Jonathan Safran Foer's "Eating Animals"

Jonathan Safran Foer is a popular post-modernist, famous for his popular novels Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The latter happens to be one of my favorite books, and focuses on the story of Oscar, a ten-year-old boy who lost his father in the Sept. 11th attacks on the World Trade towers.

Foer's newest book, Eating Animals, is causing quite a stir. It is something of a vegetarian manifesto, written in Foer's smart and entertaining prose. In it, Foer explores the ethics of eating meat, using the process through which he decided to become a vegetarian as a kind of sprongboard for this discussion.

Actress Natalie Portman wrote a response to Foer's book (which can be read here).

I think the overall concept is very intriguing. I love seeing famous authors, writers and even journalists taking the time to write something that is both true and good.

What's more, I think that Foer's discussion is one that is important for us to consider, as a society. I think it is less about eating meat or choosing not to, and more about being aware of how the small, everyday choices we make weave the ethical fabric of our lives. It is the choices made out of habit that we should be most aware and intentional in making.