Bob Torres

Making a Killing is a great primer on animal rights activism and anarchism. Torres's thesis is that anti-speciesism is consistent with a non-hierarchical, anarchist society. He really blasts mainstream animal rights organizations (and rightly so) for ignoring real animal liberation while giving awards to slaughterhouse designers and raising money for their corporate boards. He also criticizes left movements for ignoring animal rights movements as being less important than other human rights show more struggles. He argues that being vegan reduces your dominance over others, and is completely consistent with a radical lifestyle, even if you devote your main energies to feminism, anti-racism, etc.

I liked this book because it gave me a better understanding of anarchism and the animal rights movement in general. I also liked his criticisms of people like John Mackey and organizations like PETA, because they always rub me the wrong way, and I always wonder if I'm a strange type of vegan who hates PETA. I always wonder how useful any movement is when it works within the framework of capitalism, and Bob Torres does a great job explaining how animals will never be liberated when they are commodities and property. Animal rights are simply not compatible with capitalism.

Definitely recommended for current veg*ns, anyone interested in animal rights and people who are anarchists but don't see the point in helping out animals. You can be an activist and help dismantle capitalist systems of dominance over animals. Go vegan! show less

I was honestly not expecting much from this book, but it turned out to be an incredible resource, even though I assumed I already knew a lot about veganism (being a vegan for several months and having a seasoned vegan boyfriend).

This book goes over a lot of really practical issues that vegans deal with quite regularly. The tireless prodding from friends, family and co-workers about "what do you EAT?" and how to deal with them tactfully. It gives some great suggestions and recommendations on show more eating vegan while traveling and lists a bunch of resources on how to find vegan / veg friendly restaurants, food co-ops across the US and suggests online stores for buying vegan snacks to keep on hand.

I found the most useful part of the book was chapter 5, which goes over vegan cosmetics, toiletries, and even condoms. Apparently most latex condoms aren't vegan, which is something I had never even heard of before! Although most vegans know to look out for gelatin, casein, and other obvious signs of animal products, things like glycerin and stearic acid (to name just two) aren't necessarily vegan, and they show up in lots of products.

I also found it amazing to discover that 8th Continent soymilk isn't vegan at all, deriving the D3 vitamins from lanolin, or wool fat. Gross!

This book is highly recommended for anybody who is vegan, vegetarian, or thinking of becoming vegan or vegetarian. If you're more interested in the ethics of veganism, or health / environmental concerns, then you might want to read a John Robbins book instead. But as far as practical, every-day veganism goes, this book is awesome. show less

From a review I wrote in Solidarity Federation's - Direct Action # 42, Spring 2008

Does animal rights have a place within anarchism or indeed within the liberation of the working class? Bob Torres’ Making a Killing... is not the first to take up the tenuous issue of animal rights philosophy and anarchism but he certainly tries to cover a lot of ground. By primarily drawing upon a critique model of capitalist economy through Marx and drawing upon issues of social ecology via Bookchin he show more weaves together a sound argument that is an impassioned plea for the left and libertarians to consider the plight of animals.

The hallmarks of this tradition can in large part be traced back to developments within anarcho-punk during the eighties. While a number of appeals about the mistreatment of animals raised important questions and kick-started a number of campaigns, the issue of class and a philosophy based around a lifestyle eschewing animal abuse was never fully resolved.

Readers might be familiar with the contemporary beginnings of this debate with the likes of 'Beast of Burden' and 'Animal Liberation: Devastate to Liberate? Or Devastatingly Liberal'. As the animal rights movement progressed from its infancy and hit a zenith in the mass appeal of vegetarianism, it saw the beginnings of numerous campaigns against the fur trade, blood sports, battery and intensive farming, testing on animals and vivisection and so on. It was also drawn into criticisms of misanthropy, fanatical single issue campaigning, violence and professional politicking – or what Torres refers to as the ‘Animal Rights Industry’.

Where the book picks up is by fleshing out an understanding of the status of animals. By taking issue with moralisers like Peter Singer, it argues that animals are reduced to the effective position of commodities and our maintaining of this keeps our understanding of nature and ecology entirely on a capitalist and therefore an irrational level. For example racism, sexism and even class have a pre-capitalist basis, but find their oppressive height within capitalism’s existence. These factors can make oppressive forms appear ‘natural’ but, on the contrary, they are mere perversions of nature. The accumulation of wealth at the expense of the few, regardless of its origins, is in fact a distortion of our ‘organic nature’. This is entirely where Bookchin is tied in – by exploring how the exploitation of classes results in various constituted hierarchies of the sexes, races and even of animals.

