan 2014
- In Defence of Animals: The Second Wave – by Peter Singer, Wiley-Blackwell 2013
- Meat Logic: Why Do We Eat Animals? – by Charles Horn, Amazon Digital Services 2014
- Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger? And Other Questions People Ask Vegans – by Sherry Colb, Lantern Books 2013
- No Happy Cows: Dispatches from the Frontline of the Food Revolution – by John Robbins, Conari Press 2012
- On Being Vegan: Reflections on a Compassionate Life – by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Montali Press 2013
- Practical Ethics – by Peter Singer, Cambridge University Press 2011
- The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat? – by Hope Bohanic, iUniverse 2013
- The Ultimate Vegan Guide – by Erik Marcus, Vegan.com 2011
- Vegan’s Daily Companion: 365 Days of Inspiration – by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Quarry Books 2011
- A Vegan History: 1944-2010 – by Erik Marcus, Amazon Digital Services 2010
- Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World – by Kathy Freston, Weinstein Books 2011
- Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows – by Melanie Joy, Conari Press 2013
- Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals – by Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce, University of Chicago Press 2009
Vegan Recipes and Guides
- 1,000 Vegan Recipes – by Robin Robertson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2013
- 101 Juice Fast Recipes – by Carla Douglin, Amazon Digital Services 2011
- The Everything Juicing Book – by Carole Jacobs and Patrice Johnson, Adams Media 2010
- The Everyday Happy Herbivore Cookbook – by Lindsay Nixon, Benbala Books 2011
- The Happy Herbivore Cookbook – by Lindsay Nixon, Benbala Books 2011
- How it All Vegan! 10th Anniversary Edition – by Tanya Bernard and Sarah Kramer, Arsenal Pulp Press 2009
- Kristen Suzanne’s Easy Raw Vegan Dehydrating – by Kristen Suzanne, Green Butterfly Press 2010
- Main Street Vegan – by Victoria Moran and Adair Moran, archer 2012
- Skinny Bitch Book of Vegan Swaps – by Kim Barnouin, Harper One 2012
- Supermarket Vegan: 225 Recipes for Real People in the Real World – by Donna Klein, Perigree 2010
- VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6pm – by Mark Bittman, Sphere 2013
- Vegan For Life: Everything You Need to Know – by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina, Da Capo Lifelong Books 2011
- Vegan on the Cheap: Great Recipes and Simple Strategies – by Robin Robertson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2013
- Vegan With a Vengeance: Over 150 Recipes that Rock – by Isa Moskowitz, Da Capo Press 2005
- Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook – by Isa Moskowitz and Jessica Pierce, Da Capo Lifelong Books 2007
- Your Comprehensive Green Juicing Guide – by Farnoosh Brock, Prolific Living 2012
Arguments Against Veganism
- Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals – by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson, Mariner Books 2010
- The Carnivore’s Manifesto – by Patrick Martins, Little Brown and Company 2014
- The Compassionate Carnivore – by Catherine Friend, Da Capo Press 2009
- Meat: A Benign Extravagance – By Simon Fairlie, Permanent Publications 2012
- The Meat Fix: How a Lifetime of Healthy Eating nearly Killed Me – by John Nicholson, Biteback Publishing 2012
- The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice and Sustainability – by Lierre Keith, PM Press 2010
My vegan library – 40 books on vegan ethics and recipes, plus some books opposing veganism
No book recommendations, but for the sake of friends and family you might want to stock up on Devrom.
I love Happy Herbivore cook books – tasty , easy and quick to make , for more fancy recipes – fat free vegan blog, also forks over knifes app is great. Good reads there might read some myself.
More about vivisection than veganism, but William Kotzwinkle’s Doctor Rat is a harrowing fable about a rat who thinks he’s conducting experiments rather than being experimented on.
I don’t know if it influenced The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy which suggests mice were really experimenting on people.
Speaking of which, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe plays with the idea of the proverbial pig who wants to be eaten.
While I know he’s not popular with some of the commenters here, I thought Richard Carrier’s post on vegetarianism/veganism had some very good resources.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier/archives/87
I didn’t think to mention it, but Carrier argues against the vegan/vegetarian position. Just including it as you had your own “arguments against” section.
Ouch, I hope you’re not recommending Lierre Keith? She’s a radical feminist TERF, who wrote quite possibly the most disingenuous and incoherent rant against vegetarianism in recent times. Not surprisingly she’s quoted by trolls who probably haven’t read her book, but want to defend meat eating at any cost. I’d reconsider her inclusion in the list.
What does a vegan diet have to do with atheism?
I discuss that here, Anon
http://www.michaelnugent.com/2014/12/31/new-year-resolution-vegan-heres-why/
As an aside, this blog is not only about atheism.
@Tom
It seems you’re suggesting we should ignore Lierre Keith’s thoughts on vegetarianism because you say that they are disingenuous and incoherent, and because she’s a TERF. The former is simply an assertion, and the latter is a non sequitur. Do you have any good critiques of her book?
Hi @JetLagg
I thought readers might like to know what kind of person wrote the book, and anyone can find information on google regarding her deranged hate and transphobia if they want to do so.
As for the book itself, most of it is a long polemic regarding nutrition using cherry picked research from the Weston A Price Foundation and personal anecdotes. Her conclusion that the optimal diet is one that consists of “mostly animals and their secretions” is pretty cranky, to say the least. Her moral argument amounts to the assertion that agriculture is bad, so we should eat animals – this obviously ignores the fact that animal farming of uses orders of magnitude more land than a vegan diet would require.
This essay is a pretty good critique. The highlight is when the author says “Well, I happen to be married to” the person she misquotes!
http://www.theveganrd.com/2010/09/review-of-the-vegetarian-myth.html