This Is Vegan Propaganda

This is the most comprehensive, straightforward and eloquent account on veganism and should totally be recommended as a starting point for many readers. Ed gives his own personal account, shows off all the cruelty and gives lots of interesting trivia, entertains concerns which you don't hear so often. He approaches a lot of rhetoric a vegan might hear in unique and creative ways.

This book touches on ethics, the environment and health, it's a general look on benefits of going vegan. It touches on the psychology of people who dismiss veganism and can't be bothered to consider it, the power of the meat industry and how it gets threatened by vegans. The cognitive dissonance, how the pandemics spread because of meat and most importantly how there is no humane slaughter even in the UK which is considered the most humane country regarding that.

One of the chapters is particularly brutal and like the documentary Dominion goes over all the suffering, it is rightfully placed at the start of the book. Ed's perspective and experience is very interesting for me because for example I never really was into meat and the way he came to the conclusion to go vegan was way different than mine. I think what he describes might be a way more common experience and something that people would be able to relate to while for example I stumbled on veganism by curiosity and this inkling that something was off. It is so odd to me how he feels well read and common at the same time because I guess I just have a different personality.

I really like the way he points out the inconsistencies in our thinking, like how we wouldn't want to see a Peppa pig in a gas chamber. He defines words into such striking images at times. I like how he strives to be better and find more information regarding everything veganism. I love especially how he discussed how he was interviewed by people who wanted to paint a certain narrative and I wonder how I would handle being pressured to word stuff a certain way.

This book tries to say that people who eat meat are not necessarily bad people, but I suppose it depends on your definition of bad. In my case I would consider faulty thoughts and lack of knowledge as something that can hurt a lot of victims, human and nonhuman. I am not really concerned whether my audience is bad or not, but whether I am bringing a message that is worth saying and whether I am evolving as a person.

I love how it points out how much space we are using for the animals and how we could use it for other purposes, we could use it to not only end exploitation but to revitalise earth. The benefits are just endless, especially if they were enacted on a wide scale, the veggies and fruits then could not even get contaminated from the meat industry.

I am starting to love all the nonfiction vegan material even though it is brutal. A lot of authors bring so many different perspectives and some of them I don't even agree with or like, it is nice to get to know some fellow vegans through my favourite format - books. It is such a nice medium to hear lots of thoughts from someone and then not really get an answer back. I really love how Ed was an avid reader and got to write his own book, a dream come true :) I am excited to read Ed's next book and books from other vegan authors, fiction or nonfiction.

People say that they only shop “locally” but have you ever considered that every farm is local to someone??? Really makes you think