What’s interesting is that it isn’t left there. The ALF and mainstream animal rights groups are rounded on and deconstructed with a class and anarchist analysis and Torres argues for the possibilities of a new form of activism that challenges the status of animals. The question is: will the people who would benefit from reading this book read it? show less

There have been a couple of “Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World”-type books written in the last few years (Erin Pavlina's Raising Vegan Children in a Non-Vegan World and Carol J. Adams' Living Among Meat Eaters come to mind), but our friends Bob and Jenna's Vegan Freak takes a fresh look at the challenge of living an animal-friendly life (apologies to Eric) in a world that makes it hard to do so.

Vegan Freak sets itself apart right from the start, letting us know that the “health nut” and “the show more hippie” aren't the intended audience for this book. Rather, the focus is on ethical vegans looking to recharge their batteries and lacto-ovo vegetarians who are looking for that last nudge. They also let you know that you'll be seeing the word “fuck” a few times in their book, something you probably won't come across in the more family-friendly books. Reading Vegan Freak on a lunchbreak at work is like sitting across from your favorite swearing friends at a restaurant: they're hilarious to be around and you love every minute, but you hope your first grade teacher doesn't walk in and hear them talking like that.

The first chapter, “Vegan and Freaky,” takes a look at how the authors came to veganism and what it really means to be vegan. They advocate the “cold tofu” approach—going right to veganism for three weeks rather than slowly transitioning. It's an interesting idea, one that's worked well for a number of people. That said, I don't think it would have worked for me. My gradual transition wasn't about not being able to give up cheese, but was slow because I didn't have all the facts yet. During my transitional phase, one that was admittedly too long, I was educating myself about the dairy and egg industries as well as learning to cook without both. Once I was fully informed, however, the phasing out of dairy and eggs was a fast process. So the "cold tofu" approach will probably work best for those lacto-ovos whose favorite line to vegans is, "I know I should be vegan, but..."

In the first chapter, Bob and Jenna also discuss their own pathways to veganism and take on the vegan police.

Chapter two, titled “In Which We Get All AR On You,” takes a high-level view at the ethical arguments for veganism. While most of the material in this chapter won't be news to those who have memorized Diet for a New America and Meat Market, it's thorough while also being concise. A nice, thick recommended reading list is included.

With all the reasons to go vegan laid out, next up comes the most difficult part of going vegan. It has nothing to do with nutrition or finding suitable substitutions for cheese. Nope... the worst part is having to deal with other people, particularly if you're the quiet, non-confrontational type. Chapter three, “Hell is Other People,” deals with exactly this issue. The recommendation: don't be aggressive, but don't be meek. This includes when dealing with anti-vegan vegetarians (because milk doesn't kill the cow!) and perhaps the worst group of all: the vocal ex-vegan. The personal antecdotes stand out, particularly the rant on Bob's Uncle Bill (listen to podcast 22 for a rundown on Bob and Jenna's Christmas 2005 run-in with the unapologetic meat-eating uncle).

Chapter four covers what to eat, both at home and in restaurants. This is a great chapter to show your parents (unless there's a lot of cursing in it, which I can't remember if there is) so they can see exactly what a vegan is and what types of things are off-limits. One omission I was surprised at, though, was in the paragraph about eating out in Italian restaurants. While they mention that you should ask about what's in the sauces, they don't mention that a lot of freshly prepared pasta contains eggs. A lot of restaurants will stick with dry pasta which is less likely to contain animal products, but it's still worth asking the first time you eat somewhere if their pasta contains eggs.

The fifth chapter focuses on what to wear. This includes not only alternatives to leather and wool, but what you wear when you're playing like Marvin Gaye and getting it on (vegan condoms) and what you wear on your skin (making sure your tattoos are vegan). While many vegan books cover the issue of wool, leather, and even silk, not many touch upon tattoos, condoms, and sex toys. Bravo.

I would liked to have seen some discussion of the environmental issues surrounding the production of pleather, a petroleum-based leather alternative suggested in the book, but I think it's outside the scope of what they aimed to cover. Perhaps they'll discuss it as a topic on their blog or something.

The book closes out with a basic, but important wish: Go Vegan, Stay Vegan. Bob and Jenna realize that it's not just about transitioning to veganism, but living a vegan life for the long-term. Vegan Freak will help you do just that.

As with any good non-fiction book, the learning doesn't stop when you finish the last page. You're not left out to dry here: Vegan Freak has an accompanying website, blog, podcast, and forum as well as a great resource appendix I think they'll even come to your house and talk you down from a cheese-induced high if you ask them to.

There's more support now than ever for new and transitioning vegans. 2005 saw the release of more vegan-themed books and cookbooks than any recent year that i can remember and of those, Vegan Freak is one of the essential reads, particularly for young vegans. Vegan Freak reminds us that being different is OK... and it's OK to be a freak. Thank goodness.

(Originally appeared on vegblog.org: http://www.vegblog.org/archive/2006/01/06/book_review_vegan_freak.php ) show less