Righteous Porkchop - by Nicolette Hahn Niman (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"Righteous Porkchop is a searing, and utterly convincing, indictment of modern meat production. The book also brims with hope and charts a practical (and even beautiful) path out of the jungle."
--Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food

"[A] necessary book--part memoir, part exposé...its reasoned case for healthy and humane farming practices has the sweet savor of truth."
--O The Oprah Magazine

A crusading environmental activist, vegetarian, and lawyer who has worked with Robert Kennedy, Jr. on environment issues, Nicolette Hahn Niman blows the lid off the shocking practices in the pork, meat, and poultry industries in Righteous Porkchop, a Fast Food Nation for the hog trade. Subtitled, "Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond the Factory Farm," Righteous Porkchop is at once an eye-opening grand tour of Hahn Niman's battles with the industrial farming conglomerates, a guide to avoiding unhealthy meats, and a very personal story of one woman's reawakening.

From the Back Cover

Asked to head up Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s environmental organization's "hog campaign," Nicolette Hahn Niman embarked upon a fascinating odyssey through the inner workings of the "factory farm" industry. Whatshe discovered transformed her into an intrepid environmental lawyer determined to lock horns with the big business farming establishment. She even, unexpectedly, found love along the way.

A searing account of an industry gone awry and one woman's passionate fight to remedy it, Righteous Porkchop chronicles Niman's investigation and her determination to organize a national reform movement to fight the shocking practices of industrial animal operations. She offers necessary alternatives, showing how livestock farming can be done in a better way--and she details both why and how to choose meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, and fish from traditionally farmed sources.

Review Quotes

"Righteous Porkchop is a searing, and utterly convincing, indictment of modern meat production. The book also brims with hope and charts a practical (and even beautiful) path out of the jungle." - Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food

"A thoughtful and affecting memoir... Righteous Porkchop firmly establishes Hahn Niman as a major national voice for efforts to reform industrial animal production." - Marion Nestle, professor, New York University and author, Food Politics and What to Eat

"A portrait of animal farming, from the small-scale to the mega-scale, that's as notable for its clarity as it is for its vision. Required reading for anyone who eats." - Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns

"When Nicolette Hahn Niman became a cattle rancher, she discovered that when animals are given a life worth living, they can be raised for food in an ethical and sustainable manner." - Temple Grandin, professor, Colorado State University and author of Animals in Translation

"Nicolette Hahn Niman is the smiling face of conscientious eating--righteous, but never self-righteous. With warmth and an engaging plainspokeness, she persuasively makes the case that activism bears results, that humane farmers are happier farmers, and that 'compassionate carnivore' is not an oxymoron." - David Kamp, author of The United States of Arugula

"Righteous Porkchop is a compelling call for overhauling the way we produce food from one the nation's most credible advocates. It's also a great read. I highly recommend it." - Matthew Scully, author of Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals and the Call to Mercy

"The story that Nicolette Hahn Niman tells in this book is full of heroes and villains (of the two footed kind). Food lovers can only hope that America takes her message to heart and votes at the check-out counter." - Peter Kaminsky, author of Pig Perfect: Encounters with Remarkable Swine

"Finally, a book that can help everyday Americans understand what's at stake as a result of our factory animal systems. A great, common sense, and steady read." - Michel Nischan, Chef, Dressing Room; President, Wholesome Wave Foundation

"This necessary book--part memoir, part exposé--may briefly put you off your feed, but its reasoned case for healthy and humane farming practices has the sweet savor of truth." - O magazine

"The fact is, most of us are hypocrites when it comes to food.... Fortunately for people like us there's Nicolette Hahn Niman, a generally sane and sympathetic character, pushing us gently but firmly in a direction we know we should already be heading." - San Francisco Chronicle