summary ofEating AnimalsBook by Jonathan Safran Foer

first KEY POINT

Grandmother’s chicken and author’s vegetarianism

The author's relationship with food was established by his family members, especially by his grandmother. She used to cook only one meal—chicken with carrots, but as kids, Jonathan and his brother Frank thought she was the greatest chef in the world. She survived World War II, and her attitude toward food was nothing like in the modern world. For Foer's grandmother, unhealthy products didn't exist. She thought the fatter the children, the healthier they were and even insisted that they drank Coca-Cola. Food was about dread, religion, and love for her.

There was a time when the Foer brothers were having dinner with their vegetarian babysitter. They asked why she didn't eat the chicken served that day. She replied that she didn't want to hurt any living being. That's when the author realized that a chicken could feel pain like a human. He became a vegetarian for a few years, but slowly this mindset faded away. He ended up pretending that he was a vegetarian at school while consuming meat at home. He continued eating meat in college, and the reason was that it tasted great to him.When Foer met his future wife, they had one core common point—they were both caught in a loop of being vegetarians but ending up eating meat. After getting married, they made a promise to be vegetarians and, again, they couldn't do it. But when Foer's son was born, he realized that he had a chance to make a difference, at least for this little person. When we grow up, our parents teach us the rules of eating food. For example, we don't eat soup for breakfast (what a ridiculous rule), and we can eat chicken but definitely not parrots (tell this to hawks). And these rules influence our personalities a lot.Reading Eating Animals will help you understand more about your eating habits and food culture in your family. You are going to plunge into the world where animals live. The journey will be disillusioning since some facts reveal the shameful behavior of people growing animals for food. You will more likely have an urge to become a vegetarian and help animals in other ways, which is good because they need human support now more than ever.