The Big Question: Why do we Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows?

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Melanie Joy’s Why We Love dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows—a book that explores the human relationship with animals and why we believe it’s acceptable to eat one animal, yet not another.

Here’s an excerpt from a VegSource.com review:

The opening chapter of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows is startling and effective. We are asked to imagine a dinner party at which the guests are enjoying a delicious stew. But when one guest asks for the recipe, the host explains that it starts with a golden retriever.  The disgust and revulsion that follows this announcement is examined in detail later in the book, and Dr. Joy is both succinct and smart in showing us the overlapping circles of identification, empathy and disgust that color our relationships with animals.

Take a look at this compelling, and confronting, video, compiled to demonstrate the author’s point:

I would love to hear from anyone who has read the book, or from those who are simply keen to discuss the topic of why humans eat some animals and not others.