The Way We Eat is an in-depth exploration into the ethics of our food choices. To illustrate their arguments, co-authors Singer and Mason use the eating habits of three families as case studies: a typical suburban family looking for low-cost, convenient food choices at their local Wal-Mart; an upper-middle class family that chooses organic foods whenever possible and shops at places like Whole Foods; a vegan family that is very tuned into food ethics.

Singer is an ethicist, and this book includes detailed analyses of the ethics implicated by eating meat in general, eating meat and from factory farms, eating farm-raised fish, choosing organic and free-trade foods, buying local food, and other food choices. For people already sensitized to the ethics of food choices, this is a great book for diving deeper into the subject. It's well-written and well-researched. Newcomers to the issue, however, should start with something less dense like Michael Pollan's fabulous primer, The Omnivore's Dilemma.

This review also appears on my blog Literary License. ( )

I recommend this book to anyone who questions what titles like certified organic, certified humane, all-natural, etc. mean. This book provides a great service in clarifying those deliberately-muddied waters.

I recommend this book to anyone who questions what titles like certified organic, certified humane, all-natural, etc. mean. This book provides a great service in clarifying those deliberately-muddied waters.

This book clearly shows that what we choose to eat isn't just about nourishing our bodies, it's also about how we live in and impact on the earth and other creatures. I'd class myself as a conscientious omnivore and after reading this book I'm becoming more conscious about the food I buy and consume.

The book is a good introduction to applied ethics, and Singer and Mason make few judgements about the people they feature in the book. They understand that people live by a range of values and constraints including time, money and community. The book canvasses issues that include animal rights and welfare, environmental impacts of industrial food production, and economics. The ethical discussions are clear and logical, and leave the reader to make their own choices. I recommend the book to anyone who wonders why they should bother paying extra for barn laid or free range eggs or any organic produce, and to anyone interested in the quality and quantity of food they eat.

(Read April 2008) ( )

Great book about different ethical decisions that go into food choices - eat local vs. fair trade vs. organic. Also discussions of vegetarianism. Sad though - in the end, no matter how well the animals are treated, we still eat them. The description of the happy pigs made me ashamed to have eaten pig products. They are just like dogs or cats.

There were points where this book really veered into preachy, extreme territory though. At one point, Singer discusses people who are essentially scavengers - I can't remember his specific term. They go through the trash behind buildings and pull out tossed food and eat that, regardless of what it is or whether its fair trade, vegetarian, etc. The rationale is that since they are not buying the products, they are not creating demand for them, therefore, they are remaining outside the industrial food system. I didn't quite understand if Singer was actually advocating that we all start living like this. It seemed like a way to put readers off of an otherwise very good book. ( )