How so much farmland is wasted to feed cows and the destruction of the rainforest caused for cattle production. He then shifts to the primary focus of his book, which is the heavy toll cows place on the environment, and the people of earth. Rifkin then exposes some awful facts about the beef industry in America such as the USDAs lacking inspection standards. He discussed how they were once revered and treated like gods and sharply contrasted that to the way cattle are treated today using quotes from the Jungle. Rifkin Started by explaining the history of cattle culture and how humans and cows have been intertwined for many centuries. His use of evidence was so well done and strong it transformed a heavily biased topic into a logical sound book. He actually made an extremely sound argument that really swayed me (shockingly considering I am quite fond of cow). This book however is not just some baseless rant Rifkin uses logical arguments, sound facts and various supporting sources. In Beyond Beef Jeremy Rifikin offers a scathing review on the multinational beef industry and cattle eating culture in the western world. The planet may still be here, but humans may not be – unless we change. Now we are nearing the final days of that struggle – given the facts of climate change. At one point, when reading the details of what is in the cattle feed, I remarked that it is little wonder that the consumption of meat and dairy causes so much disease.īeyond Beef refers to the battle of man against nature several times – from the Spanish bull fighters to the struggle of man against the whale in the classic Moby Dick. Even as a practicing vegan, I was often shocked. In many ways, the book is not for the faint at heart. In fact, a parallel can be drawn between how the cattle, environment, the other animals, and people are treated. (They learned their lessons well from the predecessors.) The book discusses the treatment of the land, the Native American people who originally lived on the land and the animals (the bison in particular) – as well as the treatment of the cattle. ranchers were able to own their own land and become the imperialists. but is lagging behind other nations.Įventually, England went on to use the United States as its grazing ground for cattle. The vegan movement is growing in the U.S. This acknowledgement that dairy is an animal product came centuries before the vegan movement (which advocates for people no to use any products that come from animals) which is very big in England among other counties. So “the other white meat” was originally dairy. In particular, women and children of the lower classes were known never to eat beef but to be relegated to what was called the “white meats” – meaning dairy. Beef was a delicacy among the lower classes. However, the expense of beef was a class issue. In particular, the English were known to be big consumers of beef. The book is non-fiction and rather academic, however it is worth reading to understand the central role that the agriculture industry plays in our lives. It begins by putting the cow in a spiritual context beginning several thousand years before the traditional birth of Christ with the cow worshipping peoples (often forming cattle cults) in ancient Egypt. This book never mentions the word “vegan,” but it does mention people dying from the diseases of affluence – through the diets of the rich which are laden with animal products.Īfter reading the book - which is filled with many “aha” moments - I began to understand why beef is so central to U.S. I actually never realized that I could feel so good.) (My partner and I were thinking of becoming vegan for several years because of compassion for the animals. I never was much of a red meat eater but in the past year cut out dairy and went to a plant-based diet for health reasons. Despite that this book Beyond Beef, The Rise And Fall Of The Cattle Culture by Jeremy Rifkin was first published in 1992 (Dutton), I found that the writing is timeless.
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