The 7 Best Vegan Books To Ease Into Eating Less Meat

Want to eat less meat? Read a book, first.

If you want the facts about meat consumption, and some practical tips on how to reduce yours, and even a few recipes to get you started, the following eight vegan books will get you there. Best of all, if you start to feel overwhelmed, you can just stick a bookmark in and come back later. This is your journey, so don’t rush it.

1. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

Published in 2009, Eating Animals feels as fresh as it did back then. The book details the process of meat production, taking the reader from farm to plate and beyond. It was written to inform U.S. meat-eaters about the processes of the meat industry. Safran Foer interjects personal insights into objective research. There is no underlying motivation to push readers towards a meat-free life, instead, the writing is entirely focussed on helping people understand where their food comes from. 

Perfect for: When you want to let the science do the talking.

Buy it here.

2. This Is Vegan Propaganda: (And Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You) By Ed Winters

Winters, or Earthling Ed as he is known to many in the vegan world, offers a no holds barred look at current food systems. Naturally, as a leading vegan figurehead, he focuses on meat production and details how as a global industry it is responsible for devastating environmental and ethical consequences. You’ll find interviews from surprising individuals in This Is Vegan Propaganda, including slaughterhouse workers and animal rights activists. This 2022 release is designed to offer new information but it is most definitely skewed towards driving a shift to veganism.

Perfect for: Existing vegans with a reading habit and skeptics who fancy getting into vegan books.

Buy it here. 

3. Think Like A Vegan by Emilia A. Leese and Eva Charalambides

Taking things further than just food, Think Like A Vegan applies vegan ethics to wider society and life, demonstrating the benefits of increased compassion. It’s an interesting concept purely because it asks a lot of questions, giving the reader a chance to consider their own answers before reading the authors’. Why don’t vegans eat honey? Why is adopting animals better than buying? Do you have to be a feminist to be a vegan? Fascinating synaptic connections come at every turn in this book that is never ashamed to centre around personal experiences. 

Perfect for: Dipping in and out and getting a broader feel for veganism as a movement.

Buy it here. 

4. The China Study by T. Colin Campbell PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II MD

Forget emotion because The China Study has no time for anything other than scientific facts. Irrefutable, clearly explained scientific facts about why not eating meat is the best way to protect your health. It grapples with proven correlations between high animal protein intake and cancer rates and has been updated consistently since its release in 2005, to include new research. At no point does this book try to appeal to anything other than your intelligence and ability to comprehend proven information, though it is considered one of the first really influential vegan books.

Perfect for: Quieting the naysayers and meat fanatics at dinner parties.

Buy it here. 

5. Once Upon a Time We Ate Animals: The Future Of Food by Roanne van Voorst

While most books try to educate the reader about making a change now, Once Upon A Time We Ate Animals adds a little whimsy into the mix. It takes the position of being set in the future, where animals are no longer exploited for food, clothing or entertainment. It offers an insight into what such a world would look like, how it could work and more importantly, how odd it will seem that once we did use our animal friends for more than planetary companionship. By no means a fictional tome, this 2022 release is more of a guidebook for navigating a potential future. 

Perfect for: A different perspective and some existential hope.

Buy it here.

6. Animal Liberation by Peter Singer

Published in 1975, Animal Liberation is hailed as the bible of the liberation movement. And for good reason. The entire book is predicated around one question: How should we treat non-human animals? Singer weaves a complex variety of testing facility case studies, factory farming exposés, and simple facts together to present a dispassionate yet undeniable case for doing better. He paints the world as an unethical and unfeeling landscape for non-humans and his words sparked a fire in activists around the globe.

Perfect for: Understanding the status quo before planning affirmative action to change it.

Buy it here. 

7. Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism by Melanie Joy Ph.D.

Easily one of the most evocative titles to have ever been released, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows looks at the system of animal exploitation that consumerism has created. A combination of cold hard facts and piercingly emotive language calls for speciesism to end and a kinder world to prevail. Practical solutions and tools for critical thinking will be a lasting gift when you finish the final page. Still as powerful as when it was first released in 2010.

Perfect for: When you know you want to make a change and a difference.

Buy it here.

Lead photo by Enzo Muñoz from Pexels.
All other images from Amazon book listings.