The Shameless Carnivore : A Manifesto for Meat Lovers by Scott Gold is an interesting book that is sure to spark much discussion with family, friends, and co-workers.  Mr. Gold’s main point is that people should eat or not eat what they choose but should not try to force their views on others.  He makes the point that there are healthful advantages to actually eating meat, and that some vegetarians have to do careful menu planning to get all of their nutritional needs met. But that he has many friends who are vegetarians and are quite healthy, and are not proselytizing the lifestyle at all.

He describes his attempt to eat thirty one different types of animal meat in thirty one days.  Including such meats as, kangaroo, emu, bison, rattlesnake, rabbit (which is a very common food source for many poor Southerners), and wild boar.  Living in New York City, despite having been born in New Orleans, he was able to find a local butcher shop that provided him with lots of the meat on his list.  And was able to use ExoticMeats.com for the rest.

He also ate all of the parts of a cow that the USDA considers fit for human consumption. He had a little problem with some of the organ meats, but made it through. He also helped in butchering and cutting up the cow that a family planned on using to sustain themselves for the coming year.  He also describes a hunting trip in Northwest Louisiana hunting squirrel, which was his first attempt at hunting, killing, and preparing a living animal.  He has a chapter dealing with the ethical and moral questions of eating meat, which unfortunately does require killing an animal.

There are several recipes in the book, and some very informative sections, such as describing the inspection process and grading system that the USDA utilizes.  And some surprising facts come out of the book. Such as that the average American eats approximately 65 pounds of beef per year, and the last year consumption was measured (2005) that Americans ate 218.3 pounds of meat per person, including chicken, pork, beef, lamb, etc.

One thing that did surprise me is that for as strident as PETA is about animals, PETA actually kills  more animals per year (that they take in to “save”)  than several SPCA’s and most of the labs doing the animal testing they protest.   Under the reasoning that they cannot afford to keep the animals they out and out kill their “saved” animals,  despite having a budget that would keep almost one hundred local SPCA’s running for years.

He also points out the fact that eating meat, in moderation, is a good thing.  His primary point is that the decision to eat or not eat meat is a personal one, and no matter what reason a person makes his choice, that it is their choice. And should be respected.

The Shameless Carnivore by Scott Gold is highly recommended, but be prepared for it to stir up a lot of discussion. Not as much as the T shirt he describes in a Sporting Goods store.  “All of God’s Creatures Have a Place on This Earth……Right Next to the Mashed Potatoes”

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