A Vegetarian Sourcebook
The Nutrition, Ecology, and Ethics of a Natural Foods Diet

Keith Akers

Yes, this is another book I read for one of my daughters. She decided it was time to become a vegetarian. She has her ethical reasons, and I cannot argue with her.

This book helps reinforce her ethical beliefs. I found it to be radical and opinionated. According to Akers, a vegetarian can eat pretty much any vegetables he/she may want and not worry about nutrition. As long as the person has a variety of vegetables, all the proper nutrients except B12 will make it into the body. He particularly mentions legumes and dark green leafy, but maintains a person does not have to radically change her/his eating habits in the fruits and vegetables arena when deciding to give up meat and meat products.

This book discusses the different ethical reasons for being a vegetarian from the treatment of animals raised for food to the environmental implications. He advocates giving up milk and egg products as well as meat products when changing the eating lifestyle.

I did not read this whole book. In the beginning Akers tells the reader that one can jump around in it. It did not necessarily have to be read from beginning to end. Also, he points out what chapters can be skipped if the reader is looking at a certain type of vegetarianism. While this book contains a lot of interesting information, Akers presents his case very radically. The tone bothered me, and his writing is fairly straightforward. There was little to catch my eye to bring up the quality.

A portion of the book is also devoted to different world religions and their slants on eating habits. He quotes religious sources such as the Bible or Koran. He then shows what he felt was meant by them, or why their practices were wrong (or right on occasion).

If a person is seeking to become a vegetarian and needs the source for persuasion, this book will fulfill that need. If a person is trying to change to a vegetarian lifestyle already, this book does not help. It does enforce beliefs. It does not give great guidance on what is needed to become a vegetarian.