A review by cebolla
We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate by Michael Grunwald

dark informative inspiring fast-paced

4.25

 

Thank you to LibraryThing and Michael Grunwald for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Every few years something causes me to stop eating meat. Sometimes it's a book, sometimes a movie, sometimes a conversation with a friend. Sometimes it's because of animal cruelty, sometimes health, and sometimes it's for the sake of the planet we live on. I've always gone back to it after a fairly short amount of time, only to be reminded again of why it's not such a good idea. Halfway through We Are Eating the Earth I knew I was about to embark on a non-meat diet again. The book also helped me broaden my views of climate change. I've always thought of emissions as the main contributor and thing to focus on, but the way Grunwald presents land issues caused me to expand my mind. 

Most of what I've read on climate change has been about cars, planes, etc, and the planet-destroying fumes they release. I remember when the biofuel boom happened and how exciting it was that we could run combustion engines on corn, releasing much less emissions. What I don't remember ever hearing about back then is how, if we dedicate a bunch of corn that was previously used to feed people and cattle, to fuel, we would need to replace that amount of corn. This means clearing new land and then all the heavy equipment and runoff that's involved with growing more food. Looking at it from that point of view (the same amount of grain is required to fill the tank of a Ford Explorer and to feed a human being for a year), it's hard not to change your mind. 

Grunwald does a great job of presenting the issues; he's a journalist and is adept at writing about complex topics in an easy to understand way, backed up by a ton of facts. However, his solutions all seem to rely on capitalism and the ruling class. The only to get people to stop eating so much meat is to present them with an alternative that tastes good and is affordable. The only way to do the research quickly and proficiently enough (or to get anyone to help you) is to rely on corporations and the government handing out enough money. Then, not only are you in debt to these evil bastards, but you need to turn a profit really quick. The only way to turn a profit with these types of things is to keep increasing the scale, so that the prices drop to affordable and you sell enough to make a profit, which requires even more money, and the cooperation of distributors, retailers, the meat industry, law makers, and more. This has prevented any kind of alternative meat from taking a hold, and Grunwald doesn't offer any other solutions that think outside of the box. 

He also tells the story of biofuels, fake meat, etc, through the biographies of a few men. This not only makes average people feel like they can't make a difference, but it also encourages us to wait for a hero to solve all our problems. This solution feels similar to another he offers: tax airplanes that continue to use fuel and tax meat. If that happens, the corporations will pass the tax onto the culstomer and the only people who will be able to afford to fly or eat meat will be the people who are already contributing to the destruction of humankind the most. The only way we're going to be able to make this huge shift is through community and the destruction of capitalism. 

Maybe the biggest issue I had was when he was talking about meeting with a senator from the great state of New Jersey. Grunwald uses the term “no corn New Jersey.” No corn in New Jersey? That is probably the most ingorant line in the whole book, and it's not just because I'm from there. It's the garden state for fuck's sake. 

But, we agree on his main point—the way humanity eats meat is not sustainable or ok. It's cruel and inefficient, and doesn't seem like it's going to change any time soon. People won't stop eating meat until they are presented with a reasonable alternative; kind of how people are buying less gas vehicles and making the switch to electric. In fact, when I rented a car recently, electric options were significantly cheaper than regular old gas and diesel. 

Eat the Earth did was it was supposed to do though—it made me think deeply and make an important change in my life, and it gave me a bit more knowledge with which to change other people's minds. I also agree that what we're doing isn't working, I believe that if all we're doing is making things more expensive for poor people, we're doing it wrong. We are indeed eating this planet and a real solutions is going to require more than biofuels, billionaires, and bullshit.