I want to like this book; I really do. As a practicing vegan, I have read many books about the subject. Why Veganism Matters is well researched and makes a strong argument for why animals should not be eaten. What weakens it, in my opinion, is that it is not written for the everyday reader. Gary Francione's book is both philosophical and argumentative--something the author writes very well--but it feels like reading a thesis. You're either really into it or you're not.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a vegan, I think that I can’t give a very neutral opinion about this book. After all, for me, veganism matters. Not only from an ethical standpoint, but from an ecological one too. So, with my incredibly biased view in mind, trust me, this is a good book!

I picked up this book because I'm a vegan, and I'm often interested in hearing arguments for veganism because I find myself often talking about the subject.

This book disappointed me greatly because it parroted some of the worst takes from the vegan community. Comparisons to slavery and racism were made at multiple points. The book was happy to use the experiences of people of colour but made no mention of issues like food deserts or resource scarcity in indigenous communities.

In addition, quite a bit of the book was dedicated to outlining philosophical points of view that were frankly extremely ableist. While the author did make sure to point out these were not his own views, it was the wrong way to go about making the point he was trying to make.

Animal rights scholar and proponent of the abolitionist approach Gary L. Francione returns with his latest book, Why Veganism Matters: The Moral Value of Animals. In Why Veganism Matters Francione purports that the only means of ending nonhuman animal exploitation is to give nonhuman animals the rights associated with personhood. Francione explains that nonhuman animals are currently considered by most to be “quasi-persons”, meaning that while we understand that nonhuman animals are sentient, their societal status falls somewhere between “person” and “object”. The only sufficient way to end animal exploitation is to grant nonhuman animals personhood. While Francione certainly makes an interesting argument for the abolitionist approach, he does not necessarily make a compelling one.

The overarching issue with Francione’s assessment is the assumption that all humans are considered persons, thus granting them the privileges and protections of personhood. Most importantly: when someone is considered a person by society that society is, as Francione puts it, “compelled to justify pain and suffering put upon them” (pg. 3). We do not consider nonhuman animals people and, therefore, do not feel morally obligated to justify their pain and suffering. The primary problem with this argument is that, frankly, all humans are not considered persons.

“Person” status is not automatically granted to many individuals, as evidenced by our society’s pervasive dedication to systemic racism, misogyny, and ableism. Though Francione does mention racism, he compares the treatment of animals to slavery. The arguement here being that the end of slavery granted former enslaved persons and their descendants personhood. This is simply not true, as Black Americans continue to suffer ongoing abuse, trauma, and death.

Similarly, Francione often contrasts the treatment of people suffering from dementia to that of nonhuman animals. Though a dementia patient may not have certain cognitive characteristics associated with sentience (and, thus, personhood), we still consider them people, while withholding that status from nonhuman animals. Yet, if this were true, then how do we explain the rampant elder abuse occurring in long term care facilities throughout the U.S.? Notable here is also the fact that Francione repeatedly refers to neurotypical individuals as “normal” and neurodivergent individuals as “cognitively impaired”. I could not help but be distracted by this glaringly ableist choice of words.

Despite flaws in Francione’s theory of personhood, he is a sufficient writer. However, the dense, academic nature of the text will likely be a turn off to most casual readers. It is doubtful that this is the book to convert nonvegans to veganism, as Francione’s writing is fairly esoteric. Ultimately, Why Veganism Matters is a relatively unremarkable entry into the ever growing collection of vegan theory texts.

2-2.5 stars

I agree with the sentiments but personally I am not a fan of philosophy. The writing is also quite repetitive and I have serious doubts that this would ever convince someone to go vegan.

The author is a well known scholar of Animal Rights and the Law surrounding Animal abuse. I am a vegan and was grateful to read this for review. Thank you to the author, the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity. I have read former works by the author and always find his writing passionate and very informative on the subject of Sentient beings exploited and slaughtered for unenlightened people. I found this book to be a remarkable book and very educational. i highly recommend this book .
People that are reviewing this book in a negative fashion are obvious not animal lovers or vegans. Being vegan is a moral choice and those of us that are long time vegans like the author put up with our fair share of abuse which stems from ignorance. In that regard this is a book I recommend for people that are ignorant to factory farming . I do recommend this for all vegans to continue our journey of fact based information and passionate advocacy.

The author explains to his readers why veganism is the only moral choice and the only healthy choice. I appreciate that he includes how most people see humans superior to other sentient beings as this is basis of the problem of meat eaters. He talks of animal rights, the movement and how eating meat impacts our health and our planet. He writes of the atrocities animals suffer which is necessary to educate readers that are not aware. Its a very comprehensive book and would be a great educational took for those that are considering going plant based. I highly recommend this book.

