Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism


Michael Huemer - 2019
    The issues they cover include: how intelligence affects the badness of pain, whether consumers are responsible for the practices of an industry, how individual choices affect an industry, whether farm animals are better off living on factory farms than not existing at all, whether meat-eating is natural, whether morality protects those who cannot understand morality, whether morality protects those who are not members of society, whether humans alone possess souls, whether different creatures have different degrees of consciousness, why extreme animal welfare positions "sound crazy," and the role of empathy in moral judgment.The two students go on to discuss the vegan life, why people who accept the arguments in favor of veganism often fail to change their behavior, and how vegans should interact with non-vegans.A foreword, by Peter Singer, introduces and provides context for the dialogues, and a final annotated bibliography offers a list of sources related to the discussion. It offers abstracts of the most important books and articles related to the ethics of vegetarianism and veganism.

The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain


Steven R. Gundry - 2017
    Stephen Gundry believes that these defense strategies make the seemingly virtuous plants that we consume every day--fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds--far less "good for us" than we assume. Dr. Gundry outlines the health hazards posed by lectins. The main sources of lectins in the American diet include conventionally-raised dairy products, beans, and other legumes, wheat and grains, and specific vegetables and fruitsWith a full list of lectin-containing foods and simple substitutes for each; a step-by-step detox and eating plan; and easy lectin-free recipes, The Plant Paradox illuminates the hidden dangers lurking in your salad bowl—and shows you how to eat whole foods in a whole new way.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos


Jordan B. Peterson - 2018
    Peterson's answer to this most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research.Humorous, surprising, and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street.What does the nervous system of the lowly lobster have to tell us about standing up straight (with our shoulders back) and about success in life? Why did ancient Egyptians worship the capacity to pay careful attention as the highest of gods? What dreadful paths do people tread when they become resentful, arrogant, and vengeful? Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure, and responsibility, distilling the world's wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life. 12 Rules for Life shatters the modern commonplaces of science, faith, and human nature while transforming and ennobling the mind and spirit of its listeners.

Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss


Joel Fuhrman - 2003
    In EAT TO LIVE, Dr. Fuhrman offers his healthy, effective, and scientifically proven plan for shedding radical amounts of weight quickly, and keeping it off.Losing weight under Dr. Fuhrman's plan is not about willpower, it is about knowledge. The key to this revolutionary diet is the idea of nutrient density, as expressed by the simple formula Health=Nutrients/Calories. When the ratio of nutrients to calories is high, fat melts away and health is restored. Losing 20 pounds in two to three weeks is just the beginning. The more high-nutrient food Dr. Fuhrman's patients consume, the more they are satisfied with fewer calories, and the less they crave fat and high-calorie foods. Designed for people who must lose 50 pounds or more in a hurry, EAT TO LIVE works for every dieter, even those who want to lose as little as 10 pounds quickly. No willpower required-just knowledge

VBQ - The Ultimate Vegan BBQ Cookbook: Seared, Skewered, Smoking Hot!


Nadine Horn - 2018
    Get your veggies prepped, grab your friends and family, and gather ’round the grill—it’s time for some Vegan BBQ! From steaks and sausages to hot dogs and burgers, Vegan BBQ has transformed these meat-based classics for a healthier, cruelty-free grilling experience. Learn the secret to perfectly barbecuing veggies and plant-based products like tofu and tempeh and become a pro at the basics—how to maintain the perfect temperature, avoid too much smoke, light a barbecue (safely), and more. Then, get a charcoal fire going and indulge in 80 innovative, mouthwatering recipes that cover the whole spectrum of veggie-focused BBQ mainstays like cauliflower steaks and pulled mushroom sandwiches, paired perfectly with essential condiments and sides like cashew sour cream and crispy potato skins. You’ll drool over grilled veggies skewered and stuffed in recipes like Tandoori Tofu Skewers and Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Cashew Aioli & Fresh Sprouts, not to mention creative takes on BBQ favorites like hot dogs and gyros (hint: both made from eggplant)! With full-color photographs that tempt the taste buds and simple recipes perfect for a cookout that is meat-free, easy, and above all, tasty, Vegan BBQ is sure to turn you into a plant-based pitmaster in no time.

Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness: The Complete Guide to Building Your Body on a Plant-Based Diet


Robert Cheeke - 2010
    One of the most prominent figures in vegan bodybuilding, his advice on diet, training, and other facets of the lifestyle make this book a fantastic resource. Readers will find guidelines on the mental and physical aspects of preparation necessary for undertaking the goal of becoming a bodybuilder. There's a section that provides an overview of nutrition, nutrient food sources, the function of nutrients in the body along with mass building menus for training, lists of resources for products, services and equipment that are completely vegan, and helpful information on which exercises yield the best results. Also included is advice on how to find sponsorship and make bodybuilding a career as well as how to take bodybuilding beyond a personal endeavor and use it for activism and outreach.

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know


Alexandra Horowitz - 2009
    The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human.Temple Grandin meets Stephen Pinker in this engaging and informative look at what goes on inside the minds of dogs—from a cognitive scientist with a background at The New Yorker.With more than 52 million pet dogs in America today, it’s clear we are a nation of unabashed dog-lovers. Yet the relationship between dogs and humans remains a fascinating mystery, as no one really knows what goes on in the canine mind. Now, in Inside of a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz fuses her perspectives as both scientist and dog-owner to deliver a fresh look at the world of dogs—as seen from the animal’s point of view. Inspired by her years of living with her own dog, Pumpernickel, who was a constant source of delight and mystery, Horowitz’s mind became filled with questions and ideas. In crisp, clear prose, she draws on her research in the field of dog cognition to give readers a sense of a dog’s perceptual and cognitive abilities—and paints a picture of what the canine experience is like. Horowitz’s own scientific journey, and the insights she uncovered, allowed her to understand her dog better and appreciate her more.Containing up-to-the minute research and providing many moments of dog-behavior recognition, this lively and absorbing book helps dog owners to see their best friend’s behavior in a different, and revealing light, allowing them to understand their pets and enjoy their company even more.

Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way


Chloe Coscarelli - 2012
    An exciting young talent, Chef Chloe is widely heralded as a rising star for her ingenious recipes that make vegan food delectable and accessible.Chef Chloe’s first-ever cookbook explains the vegan diet—how to get all your nutrition from a plant-based diet and why it’s so healthy—in her fresh, dynamic style, as she provides delicious, incredibly appetizing, inventive recipes she has created, from savory starters to decadent desserts. What makes Chef Chloe’s recipes new and exciting is that she makes healthful vegan versions of America’s favorite foods, from comforting macaroni and cheese to creamy Fettuccine Alfredo to crave-inducing sliders and fries and adaptations of the most popular Chinese, Indian, and Mexican dishes. With Chef Chloe, eating vegan doesn’t mean giving up your favorite treats and flavors. Here’s a way to enjoy family favorites and her coveted desserts—including the first publication of her Cupcake War-winning vegan cupcakes—without busting your belt.

A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life


Steven Kotler - 2010
    Then he met Joy, a woman devoted to the cause of canine rescue. "Love me, love my dogs," was her rule, and not having any better ideas, Steven took it to heart. Together with their pack of eight dogs—then fifteen dogs, then twenty-five dogs, then, well, they lost count—Steven and Joy bought a tiny farm in a tiny town in rural New Mexico and started the Rancho de Chihuahua, a sanctuary for dogs with special needs. While dog rescue is one of the largest underground movements in America, it is also one of the least understood. This insider look at the cult and culture of dog rescue begins with Kotler's personal experience working with an ever-peculiar pack of dogs and becomes a much deeper investigation into exactly what it means to devote one's life to the furry and the four-legged. Along the way, Kotler combs through every aspect of canine-human relations, from human's long history with dogs through brand new research into the neuroscience of canine companionship, in the end discovering why living in a world of dogs may be the best way to uncover the truth about what it really means to be human.

Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir


Dan Mathews - 2007
    This irresistibly entertaining book recounts the random incidents and soul-searching that inspired a reluctant party boy to devote his life to a cause, without ever abandoning his sense of mischief and fun. "Everyone has a tense moment in their career that makes them wonder, how the hell did I get into this mess?" writes Mathews. "For me, it was when I was dressed as a carrot to promote vegetarianism outside an elementary school in Des Moines, and a pack of obese pig farmers showed up and peeled off slices of bologna for kids to throw at me." As the irreverent force behind the colorful crusades carried out by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), one of the most effective and enduring pressure groups in the world, Mathews has strutted naked before a fur convention in Tokyo, halted GM's use of animals in crash tests by storming the carmaker's float in the Rose Parade dressed as a rabbit, and crashed a fashion show in Milan dressed as a priest. With self-deprecating wit and candor, Mathews reveals all the edgy details of his unorthodox coming-of-age and equally outrageous career.With backdrops such as the rock scene in Hollywood and London, the inner sanctums of New York high fashion, jails in Hong Kong and Boston, and a psychiatric ward in Paris, "Committed" spotlights the adventures life can offer when you don't abandon your youthful ideals and imagination.

Cry of the Kalahari


Mark Owens - 1984
    Here they met and studied unique animals and were confronted with danger from drought, fire, storms, and the animals they loved. This best-selling book is for both travelers and animal lovers.

Unlikely Friendships : 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom


Jennifer S. Holland - 2011
    Unlikely Friendships tells one story after another of animals who, with nothing else in common, bond in the most unexpected ways and thrive on the warmth, closeness, and trust that come with being true friends.Imagine a predator cuddling its prey. Or a bird befriending a mammal. Or a fish poking its nose out of the water to nuzzle a dog. Or a massive gorilla - the one named Koko, famous for her ability to communicate in sign language - embracing a tiny kitten.Science writer Jennifer S. Holland narrates each story, and also offers insights into these relationships. Sometimes there are plausible scientific explanations: an orphan seeking comfort from an older animal; an adult yearning for a younger creature to nurture. Consider the lioness who befriended and protected a baby oryx - unexpected, but not inexplicable. Sometimes a friendship is about need, as in the case of the blind Lab and her "seeing-eye" cat. B ut sometimes it's just a lovely mystery. How else can one explain the story of Owen the hippo and Mzee the tortoise, two notoriously surly creatures who became bosom buddies?Each story reveals the true power of friendship and, to some degree, the many forms of "love" that seem to exist in the animal kingdom. Yes, scientists might scoff at that notion, but readers may feel a little differently about the world after they finish this book.

Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It


Ian Leslie - 2014
    But only some retain the habits of exploring, learning and discovering as they grow older. Which side of the ’curiosity divide’ are you on?In Curious Ian Leslie makes a passionate case for the cultivation of our desire to know. Curious people tend to be smarter, more creative and more successful. But at the very moment when the rewards of curiosity have never been higher, it is misunderstood and undervalued, and increasingly practised only by a cognitive elite.Filled with inspiring stories, case studies and practical advice, Curious will change the way you think about your own mental life, and that of those around you.

The Elephant Whisperer


Lawrence Anthony - 2009
    But he was the herd's last chance of survival - notorious escape artists, they would all be killed if Lawrence wouldn't take them. He agreed, but before arrangements for the move could be completed the animals broke out again and the matriarch and her baby were shot. The remaining elephants were traumatised, dangerous, and very angry. As soon as they arrived at Thula Thula they started planning their escape...As Lawrence battled to create a bond with the elephants and save them from execution, he came to realise that they had a lot to teach him about life, loyalty and freedom. Set against the background of life on the reserve, with unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, this is a delightful book that will appeal to animal lovers everywhere.

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think


Hans Rosling - 2018
    So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse).Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases.It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most.Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future.