Attention bookworms! ProVeg presents 10 of the most inspiring and helpful books about veganism. This list ranges from compact guides that will get you started on a plant-based lifestyle to instructions for effective communication and philosophical texts on various aspects of animal rights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been following a plant-based lifestyle for years, these titles will broaden your knowledge.
Enabling others to start living cruelty-free is a central goal for many vegans and vegetarians. Whether grounded in morality, environmental protection, or health, there are many reasons for making the move towards a plant-based lifestyle. Books that provide answers to the most important questions surrounding veganism and vegetarianism provide a good starting point. The authors below deal with topics such as health, ethics, environmental concerns, and everyday vegan living.
1. Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries about Animals and Revolutionary New Ways to Show Them Compassion
by Gene Stone and Ingrid Newkirk
Animalkind explores the deep connections between humans and animals, advocating for the ethical treatment of all creatures. Through compelling stories and evidence-based arguments, Newkirk challenges societal norms around animal exploitation in various industries, including farming, entertainment, and research. The book emphasizes the intelligence, emotions, and rights of animals, urging readers to rethink their relationship with animals and adopt a more compassionate approach. It calls for a shift towards kindness and respect, promoting a world where animals are no longer treated as commodities but as sentient beings deserving of moral consideration.
2. Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy on a Plant-Based Diet
by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina
A comprehensive guide to maintaining a healthy and balanced vegan diet. The book covers essential nutrients, including protein, vitamin B12, iron, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids, offering practical advice on how to meet dietary needs without animal products. It also debunks common myths about vegan nutrition, providing evidence-based information to ensure long-term health. Aimed at both beginners and those experienced with plant-based living, it offers practical tips on meal planning, addressing potential nutrient deficiencies, and ensuring a well-rounded diet for optimal health.
3. Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan
by Matthew C. Halteman
A vibrant and accessible book that makes a compelling, heartfelt argument for adopting a vegan lifestyle. Through engaging storytelling and colorful illustrations, Roth highlights the ethical, environmental, and health benefits of choosing plant-based food. The book encourages readers to reconsider their relationship with animals and food, offering a joyful, positive perspective on veganism. It’s a call to action for those looking to make compassionate choices in a world increasingly aware of the need for sustainability and kindness towards animals.
4. How Not to Die
by Dr. Michael Greger
Some of the most deadly diseases in Western society, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, can be prevented and, in some cases, even reversed by changing one’s diet. This is the conclusion at which Dr. Michael Greger arrived after sifting through countless pieces of medical literature. How Not to Die details his findings and provides tools for readers to make better dietary choices for themselves. In order to illustrate the relationship between diet and health, Greger provides relevant facts, explained in casual, easy-to-digest language. If you want to take charge of your health and avoid the pitfalls of modern, animal-based diets, give this book a read.
ProVeg means Pro Health
Vegan and vegetarian diets have the potential to prevent most modern lifestyle diseases, which is why an increasing number of doctors and health institutions promote plant-based nutrition.
5. Plant-based on a budget
by Toni Akomoto
One of the most common misconceptions about plant-based eating is that a plant-based diet is more expensive than a diet containing meat and dairy. However, the truth is that plant-based eating can be very affordable – and Toni Akomoto is here to prove it! With 100 customisable recipes, Akomoto encourages her readers to create their own substitutions based on the ingredients they have on hand, thus saving money while also reducing food waste. In short, Plant-Based on a Budget provides you with everything you need to make plant-based eating easy, accessible, and most of all, affordable.
Plant-based on a budget
There is a general misconception that a plant-based diet is more expensive than a diet containing meat and dairy. However, it can actually be (and often is) very affordable!
6. How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time)
by Ed Winters (aka Earthling Ed)
If you’re a staunch advocate of a plant-based diet, you’ll be all too familiar with the common arguments against its benefits and a myriad of logical fallacies – after all, how many times can you be stranded on a desert island with a pig? Covering everything from ethics to the environment and health and nutrition, with useful tips for having healthy debates, Ed Winters’ latest book arms the reader with powerful facts and the knowledge that, regardless of the argument, you can win every time.
7. Once Upon a Time We Ate Animals
by Roanne van Voorst
How will future generations look back at us, living in a world characterized by the overconsumption of animals for food, clothing, and other items? In Once Upon a Time We Ate Animals, acclaimed anthropologist Roanne Van Voorst invites readers to explore this question, shifting the focus from the present, looking forward, to the future, looking back. By imagining a world in which eating animals is no longer the norm, this powerful and thought-provoking book is sure to change the way people think about eating meat.
ProVeg means Pro Animals
Whether it is pigs, cows, chickens, or fish, industrial farming methods cause suffering to countless animals, all of whom are sentient beings and have complex social lives. A plant-based diet minimizes the number of animals who live in these conditions, and is easier than ever.
8. Eating Animals
by Jonathan Safran Foer
In this non-fiction book, acclaimed author Jonathan Safran Foer examines the question of what food means to humans. Why do we eat animals when there are numerous plant-based alternatives? Would we still eat animals if we knew how much they suffer? Foer became increasingly concerned with these and other questions after becoming a father and experiencing a growing interest in the essence of life itself. Finally, he decided to do his own research. At night, he entered animal farms to document the cruel conditions that we subject animals to. He also spoke to countless animal rights activists and nutrition experts about the connection between nutrition and animal ethics.
9. Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism
by Melanie Joy
Why do we eat certain animals and not others? Social psychologist Melanie Joy takes a psychological approach to animal consumption, exploring the belief system around meat eating, which she refers to as “carnism”. In this challenging and enlightening book, readers will learn how we are conditioned by dominant belief systems, as the book chronicles the many ways in which we numb and disconnect ourselves from our natural empathy for animals. A must-have for all critical thinkers who want to have a more extensive understanding of the psychology of eating meat.
10. Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement
by Peter Singer
In Animal Liberation, Peter Singer, a philosopher and scholar of ethics, takes a theoretical but practical approach to the extensive topic of speciesism – the unequal treatment of living beings on the sole ground that they belong to a certain species. Among other things, Singer criticizes the ubiquitous exploitation of animals for food and research purposes. The book offers a comprehensive insight into the history of speciesism, providing a classic resource for newcomers with no previous knowledge.
Please note that ProVeg is in no way responsible for the content of these books.
