Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
Paperback | Pages: 304 pages Rating: 4.05 | 928 Users | 90 Reviews
Mention Books Conducive To The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals
| Original Title: | The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals |
| ISBN: | 0345452828 (ISBN13: 9780345452825) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Narration In Favor Of Books The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson’s groundbreaking bestseller, When Elephants Weep, was the first book since Darwin’s time to explore emotions in the animal kingdom, particularly from animals in the wild. Now, he focuses exclusively on the contained world of the farm animal, revealing startling, irrefutable evidence that barnyard creatures have feelings too, even consciousness.Weaving history, literature, anecdotes, scientific studies, and Masson’s own vivid experiences observing pigs, cows, sheep, goats, and chickens over the course of five years, this important book at last gives voice, meaning, and dignity to these gentle beasts that are bred to be milked, shorn, butchered, and eaten. Can we ever know what makes an animal happy? Many animal behaviorists say no. But Jeffrey Masson has a different view: An animal is happy if it can live according to its own nature. Farm animals suffer greatly in this regard. Chickens, for instance, like to perch in trees at night, to avoid predators and to nestle with friends. The obvious conclusion: They cannot be happy when confined twenty to a cage.
From field and barn, to pen and coop, Masson bears witness to the emotions and intelligence of these remarkable farm animals, each unique with distinct qualities. Curious, intelligent, self-reliant–many will find it hard to believe that these attributes describe a pig. In fact, there is much that humans share with pigs. They dream, know their names, and can see colors. Mother cows mourn the loss of their calves when their babies are taken away to slaughter. Given a choice between food that is nutritious or lacking in minerals, sheep will select the former, balancing their diet and correcting the deficiency. Goats display quite a sense of humor, dignity, and fearlessness (Indian goats have been known to kill leopards). Chickens are naturally sociable–they will gather around a human companion and stand there serenely preening themselves or sit quietly on the ground beside someone they trust.
For far too long farm animals have been denigrated and treated merely as creatures of instinct rather than as sentient beings. Shattering the abhorrent myth of the “dumb animal without feelings,” Jeffrey Masson has written a revolutionary book that is sure to stir human emotions far and wide.
From the Hardcover edition.
Itemize Of Books The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals
| Title | : | The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals |
| Author | : | Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 304 pages |
| Published | : | November 23rd 2004 by Ballantine Books (first published October 31st 2003) |
| Categories | : | Animals. Nonfiction. Science. Food and Drink. Vegan. Environment. Nature |
Rating Of Books The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals
Ratings: 4.05 From 928 Users | 90 ReviewsDiscuss Of Books The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals
Let me preface this review by saying that after a decade of working with all sorts of animals, I fervently believe that most, if not all vertebrates, possess the same complexity of emotions that humans beings are blessed with. I believe that what we do to farm animals is tortuous and cruel and that humane farming MUST be a part of our plan for the future.....but this book is horrible. Even agreeing wholeheartedly with his point of view, I found him infuriating. If you do not wholeheartedly agreeIt's difficult to believe that this is the first real book, to my knowledge, which has explored the issue of whether or not farm animals have a sense of self. The sad part is, the less cute and cuddly animals often get the short end of the stick when it comes to people's sympathies. I guess the rationale is if the animal is awkwardly large and/or perceived as dirty (one myth that the author counteracts is that pigs actually abhor being dirty) they are less worthy of our attention and
Significantly less robust and more anecdotal and speculative than I was expecting it to be, and often to its detriment when he lapses into wild non sequiturs, denting an 'argument' which never really takes shape. At several points, it feels as if a more fitting title would be something more like 'I Have Spent Some Time With Cows'. Having said that, taken for what it is, it's a charming piece of observation and empathy, with many of its disquieting passages supporting my recent decision to go
Now I see why my older daughter became a vegetarian and my younger a vegan. I've always known that if I had to kill animals to eat, I would be a vegetarian. I tried once about 40 years ago. It was not a success. Now there are so many more options. How could you not think animals have feelings?
Wonderful, interesting book that will make you think, if you're open to it, about things as varied as our place in the whole scheme of things, the benefits & drawbacks of the ways we eat and live, and especially, about the probable lives, loves and thoughts of other creatures we humans so often take for granted, knowing them mainly simply by how we eat them, and nothing more.Masson is a bit strong in his views on vegetarianism, I think, and I don't always agree with him, but you can easily
I really enjoyed reading this book because it is anecdotal. Sometimes our understanding of animals comes from what we know instinctively; from our interactions and experiences with them. This is something that science really cannot measure. We can never *know* what a member of another species is thinking or feeling - we can only guess based on their actions. I think it is the arrogant fool who assumes that because they cannot understand the thoughts and feelings of a different species, or
This book gets a high rating from me, simply because I know what the author is saying true. Animals are NOT given enough credit for intelligence, or enough compassion. They are treated unfairly and seriously people should rethink what they are doing. The author states in the book that people as children know and have more compassion and KNOW what is right & wrong and then UNLEARN it because of social norms. I have to agree. Kids are TOLD to eat & drink certain things knowing it is not
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