The cover of Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat) says it all. It shows a picture of a cow, separated into its various cuts – except each cut lists a different issue to consider when choosing to eat meat or not: health, environment, workers, taxpayer cost, animals, children’s health, global hunger, zoonotic diseases, communities, and climate change. The book, edited by Moby with Miyun Park, includes a series of essays, one on each of those topics. And by addressing each of those issues, this book takes the debate about what role food animals should play in our society and how they should be treated to a new level.

Many people are perfectly capable of controlling their own actions – until they see or perhaps taste a bite of certain foods. Maybe your downfall is Buffalo wings. Maybe it’s a Snickers bar. Mine is Coconut Bliss ice cream. I understand that it has a lot of fat and sugar. I understand that eating an entire pint in one sitting is not healthy for me. I really want to fit in my clothes, and I know that eating an entire pint of ice cream is counterproductive towards that goal. And yet… “just one bite” is not an option for me. Just one bite turns into just one serving, and then that turns into “maybe a little bit more” until most of the pint is all gone. I DO have enough will power to put it back in the freezer before I can see the bottom of the carton. Just barely. But why is that? Why can’t I control my eating, and why can’t so many others control theirs?