Oh My Goat!: Just how intelligent are the animals we eat? - Softcover

Inhaltsangabe

Just how intelligent are the animals we call food? Have you ever stared at a steak, peered at a pork chop or glanced at a goat curry and wondered about that animal? Where did it come from, and how was it raised? Did that creature think, play, dream, or have feelings? Or was it simply a mindless beast destined for the dinner plate? " Oh, My Goat " takes a rollicking adventure through the history of how we have viewed, judged, treated, sacrificed, mummified, deified and – fried animals.
Blending science, psychology, history, and humour, expect to discover:

• Why, throughout history, have humans created a dichotomy of ‘us and them’ with the animal kingdom?
• How we have grappled with the question of animal intelligence and sentience over the centuries.
• The extraordinary ways we have tamed, tormented, utilised and pasteurised animals.
• Strange and diverse ways we measure human and animal intelligence.
• How animals perceive their worlds and the similarities and differences between animal and human cognition.
• The sensory, cognitive and behavioural abilities of cows, goats, sheep, chickens and pigs.
• How we navigate a range of mental gymnastics when professing to love animals yet eating them too.
• Why and how our own intelligence likely evolved, and the crucial role that animals played.
• The true cost of meat and how high-rise ‘hog hotels’ and intensive factory farming are fundamentally changing our planet.

“Oh My Goat!” exposes the uncomfortable realities of modern factory farming — from towering hog hotels to chickens that grow so fast they fall over — and challenges the idea that these animals are simply products.
Wild animals currently make up only 4% of Earth’s mammalian biomass, with livestock dominating the rest. This sheds light on the importance of how we treat the animals we call “food”. From the psychology of pigs, the social lives of sheep, and the cognitive powers of chickens, Gehlert reveals surprising research that shows just how much we share — biologically, cognitively and emotionally with the animals in our farms and on our forks.
How much meat? Unbelievably, our love affair with meat may well have brought about the “Meatropocene”, a term Gehlert coined to describe the profound impact the 360 million tons of meat we produce and consume each year has on our planet. But far from a guilt trip, the author invites us to look more closely, think more deeply, and make more informed choices. Whether you're a meat-eater, flexitarian, vegetarian, or just curious, Oh My Goat will challenge how you view the creatures behind your cuisine.

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