Book Summary

Veganism is more than a healthy lifestyle choice—it’s a moral imperative. Society continues to engage in widespread animal oppression, slaughtering billions of helpless living creatures each year. Vivisectionists and researchers torture and kill in the name of science, while corporations and governments plunder nature’s last remaining treasures.

Author, vegan, and dietician Stephen Saunders, RD, presents a compelling and sometimes controversial argument in favor of animal liberation. Drawing on historical examples of human oppression and comparing them to the plight of animals, Saunders reveals the hypocrisy of those who fight for human rights while ignoring speciesism.

Saunders offers a vision of animal oppression from the point of view of the victim. His irrefutable evidence positions veganism as the optimal diet from the viewpoints of ethics, the environment, and health.

Domination over the animal kingdom acts as the foundation for domination over women, ethnic minorities, and the socially disadvantaged. Unless we address and conquer speciesism, nothing will change—indeed, our place on this planet will become ever more precarious. Saunders makes an unapologetic call to arms. There can be no compromise or negotiation when fighting for animal liberation—but there may be justice.

Amazon Link – http://amzn.to/2npHQJZ

Kirkus Review

A debut book contends that humanity can save itself through veganism.

These days, it seems people are facing more existential crises than they have time to contemplate: climate change, environmental degradation, income inequality, sexism, racism, and plain old violence. “I believe that man can change,” writes Saunders in the introduction to this work. “But it will take a revolution of empathy, compassion, and mercy, not toward the human species but toward the creatures with whom we share this earth—the animals.” According to the author, humans’ carnivorous behavior is their true original sin, the one that underlies all the others. The torture and slaughter of animals are injustices that people have rationalized, making it easier for them to defend other systems of subjugation, like patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism. Saunders takes readers through a wide range of disciplines and eras to make his case, exploring the origins of hunting and eating meat, contemporary research on what nutrients people need (and from what sources they are available), and how veganism builds on the values of earlier radical groups like the Romantics, the Luddites, the Transcendentalists, and abolitionists. Drawing from science, literature, and politics, the author maintains that the next stage of human freedom is to untether the race from the greatest vestige of its unenlightened past: the flesh of other creatures. Saunders demonstrates a good deal of erudition, but his tone is often abrasive and hyperbolic, as when he attempts to discredit high-protein, low-carb diets: “You may lose weight in the short-term on a low-carb diet if your goal is to fit into a skinnier casket.” With his cherry-picked nutritional studies, jeremiads against capitalism, and fondness for quoting Thoreau, the author will likely remind readers of a particularly dogmatic undergraduate. That is unfortunate, since this approach obscures his most enthralling and persuasive argument—that living off the killing of animals decreases people’s empathy. Tone aside, there is much here that should give the progressive meat eater pause. The book is a reminder that while vegans may sometimes sound patronizing to carnivores, their complaints about the food system cannot be ignored forever.

An intriguing, if somewhat heavy-handed, argument for veganism.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-saunders/radical-revolution/

Author Bio

Stephen graduated from Plattsburgh State University with a B.S. in food and nutrition and then went on to complete an internship at the University of Delaware to become a registered dietitian. Stephen also graduated from Long Island University with a B.S. in biology. Stephen has worked as a registered dietitian for over 10 years including working as a clinical dietitian in several hospitals for over 10 years. He is board certified as a nutrition support specialist for critically ill patients. Stephen is a public speaker for health and veganism.

Stephen presents a compelling and sometimes controversial argument in favor of animal liberation. Drawing on historical examples of human oppression and comparing them to the plight of animals, Stephen reveals the hypocrisy of those who fight for human rights while ignoring speciesism. Stephen offers a vision of animal oppression from the point of view of the victim. His irrefutable evidence positions veganism as the optimal diet from the viewpoints of ethics, the environment, and health.