A compelling primer on the benefits of an herbivorous diet for health and a stable planetary ecosystem.

Spitz’s guide promotes a vegan lifestyle for both personal well-being and environmental sustainability.

The author, a septuagenarian environmental and animal rights activist, channels his passion for good health and a better world into this comprehensive study of the negative impacts of animal-based food sources. Split into seven sections and written from a variety of anthropological perspectives, the book outlines the origins of human consumption patterns and their evolution and adaptation across centuries (a section on the domestication of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and animals is particularly fascinating).

Spitz ambitiously bolsters his viewpoint with history-supported hypotheses on how civilizations prospered through the popularity of agriculture, the exchange of fibrous plants and germination efforts across Old and New World cultures, and the ill effects of the human exploitation of animals as an increasingly popular food source, replacing the starchy vegetable diet enjoyed prior to the mid-19th century.

His appeal for change stems directly from the numerous ways animal agriculture has become detrimental to both human vitality and the environment; the author points to studies concluding that human nutritional needs can be efficiently met with plant-based vegan nourishment “using a fraction of the land, water and energy resources it takes to provide an animal-based diet.” Spitz’s argument against the “global appetite for meat, dairy and eggs” is compelling as he discusses how livestock processing and production have had devastating environmental impacts on greenhouse gasses and runaway climate change across the globe. A final section details what the author considers “the optimal human diet.”

Spitz references a convincing combination of data analysis, expansive anthropological research, and nutritional science studies that might prove too academically dense for lay readers seeking a more simplistic summary. Still, his approach remains applicably inclusive as he places responsibility directly on the reader to initiate dietary modifications. Having reached his 70s, the author is grateful for his thriving lifestyle; noting that the men in his family tend to die young, Spitz attributes his longevity to a healthful vegan mindset.  A compelling primer on the benefits of an herbivorous diet for health and a stable planetary ecosystem.

Kirkus Reviews

Activist Reveals How Going Vegan Could Save the Planet

Man Eating Plants: How a Vegan Diet Can Save the World weaves together published works by the world’s leading scientists and historians to narrate how we can save the world by transitioning back to our natural plant-based diet.

Within the nutrition/wellness sphere, fad diets have been some of the biggest trends of the last decade. Despite the hype and endorsements from high profile celebrities however, the vegan diet is the only one that has stood the test of time, and in his new book Man Eating Plants, author Jonathan Spitz explains not just why this way of living is optimal for health, but in fact why it just might save the world.

Over the past two million years, humans have evolved from an obscure herbivorous species living in the tropical forests of equatorial Africa to become the world’s most populous apex predator. Unfortunately, this fateful change in the human diet to include animal sourced foods is the leading cause in the 21st century of chronic degenerative disease, runaway climate change, and mass species extinction. Man Eating Plants: How a Vegan Diet Can Save the World weaves together published works by the world’s leading scientists and historians to narrate how we arrived at these three interrelated crises and how we can save the world by transitioning back to our natural plant-based diet.

Arranged chronologically in terms of timeline and strategically in order to facilitate an easily digestible experience for readers, Spitz’s case for this lifestyle spares no empirical detail. Covering everything from the evolution of the human diet and the history of agriculture to the inception of the animal industrial complex and the harm this does to our planet, and all written in Spitz’s clear and concise prose, Spitz’s book is comprehensive and chock full of empirically supported information. 

A MASTERPIECE

My favorite subject in the novel was Spitz’s discussion of the optimal human diet and why one that is plant-based would aid in reducing the risk of conditions and diseases such as cancer, brain disease, high blood pressure and Parkinson’s. 

“… It’s not just what we eat that counts, it’s also what we don’t eat. There is a tendency for people to rationalize their meat and junk food habits by thinking that if they just eat some fruit and veggies, that will counteract the disease causing effects of the cholesterol, saturated fat and animal protein in foods. The reality is that the only way to truly immunize yourself against the chronic degenerative diseases… is to follow an optimal, high-fiber, whole-food, plant based diet.” 

Not only is the evidence Spitz puts forth eye-opening and quite convincing (I say this as an athlete who consumes large amounts of animal protein), it is also laid out in an accessible way that makes it easy for laymen to pick up and easily understand. Many treatises on nutritional science are dense and esoteric, only accessible to those in the field. Man Eating Plants eschews this style of writing while retaining the same breadth of information, making for an enlightening read for both experts and newcomers alike. 

Spitz’s work is a masterpiece that serves as both a powerful case for the vegan diet and a warning to our current generation that the path we currently tread contains significant danger. Although the book itself will end, readers will come away with a new appreciation and healthy skepticism for both our environment and the food we put in our bodies.

BookTrib