By Aric McBay
Briarpatch Magazine
January/February 2009
A review of The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice and Sustainability
By Lierre Keith
Flashpoint Press, 2009
The Vegetarian Myth argues that strict vegetarianism is not the best diet for our health, for animals or for the planet. The stance is controversial in environmental and animal rights circles, but the subject matter is thoroughly explored, exhaustively researched and very persuasive. Keith is adamantly opposed to fast food and factory farming, but believes that strict vegetarianism isn’t the answer either, arguing instead for a sustainable food system based on mixed farming and a diet that includes moderate amounts of animal products.
Lierre Keith does not come to this issue as an outsider. She spent 20 years as a vegan, eventually developing a degenerative illness - which she attributes to veganism in the book - before finally changing her diet and life to become a chicken-raising omnivore. If anyone is qualified to write this book, she is.
