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Compassionate Living |
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Animal Agriculture — Selected Bibliography SUGGESTED READING
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BOOK LIST
In the last five decades a huge body of serious, informative, and thought-provoking material has been published that documents the exploitation of farm animals. The following books, listed in order of publication, are a short selection that demonstrates an unfolding critique of the industrialization of farming.
Harrison, Ruth. Animal Machines: The New Factory Farming Industry. London: Vincent Stuart, Ltd., 1964. This was a ground-breaking study of the growing mechanization of animal agriculture. It shocked the British public and resulted in the formation of the Brambell Committee, whose subsequent report recognized that animals have a right to five basic freedoms. Harrison's work, and the government recommendations, initiated a reevaluation of husbandry across Europe. (This book is very difficult to locate.)
Singer, Peter. Animal Liberation. New York: New York Review/Random House, 1975; revised edition, 1990; reissued with a new preface, Ecco, 2001. Singer makes the case that animals have rights that are at a parity to those of humans, and therefore that non-human animals deserve liberation from exploitation and abuse. This discourse on speciesism established the animal liberation movement.
Mason, Jim. Animal Factories. New York: Crown Publishers, 1980; revised edition, 1990. For his early exposé of the problems of mass-production on factory farms, Mason did thorough fieldwork, visiting intensive farming facilities and research centers. Organized around hard-hitting photographic documentation, Mason's report is shocking and uncompromising.
Eisnitz, Gail A. Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry. New York: Prometheus Books, 1997. Based on an in-depth investigation, Eisnitz reveals that in spite of decades of updated welfare standards for animals at slaughter, the reality is gruesome. She highlights the impact of deregulation, the increasing dangers in the food supply, the worsening treatment of animals, and the dehumanizing effect on workers. Slaughterhouse is one of the most important exposés ever published.
Lyman, Howard F. Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat. New York: Scribner, 1998; revised edition, 2001. Lyman tells his personal story of why and how he left an industry that was becoming more and more dependent on the dangerous chemical management of land and animals. A powerful indictment of all animal agriculture, including "free range" farming.
Robbins, John. The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World. Berkeley, California: Conari Press, 2001. Robbins reviews the overall abuse and suffering inherent in factory farming while emphasizing the wide ecological context. He demonstrates the waste and danger involved in converting grain to human food by way of animal protein. He warns us about serious environmental deterioration in a concise and well-organized presentation.
Patterson, Charles. Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust. New York: Lantern Books, 2002. Now available in Hebrew — Haifa: Pardes Publishing House, 2006. The core of Eternal Treblinka is the history of two commercial developments: the mass-production assembly-line method and the industrialization of factory farming. Patterson describes the convergence of the production of things and the production of food animals since the industrial revolution of the 19th century. His chilling story shows how the Nazis applied the American and European know-how of manufacturing and animal farming to the slaughter of millions of people.
Druce, Clare and Philip Lymbery. Outlawed in Europe: How America is Falling Behind Europe in Farm Animal Welfare. New York: Archimedean Press (Animal Rights International), 2002. This book is a short review of the advances in farmed animal welfare over the last few decades, as implemented in Western Europe through legislation. It is a powerful contrast to the opposite trend of deregulation in the Americas and the rest of the world.
Regan, Tom. Empty Cages: Facing the Challenge of Animal Rights. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2004. Regan has been advocating for animals for a generation, as an animal rights activist, liberationist, and philosopher. In his most recent book he reminds us why our goal is to free non-human animals entirely from human exploitation and cruelty. Establishing legislation and better welfare regulation still leaves animals in unacceptable conditions of suffering. He suggests we open the cage doors and free non-human animals from being used for food, education, entertainment, and research.
Kemmerer, Lisa. Animals and World Religions. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. This book is a comprehensive exploration of moral and ethical considerations in terms of animal exploitation and religion. The Introduction, Conclusion, and Appendix form an excellent and detailed summary of the issues of severe cruelty and suffering that concern animal advocates.
International Agricultural Organizations OIE: World Organization for Animal Health
United Nations FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization
European Union — European Commission European Commission: Food Safety European Commission: Animal Health and Welfare
Australia Australia Department of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries
Canada Canadian Food Inspection Agency Ontario: Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Egypt Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (site is sometimes unavailable)
India India Ministry of Agriculture: Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying ICAR: Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Israel CINADCO: Centre for International Agricultural Development Cooperation Israel Veterinary Services and Animal Health Israel Agriculture Research Organization
Japan Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries
New Zealand New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries
South Africa National Department of Agriculture (site is sometimes unavailable)
United Kingdom DEFRA: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Veterinary Medicines Directorate
United States United States Department of Agriculture APHIS: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service FAS: Foreign Agricultural Service ARS: Agricultural Research Service FSIS: Food Safety and Inspection Service CVM: Center for Veterinary Medicine CSREES: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service USNAL: United States National Agricultural Library United States Food and Drug Administration
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