The Vegetarian Imperative

by Anand M. Saxena

Overview

We have learned not to take food seriously: we eat as much as we want of what we want when we want it, and we seldom think about the health and environmental consequences of our choices. But the fact is that every choice we make has an impact on our health and on the environment. In The Vegetarian Imperative, Anand M. Saxena, a scientist and a vegetarian for most of his life, explains why we need to make better choices: for better health, to eliminate world hunger, and, ultimately, to save the planet.

Our insatiable appetite for animal-based foods contributes directly to high rates of chronic diseases—resulting in both illness and death. It also leads to a devastating overuse of natural resources that dangerously depletes the food available for human consumption. The burgeoning population and increasing preference for meat in all parts of the world are stretching planetary resources beyond their limits, and the huge livestock industry is degrading the agricultural land and polluting air and water.

Continuing at this pace will bring us to the crisis point in just a few decades—a reality that threatens not only our current lifestyle but our very survival. This book shows us a way out of this dangerous and vicious cycle, recommending a much-needed shift to a diet of properly chosen plant-based foods.

Any one of these arguments alone—personal health, worldwide hunger, and environmental degradation—provides reason enough to stop consuming so much animal-based food; taken together, they make an unassailable case for vegetarianism. The Vegetarian Imperative will make you rethink what you eat—and help you save the planet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421404738
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	10/01/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Anand M. Saxena worked as a biophysicist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory for more than thirty years. Now retired, he works as a guest scientist at BNL and is an active environmentalist.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Farms
2. Environment
3. Land
4. Water
5. Fish
6. Resources
7. Health
8. Dairy
9. Suffering
10. Consequences
Epilogue
Notes
Index

What People are Saying About This

Joan Sabaté

Making a connection between the consumption of meat, a central food item of the American diet, and environmental degradation on a global scale is not simple. Yet that is what Anand Saxena does in this book. In a comprehensive mapping of the current industrial food system, he establishes the imperative for change.

— Joan Sabaté, Loma Linda University

Joan Sabaté

Making a connection between the consumption of meat, a central food item of the American diet, and environmental degradation on a global scale is not simple. Yet that is what Anand Saxena does in this book. In a comprehensive mapping of the current industrial food system, he establishes the imperative for change.

From the Publisher

A timely and crucial discussion of the human food supply. People interested in the environment know that a vegetarian diet requires about one-third less fossil energy and cropland to produce food needs, as compared to the average American diet. The vegetarian diet is environmentally sound—and is an imperative.
—David Pimentel, Cornell University

Making a connection between the consumption of meat, a central food item of the American diet, and environmental degradation on a global scale is not simple. Yet that is what Anand Saxena does in this book. In a comprehensive mapping of the current industrial food system, he establishes the imperative for change.
—Joan Sabaté, Loma Linda University

David Pimentel

A timely and crucial discussion of the human food supply. People interested in the environment know that a vegetarian diet requires about one-third less fossil energy and cropland to produce food needs, as compared to the average American diet. The vegetarian diet is environmentally sound—and is an imperative.

— David Pimentel, Cornell University

Editorial Reviews

A compelling case for a crucial change to a plant-based diet in order to halt the impending crisis.
—Choice

The author does an admirable job of backing up this thesis and has done a good job of convincing this reader to begin making better dietary choices. For a start: Meatless Mondays anyone?
—Internet Review of Books

Belongs in any culinary and social issues collection and offers assessments of the moral and ethical implications of dietary choices.
—Midwest Book Review

Anand Saxena is a new name on the veg author roster, and thankfully so. Saxena is a retired biophysicist, yet writes with the smooth, readable prose of a gifted wordsmith. The Vegetarian Imperative focuses mainly on two areas: the effects of what we eat on the ecosystem, and the benefits of plant foods on human health. Saxena references the most recent science and produces convincing arguments that the environment will be in trouble if we continue on our current path, and that veggies are good for your health. The message isn’t new, but the voice is, and the hope here is that Imperative will reach the academics on campus who aren’t targeted by Vegan Outreach.
—VegNews

From the Publisher

A compelling case for a crucial change to a plant-based diet in order to halt the impending crisis.

Choice

The author does an admirable job of backing up this thesis and has done a good job of convincing this reader to begin making better dietary choices. For a start: Meatless Mondays anyone?

Internet Review of Books

Anand Saxena is a new name on the veg author roster, and thankfully so. Saxena is a retired biophysicist, yet writes with the smooth, readable prose of a gifted wordsmith. The Vegetarian Imperative focuses mainly on two areas: the effects of what we eat on the ecosystem, and the benefits of plant foods on human health. Saxena references the most recent science and produces convincing arguments that the environment will be in trouble if we continue on our current path, and that veggies are good for your health. The message isn’t new, but the voice is, and the hope here is that Imperative will reach the academics on campus who aren’t targeted by Vegan Outreach.

VegNews

Belongs in any culinary and social issues collection and offers assessments of the moral and ethical implications of dietary choices.

Midwest Book Review