‘Veggie revolution’ may be digestable in super small doses

By Kathryn Reed

When you are part of the choir and you’re annoyed by the preaching, something is wrong with the sermon.

In this case, the sermon was “Veggie revolution: Smart Choices for a Healthy Body and a Healthy Planet” by Sally Kneidel and Sara Kate Kneidel.

The problem with this book that came out in 2005 is how it goes on and on about how horrible it is to eat meat and how much better it is to eat vegetables. No vegetarian needs to read this book – you’re already a convert. And it’s hard for me to imagine a meat eater wouldn’t start using the pages for kindling to start a barbecue to roast up some animal.

Yes, the authors talk to small farmers and show how animals can be treated humanely. But in the end, it really was a crusade to get people to stop eating animal products.

This book had potential. I think that’s what annoyed me the most when I finally finished it.

How corporations run the meat industry was the most interesting part. It was also the most alarming. Had this been the primary and only focus of the book, I would guess sales would be better, with a more diverse readership.

“More than 80 percent of the beef cattle in the United States are slaughtered and marketed by one of four big corporations.”

“Most broiler and breeder chickens in the United States are owned by eight big corporations ….”

The book goes into why big agri-business is bad for the consumer and bad for the farmer.

Had the book solely focused on the environmental aspects of meat production, it would have been better.

“According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture by far is the biggest source of pollution to our streams and rivers, and a significant portion of that is runoff from hogs, poultry and cattle waste.”

“Over half the amount of water used in the United States goes toward irrigating land to grow food for livestock.”

Had the book just talked about the nutritional benefits of being a vegetarian, it would have been better.

There is lots of information in the book. Maybe it needs to be read in smaller doses than how I ingested it. Or maybe the authors should get an editor next time who can provide them with better guidance and direction.