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A review by justjoel
Sex Robots and Vegan Meat: Adventures at the Frontier of Birth, Food, Sex, and Death by Jenny Kleeman
4.0
Despite the somewhat provocative title, this was a really good nonfiction book about cutting-edge technology that is expected to soon impact 4 major parts of the human experience: birth, food, sex, and death.
I'm sure the author or her editors figured sex sells, so they put the sex bit at the beginning, though for my tastes, I think I would have preferred a more chronological approach.
The birth aspect deals with the ability to potentially grow a fetus outside a womb (already done with sheep). What I did like was the author not only talks about the benefits of the technology, she asks questions like how women could be adversely affected and also somewhat liberated from societal expectations.
Food deals with the race to bring a palatable meat substitute to consumer tables, and laid out some pretty interesting science showing how and why our current rates of meat consumption are unsustainable. I can't say that I am converting to veganism, but I am more readily accepting of the idea that I should probably make dietary changes, not only for my own health but for that of the planet. The link between meat consumption and why doctors are loath to prescribe antibiotics these days was interesting to me and something I've never heard before.
The section on sex deals not with—as the title suggests—sex robots, but full-on AI companions who are able to interact in a type of faux relationship with their owners. This raises quite a few concerns for the author, and I found it pretty disturbing as well.
Death deals with the ability to choose the time and place of one's own demise, and several inventions that are designed to let people who are suffering and not enjoying their quality of life to have an option for a painless exit.
Overall, there was a lot of thought-provoking content and some interesting info here, and the author did a good job of using her journalism skills to get at different angles. I felt like one of the sections was a lot weaker than the others, which is the only reason I'm not giving this the highest rating. Still, it'll be one of the nonfiction titles I remember for a while, and probably the best I'll read all year.
4 out of 5 stars
I'm sure the author or her editors figured sex sells, so they put the sex bit at the beginning, though for my tastes, I think I would have preferred a more chronological approach.
The birth aspect deals with the ability to potentially grow a fetus outside a womb (already done with sheep). What I did like was the author not only talks about the benefits of the technology, she asks questions like how women could be adversely affected and also somewhat liberated from societal expectations.
Food deals with the race to bring a palatable meat substitute to consumer tables, and laid out some pretty interesting science showing how and why our current rates of meat consumption are unsustainable. I can't say that I am converting to veganism, but I am more readily accepting of the idea that I should probably make dietary changes, not only for my own health but for that of the planet. The link between meat consumption and why doctors are loath to prescribe antibiotics these days was interesting to me and something I've never heard before.
The section on sex deals not with—as the title suggests—sex robots, but full-on AI companions who are able to interact in a type of faux relationship with their owners. This raises quite a few concerns for the author, and I found it pretty disturbing as well.
Death deals with the ability to choose the time and place of one's own demise, and several inventions that are designed to let people who are suffering and not enjoying their quality of life to have an option for a painless exit.
Overall, there was a lot of thought-provoking content and some interesting info here, and the author did a good job of using her journalism skills to get at different angles. I felt like one of the sections was a lot weaker than the others, which is the only reason I'm not giving this the highest rating. Still, it'll be one of the nonfiction titles I remember for a while, and probably the best I'll read all year.
4 out of 5 stars