The Omnivore’s Deception By John Sanbonmatsu — Review

A brilliantly argued dismantling of Michael Pollan and other supporters of the meat economy who lie to the public by claiming that we can have our meat and our morals, too.

© by GrrlScientist for Forbes | LinkTr.ee

Father and son grilling animal corpses over hot coals. (getty)

Now that summer is here, many people are choosing to celebrate by having an outdoor barbecue. This almost always involves cooking pieces of dead animals on a grill over hot coals. Anyone who disagrees with the featured menu items and how they came to be on the grill is viewed either as a fool or as a moral scold.

“Vegan.” In fact, few groups in society are as universally disliked as ethical vegans, vegetarians and advocates for animal rights. One study found that of all reviled groups in society, “only drug addicts were evaluated more negatively than vegetarians.” (ref).

But some people, like philosopher and ethical vegan John Sanbonmatsu, think that exploiting and killing other beings for our own purposes is morally indefensible, and that human civilization should abolish the meat, egg, dairy, and fishing industries altogether.

Cover for The Omnivore’s Deception: What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and Ourselves by John Sanbonmatsu (2025; New York University Press)