Wow! Thank you to the University of Georgia Press for publishing this insightful look that delves into scientific and philosophical topics about Livestock. I appreciated the journey into different farms to see how livestock is treated in various locations. I have purchased a copy of this book that sits in a shelf along with Animal Liberation, Pig Tales, The Compassionate Carnivore, The Chain, Eating Animals, etc.

This is a scholarly look at American livestock farming, digressing often into philosophy which asks whether we should think of animals as meat on the hoof, or as sexualised producers of milk, say. And whether our lives are diminished by treating animals the way slaves used to be treated.

Fish farming is the unusual start to the exploration. Many issues are aired, not so much the downsides as the farmers won't talk about those. Later in the book we see an identical pattern with chicken farming in immense numbers. Cattle, dairy and beef, also sheep and goats, are taken in separate chapters, and there is one on pigs, while horses fit in and around, usually the mustangs rounded up for meat, nobody noticing the worked-out carthorses or retired racehorses. Brief mentions are given to farmed deer, bison, llamas, rabbits, etc.

The author gives us some really nice visits to smaller farms where the people work with the soil. They mostly use rotational grazing and sometimes have sheep following cattle, chickens scratching and eating insects. No mention of ducks and geese, used in damp pasture to eat snails which carry liver fluke. I like that herding dogs are used to guard flocks of sheep or chickens, and predations ceased. Dairying is hard work. Imagine milking seventy goats by hand twice a day. These farms are either organic or nearly, with no hormones used. Farming is hard in general, but the folks enjoy it and lead a healthy life. The author tells us mostly they eat less meat now, but the meat tastes better.

Be prepared for philosophy discussions and terminologies. For instance quotes from Sarah Lucia Hoagland that 'animal raised and killed for meat by humans' becomes 'meat animal' becomes 'beef' or 'pork'. Cockfighting is cruelty but the subtext is social class - as opposed to foxhunting - Herzog. Carol Adams is ecofeminist seeing "a logic of domination in racism, classism, sexism, colonialism, speciesism, and more - you can't fight one kind of oppression alone. Isolating one form - feminism but not speciesism - doesn't address the root causes of oppression." She says PETA ads using women in sexualised poses to protest ill-treatment of animals perpetuates the logic of domination. Breeze Harper says we need to understand the connections rather than divides such as dairy animals and chattel slavery.

The point is well made by the author that cows in the past were tough beasts that looked after themselves and kept predators away from calves. Now some can barely waddle in to be milked from huge udders. While meat chickens are bred to be fully grown at six weeks and are killed before they can come down with diseases.

I would have liked more comparison with Europe which bans many of the situations outlined here and has much stricter laws - each piece of meat can be DNA tested from farm to fork. A scandal some years ago was uncovered by the Irish Commissioner who ordered DNA testing across Europe, discovering horse meat in supposed cheap beef. Europe refuses to allow American meat here, because of the hormones used and the appalling animal welfare, GMO grain, and the lack of traceability.

Another very important aspect which the author mentions but does not delve into, is the actual killing of meat animals. She says the men who have to do this work are usually ex-convicts or immigrants, easily replaced, and the men who carry out the killing have to see a psychiatrist every three months as they feel "unhappy and abusive, emotionally dead and sadistic" said one... Does it not occur to anyone that clerics have to carry out similar work in some cultures, which stipulate that a live aware animal has to be led up to the man - who wears sacking and sandals for the blood - and prayed at as its throat is cut and it dies. 80% of new trained clerics have to do this work for three years until another new cleric replaces them and they can move on to raising a family and preaching. No wonder they preach death with blank eyes and abuse women or anyone weak. There must be a better way rather than turn men who want to do good into men who are surrounded by death.

Biblography P247 - 254 in my e-ARC. I counted 38 names that I could be sure were female. Index P255 - 263. This book will suit anyone studying American agriculture or philosophy and environmentalism or journalism.
I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

As with books of academic nature, you can expect detailed discussions on the reason behind this book, its moralities, and includes current theories and works by other authors. Although fluent, It’s not the easiest book to read because it sounds ‘scholarly’, with words like ‘pragmatic’, ‘ecofeminist’, and ‘metaphysics’ used throughout. These are terms that I need to look up frequently simply because I’m not used to it.

As I was reading this book, I mentally tried out different ways the author could have written a specific message and I found that the writing could be improved to cater to laymen. This book is not strictly for scholars because I can see it having a place in a wider and more general audience. This is especially true nowadays because consumers are better informed about the repercussions of their dietary choices. Getting back to the topic – I wouldn’t wish for the author to talk down to readers. Rather, I think readers would enjoy this book even more if the writer uses a style more familiar to a vast majority of us. The difference is the equivalent of a teacher who drones monotonically and one who actually engages with students and their experiences. See, I took a course in academic communication during my undergraduate years and it changed my perspective about science books completely. The issue I highlighted about writing style above is the exact reason that my lecturer in academic communication used to say “Most published journals out there are written poorly.”, and I completely agree. I’m not even talking about grammar here. Most works of academic nature are written in such winding structures that it completely fails the purpose of writing in the first place: to give readers knowledge.

This is turning into a rant. Let’s move on.

The author creates a fantastic discussion about the ambiguous ground that plenty of us stand on. People normally care about animals (exhibit: pets) and object to adverse treatments of livestock. However, our very dietary habit is causing the industry to continue raising animals in confinements, taking them away from their mothers only to be raised and slaughtered by machines. But not all of us are strong enough to turn vegetarian and even that is an unsustainable and inefficient solution because it would put stress on the crop farming systems. More chemicals would wind up on our soil to keep up with a world filled with 100% vegetarians. The author then invites us into a discussion of how we can improve the current situation without implementing drastic measures.

The author shares her experiences visiting various farms practising various methods. This helps open the eyes of readers regarding the inner-workings of the livestock industry. In turn, readers become more aware of the impacts of their choices, and can actually choose to buy products that practice humane treatment of livestock, perhaps organic products etc., or choose to eat less meat. I’m sure if read properly, this book will have some sort of impact on some level.

I would recommend this book to readers who are passionate about the welfare of animals and how the agricultural and food industries impact them.

Trigger warning(s): Descriptions of unjust treatment of animals and livestock

Thanks to University of Georgia Press for providing me with a copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own and are based on the advanced digital review copy.

An impressive and academic read. McKenna examines livestock -- cows, pigs, sheep, goats, ducks and geese, chickens, even fish -- from their earliest agricultural history through current factory farming practices. Her source material is endless and she manages to examine all sides of various arguments on the place of livestock in our lives and diets. I particularly liked her visits to various farms, allowing farmers their voices in explaining their theories and practices. If you are interested in the food question, if you like a well researched academic read without too much academic jargon, this is an excellent choice. McKenna is Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma on steroids.