A Closer Look at Eating Animals

Writing the Book

The book is an expose on the meat industry, and in particular mechanized factory farms where animals are raised in extremely crowded, confined spaces. Eating Animals has already sparked much discussion -- as well as some heated arguments -- after an excerpt ran in the New York Times. Foer's book has even piqued the interest of some famous vegetarians like Natalie Portman, who wrote an article for the Huffington Post about how the book inspired her to become a vegan after 20 years of eating vegetarian.

It's not surprising that discussions about vegetarianism (especially between those who do and don't eat meat) can be particularly contentious, but I found Foer's book enlightening, inspirational, and surprisingly funny. While much of what I learned was disturbing, the tone was more educational than inflammatory. I am a vegetarian, but like Foer, I understand that what you put in your body -- what you choose to sustain you -- is deeply personal. I spoke with Foer about what inspired his foray into nonfiction, his motivation to become a vegetarian, and what his vision of an ideal meat industry would be.

Ladies' Home Journal: In the book you talk about how throughout your life, you'd dabbled with vegetarianism, but until recently hadn't fully committed. What prompted you to write Eating Animals?
Jonathan Safran Foer: It was when my wife became pregnant with our first child. I've never met anybody who hasn't thought about, Hey, is it wrong to eat animals? I wondered about it, too. And then, when I thought about having to make a decision on my kid's behalf -- as every parent does -- suddenly these casual questions became urgent. I didn't set out to write a book, but I decided to pretty quickly. Within a week of starting my research, I felt like I was having my mind blown.