Richard Thompson's Reviews > The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability

There is a lot in this book that I agree with and like. We don't often think of the damage that agriculture causes to the planet, how it contributes to global warming, the destruction of ecosystems, the extinction of species and its own eventual demise. A vegetarian diet, particularly one heavy in carbohydrates, contributes to this problem as much or more than a diet that includes meat. We all know that most vegetarian diets are nutritonally incomplete, but we don't think about the extent of damage that this incompleteness can cause or how the general health of the population is brought down by high levels of carbohydrate consumption. And I agree with the author that the good fight is better fought by opposing factory agriculture as it is currently practiced and championing sustainable farming than in becoming vegan. So there is much to agree with here, though I suspect that there may also be much to disagree with. It's good to question received wisdom about eating -- lowering consumption of saturated fats is not necessarily the key to good health, but I felt that there was a lack of balance. The book was too much of a crusade. The tone of the author's voice was a rant. It made me trust the conclusions less.