In this short book regarding why veganism is the right, and only, way to go, Francione tells the reader about not only veganism, but about moral values, the choices we make, how most people see humans superior to other sentient beings, and his strong arguments behind veganism. The book is meant for people who are interested in the subject, have healthy moral values, but might not yet be a vegan. Therefore I am not part of the target group, since I’ve been a vegan for a long time already.

I am familiar with Francione’s arguments from before, having read his books and being part of the animal rights law community myself. Therefore I’m always interested in reading books like this. As always, Francione has strong Vicente based arguments in his reasoning. His abolitionist view is seen as radical to many people, which in fact it is not. Of course many think it is, because to admit he’s right these people would have to change their way of life, and that’s something most people don’t want to or will not do. If your own health is not an important enough reason, why would morals be?

The first chapters are quite philosophical and goes back to the times of how animal rights, sentient, and the days of the beginning of the “movement”. It is quite theoretical, but the further you read the more practical, and modern it gets. It might be a heavy read for people who are not used to academic ways of how articles are written, but it’s definitely still worth a try if you are interested in these issues. The book repeats certain things too many times, especially in the beginning. Overall a good book if you are pondering about these things, but not sure how to argue against the exploitation of non-human animals.

This book has great points and messages, but the execution is too long and dense to be able to comprehend easily. A lot of points are being repeated over and over again and is too tiring to read sometimes. I hope this book was written in a more concise way so that readers can be able to digest the information and message the author wants to share with the readers.

Why Veganism Matters is an expository analysis of the case for veganism written and presented by Gary L. Francione. Due out 12th Jan 2021 from Columbia University Press, it's 224 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.
The author is an activist with a background in jurisprudence and it shows. He builds his arguments brick by brick as a lawyer would (if you admit X then you must admit Y as a logical consequence and here's why....). That he's passionately committed to animals and animal welfare is clear from the first sentence of the text. One of the first logical arguments in the book, interestingly enough, is the concept of personhood not necessarily being synonymous with being biologically human. He posits that animals can be people and thus have inherent moral value. Since they're valid and have moral value as "people", we have a moral obligation to not harm or exploit them and as a logical result, a moral obligation to be vegan.

I have been, along with my family, trying to eat a more plant based diet for philosophical and health benefit reasons, to help (even in a tiny way) the environment and also because mass production farming methods are shockingly inhumane. This book didn't sway me much one way or the other, but it did make me think quite a lot.

The author has a confrontational, courtroom style of expository writing. Some readers will certainly feel attacked and uncomfortable. Other readers will dismiss the ideas and writing out of hand. Some few (I suspect) will be made to really think and confront their biases and change their thoughts and feelings, and it is for these (relative) few I believe this book could be an important catalyst for change, and for these few, therefore, this book is really written.

Do I think it's going to become Heidegger, Plato, Kant, or even Rachel Carson or John Muir to future generations? No. However, the author definitely has something to say, and it's a worthwhile book on which to ruminate.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Gary L. Francione is clearly passionate about his position of the moral values of Veganism and personhood of animals. While it’s important to have such passionate voices speaking for our animal companions, I (like a few others so far) found myself a bit alienated by the tone of Francione’s argument. As a “vegetarian” myself and not a full Vegan, Francione makes quite clear on the first few pages that I’m not doing enough to warrant consideration. While his arguments are sound and well constructed throughout, I don’t advocate leaving out people who are “trying” to do better but haven’t gone 100% as of yet, so it made the book a bit tougher to get through.

**Thanks to Columbia University Press and Netgalley for the ARC for an honest review**

I had great expectations for this book because since I became vegan I tried to get as much information as possible about the pros and cons and overall influence of veganism on our planet. However, what I do not tolerate are biased views on a verge of extremism. I do not appreciate either when someone is shoving their opinion down my throat. Honestly, I was so disappointed that I couldn’t make myself finish this book. With all due respect to the author, I believe we all need to be more patient and tolerable to people who do not share our views of the world; if we want to educate people around us, we need to be more understanding and listen to what they have to say. There is always two sides of every question.

This book matters. A lot. I wish it could be compulsory reading in schools. The author breaks through the mockery which has been directed towards vegans over decades and challenges the reader to face the impacts of their choices. Some people will find this confronting. Others will take it for what it is - an insightful, well written, deeply analytical and quietly logical presentation of facts.

This is not a book, it is a treatise or manifesto of veganism. An entirely philosophical view on veganism from a pretty extremist position. Gary L. Francione takes no prisoners. Anyone cutting down on meat in their consumption is still not good enough. He does not care that a pure vegan diet is difficult to be balanced and healthy. I gave Paul Shapiro's "Clean Meat" five stars, so I am not militant pro-Meat. But this book is a manifesto for the "militant extremist Hezbollah wing of the vegetarians"*) - the vegans. Independent of this, the book is difficult to read, not even entertaining.

*) borrowed from Anthony Bourdains "Kitchen Confidential".

Interesting information about the animals and how they are used in food and how they are treated. It has more information but no details of actual veganism.