The True Cost of Cheap Meat by Philip Lymbery

This was one of the early books I read about the impact of eating meat and it still remains extremely relevant today. Written in 2014, it is based on Philip Lymbery’s global investigations over a period of three years. The investigation dives into the impact of globalized meat production on the health of our biodiversity, farmed animals and the Global South. Philip does an excellent job at connecting the dots between animal agriculture and global hunger, highlighting the fact that eating meat is not a choice that only impacts the animals involved negatively. The authors do not go as far as to recommend a completely plant-based system but it is hard to come away from reading this book and continue to justify industrialized animal agriculture. He has also recently written a book called Sixty Harvests Left: How to Reach a Nature-Friendly Future, which is on my reading list.

Title: Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat

Author: Philip Lymbery with Isabel Oakeshott

ISBN: 978-1408846445

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Philip Lymbery is a British naturalist, animal advocate and author. He is the Global CEO of the animal welfare charity, Compassion in World Farming International, and also a visiting professor at the University of Winchester.

Abdourahamane Ly, guest curator for Veganuary at Global Literature in Libraries Initiative, has been vegan for the past seven years now. He is extremely passionate about animal rights and encouraging more humans, especially Africans, to go vegan. He was born in Guinea in West Africa but spent the last 13 years in China. He is currently in Rwanda spreading the vegan message. You can follow him on Instagram at @fulanivegan and X at @fulanivegan.