Thank you, NetGalley, Roanne van Voorst, and HarperOne Books for the opportunity to read this book!

"It is perhaps the greatest paradox of being human, simply because of our humanity, we often behave inhumanely."

Once Upon a Time We Ate Animals

Once Upon a Time We Ate Animals by Roanne van Voorst will definitely inspire opinions. This book dives into the animal cruelty, health reasons, and environmental impacts of consuming animal products. She lays it all out about factory farms and the dilemma surrounding dairy farms. But asks the important question: What would the world look like if we no longer depended on animals products?

In the synopsis on Goodreads, this book is labeled as "hopeful and persuasive" and I desperately wanted that to be true. I am very conflicted about this book. I haven't eaten meat in over a year and have cut my dairy intake by at least 80%. I am all for more environmental and animal-friendly options when it comes to food and other products. In fact, I spend a great deal of time looking into my everyday products to see what I can change for the better. So I thought I was going to be over the moon about this book.

Not really.

Yes, the author makes so many excellent points and I believe the good intentions are there. But the entire tone of this book is to ridicule and condescend those who consume any type of animal product. So much so, I found myself cringing through most of this book. There were some comparisons that are in pretty poor taste as well. There were also these strange future prediction stories on what future generations will think of us. Those felt more awkward and cringy than enlightening.

Every single person that I interact with on a daily basis eats meat. I also know some people that are very opinionated about the fact that I don't eat meat and I HATE when I am treated with that disrespectful tone. So why in the world would I turn around and use that same tone in a vice versa situation? You will not get people to see your views when you are that condescending. I was hoping for inspiration and for tools to help me continue on my vegetarian lifestyle (hoping for a fully vegan lifestyle soon!). I did not get that. So I am rating this book 2 out of 5 stars.

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