Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat
- Jan 20
- 1 min read
Updated: Feb 20
By Hal Herzog • 2010
An anthrozoologist examines the messy, contradictory ways humans relate to animals. Why do we lavish affection on dogs while eating pigs of equal intelligence? Why do some cultures revere cows while others farm them industrially? Herzog observes, surveys, interviews, and reports. The book is less interested in telling you what's right than in showing you how inconsistent everyone is.
Why it matters
This is the book for someone who isn't ready to be argued at. Herzog's tone is curious, not accusatory. He includes his own contradictions, he's a meat-eater writing about the ethics of eating meat, a researcher who has used animals in experiments. The honesty disarms readers who would dismiss a more polemical approach. And the contradictions he documents are hard to unsee once you've noticed them.
Context
Herzog isn't actually an advocate. He's an academic studying human-animal relationships. Some in the movement find his neutrality frustrating (he refuses to draw the conclusions his evidence suggests) but as an exposé into human/animal cognitive dissonance, few books match Some We Love.
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