Vegan Books On My Reading Wish List
Vegan Books On My Reading Wish List

Vegan Books On My Reading Wish List

Forever a student, I want to continue learning and expanding my knowledge, so as an avid reader, I thought it was about time I expanded my list of vegan books to read. I am already a passionate vegan and bookworm, so I am excited to grow my personal library.

Many of the spiritual books I’ve read and the practices I follow promote kindness and compassion for others, and that includes all creatures. When embarking on my yoga teacher training I learned about the eight limbs of yoga as outlined in the Yoga Sutra – the theory and practice of yoga.

The first of the eight limbs is the Yamas, five restraints (social ethics) that when practised can lead to a deep self-awareness and inner peace. The first Yama often thought of as the most important is Ahimsa which means non-violence and respect for all living things. It entreats us to live in such a way that we cause no harm in our thought, speech or action to any living being, including ourselves. It is this practice that fuels my drive to be vegan and educate others on doing the same.

Here are some of the top non-fiction and fiction books about veganism on my “to read” pile.

Non-Fiction Vegan Books

Non fiction vegan books

How Not To Die by Michael Greger

Based on the latest scientific research, this book offers effective and scientifically-proven advice on why diet has such a huge impact on our overall health. It reveals how simple dietary changes can not only dramatically reduce our risk of falling ill, but they can even reverse the effects of disease.

As a former Food Science and Nutrition student, this book is something that really resonates with me and my belief that food can be medicine. I am excited to dive into How Not To Die to further my understanding so I can help myself and those around me live longer, healthier lives. 

 

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer 

I’ve heard that Eating Animals is not an easy read. It pulls back the curtain on the factory farming industry to reveal the gut-wrenching truth about what it takes to put meat on the table. The book exposes the prices paid by the animals, Mother earth and people in developing countries to make eating meat more convenient, cheaper and quicker to produce. 

As a first-person account that’s written as an intellectual journey, I am interested to see how Jonathan Safran Foer presents his findings to convince his readers to go vegan. 

 

We Are The Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer 

Another book by Jonathan Safran Foer, We Are The Weather takes a different approach to promoting a vegan diet and lifestyle. In this book he looks at how a meat heavy diet directly contributes to the climate crisis, but that if everyone made a small change we could collectively save the planet. 

I like the idea of making veganism a collective action that we, as humans, need to prioritise in the name of the greater good. 

 

Once Upon A Time We Ate Animals by Roanne van Voorst 

Similar to the previous book in this list, Once Upon A Time We Ate Animals asks the important question: if we all know that eating meat is detrimental to the planet’s health, why do we keep eating it? It attempts to answer this question by going back through history to a time when humans didn’t exploit animals for food or products. By doing so, it helps us imagine a plant-based future without factory-farming. 

I imagine this book will be incredibly persuasive for those that may be on the fence about going vegan – which is why I am looking forward to reading it so I can recommend it to others and hopefully get them to shift their viewpoints. 

Fiction Vegan Books

fiction vegan books

PopCo by Scarlett Thomas

PopCo centres around protagonist Alice Butler, who has been receiving messages written in code. The novel follows Alice as she tries to crack the codes and in doing so she delves deeper into a world of family secrets, puzzles, profit-hungry corporations and the power of numbers. 

While Alice isn’t vegan at the beginning of the novel, she meets some along her journey and is curious to learn more. I’m intrigued to see how the protagonist develops and what role veganism plays in her overall character. 

 

The Humans by Matt Haig

I’ve had so many people recommend Matt Haig’s books to me because of how beautifully they are written, so I am glad to add The Humans to my library. This book follows an alien who is transported into the body of a university professor named Andrew as he explores this new world.  

Far from a sci-fi novel, the book is an interesting way of examining the strangeness of humanity from an outsider’s perspective. One part of the book sees the protagonist question why humans eat other animals – it’s raised as something the alien protagonist cannot understand. 

 

The Bees by Laline Paull 

I know some vegans that still consume honey, however what they’re forgetting is that bees are animals too with advanced societies. The Bees is written from the perspective of a lower class bee as she navigates life in the hive and draws attention to the devastating effects of harvesting honey. 

What I love about this book is how well researched it seems to be. I am sure I will come across many eye-opening chapters that reveal the true and extraordinary nature of bees.

 


 

If you have read any of these vegan books or have any other recommendations, I would love to hear them! You can message me on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook @bytanyamm x

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© 2022. TanyaS.Mansotra

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