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Summary: The Weaning of America
Review: A PROVOCATIVE BOOK ON HUMAN CULTURE "The Weaning of America", by Don Lutz, is a collection of essays addressing what the author calls environmental ethics. He explores issues through a variety of disciplines, including religion, philosophy, social psychology, cultural anthropology, holistic health and nutrition. Beginning with the title essay, Lutz gives a concise, yet comprehensive statement about the consumption of dairy products. He explains how the milk of mammals varies significantly from species to species: cow's milk is best for cows, human milk is best for humans. Dairy products have been linked to a long list of diseases, including osteoporosis, despite the fact that some doctors and dietitians still advise people to drink milk to prevent bone loss. There is also a connection between dairy products and the four major killers as well -- heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. He goes on to explain that raising animals for human consumption, be it their milk or their flesh, is a very inefficient way to feed people. Animal agriculture, we discover, wastes more resources, and causes more environmental destruction than any other human activity. And because of the misuse of resources, is the primary cause of human starvation. Making the convincing argument that we have no need to consume dairy products (or dead animals), Lutz argues that it is then clearly illogical and immoral to confine, exploit and slaughter them by the billions, simply for profit. He details the sad life experience of farm animals, especially the sons of dairy cows, veal calves. And only humans, he reminds us, reject and refuse the natural process of weaning. Other essays include, 'Mixed Messages', which offers a fresh perspective on issues including television, role models and organized religion. A critical look at drug abuse, our acceptance of the damage done by legal drugs, and the failure of the 'war on drugs' make provocative reading. In 'The Ultimate Hypocrisy', Lutz examines the origins of speciesism, and illustrates its causal connection to racism and sexism. In 'An Appetite for War', he exposes a similar link between animal agriculture and organized warfare. In the last of thirteen thoughtful essays, he makes the logical and ethical argument for vegetarianism. The recurring theme of this book is that there are a number of human ideas about our relationship to nature, and especially animals, that need desperately to be weaned from human culture. The most important being the philosophy of human supremacy, an egoistic belief system that has led to great suffering for all the inhabitants of this planet, including humans. Of potential value to all readers, "The Weaning of America" may be of special benefit to health professionals, teachers and new parents.
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Summary: The Weaning of America
Review: Review for The Weaning of America, by Don Lutz From William Hammock The Weaning of America by Don Lutz is subtitled The Case Against Dairy Products and it certainly is that, but the book is much more. Lutz includes twelve other essays in which he examines the relationship between humans and other animals. Lutz clearly shows the underlying assumptions of our culture that have led us to the irrational separation between humans and the other creatures on earth. He makes a strong case for re-examining the ways that we think about cows, deer, pets and even fish. It is well worth the price for the reading list alone, which is included.
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