Talking With Ruby Roth, Vegan Children's Book Author

Ruby Roth, a former elementary school art teacher, has published a children's book about the suffering animals face in factory farm operations for the sake of our food supply.

Endorsed by Jane Goodall, That's Why We Don't Eat Animals (NorthAtlantic/RandomHouse) has been described as the first children's book to address the emotional lives of animals, factory farming, the environment, and endangered species. Roth says she was inspired to write and illustrate the book after noticing the interest her students took in animal welfare.

Roth recently answered a few questions for Green Parent Chicago about her book and reader reaction to it:

GPC: You've done some readings and events with children since publication of the book. How do kids initially react when you begin reading That's Why We Don't Eat Animals or talking with them about the animals in the book?

Roth: Children show incredible interest and insight. They ask questions and relate the information to their own lives-their pets, their gardens, one 4th grader told me that factory farms reminded her of what her class was learning about slavery! And I have never experienced one child who was overwhelmed or freaked out by the book. I think they enjoy being let in on what seemed to have been a "secret" kept from them. They feel empowered by the truth. I've received a bunch of emails from parents whose kids were inspired to do things in their communities to help animals. I say in the book that each day, we have the freedom to change our lives. I think this is a very important concept for any child or adult to absorb -- and one to emphasize when you read the book to a kid: we never have to fear things that we have the power to change. They get it!

GPC: You described in your website video how children often go with their instinct and how adults could learn from their example. Could you explain this statement briefly?

Roth: Children are entirely more open and receptive to the idea of sparing the lives of animals. And it's not because they are merely influenced by the "cuteness" of animals. It's that they haven't been on earth long enough to develop deep-seated emotional attachments to meat or to be so shaped by the moral tyranny of the majority. By the time we are grown, we've learned to disconnect to a lot of feelings. We become desensitized to everything from violence to knowing how to heal ourselves, to the way cooked, dead, junk food makes us feel. But kids function from a much more instinctual and thus responsive place. Their gut feelings are not filtered through what others might think or what the food-pyramid dictates from one year to the next. And we adults are entirely capable of tapping in to that wisdom at any point, too.

GPC: Have you faced any controversy since it's publication this past May? How do you deal with controversy regarding your book ?

Roth: A lot of people have knee-jerk reactions to veganism because most of us are set from birth on a program that normalizes meat-from KFC slogans (the latest is:"Unthink!") to our food pyramid which is created under the influence of food industry lobbyists like those from Atkins. The terms "brainwashing" and "propaganda" have been thrown around in reviews because the mainstream believes that meat-eating is a neutral choice while veganism is political. Well, neither is neutral. Both are political choices. You are either voting for or against a system that is destructive to our bodies, to animals, and the planet. Whenever I see an attack on my book, I'm reminded that people are confronting what, in classical yogic philosophy, are called our "samscaras," the patterns that cause suffering to ourselves and others. When we're faced with the reality of the destructiveness of our patterns, it is very common to become defensive. For me, those types of emotional reactions only further my belief that we are in need of serious change.

For more information on Roth and her book see her website: www.wedonteatanimals.com

Follow Christine Escobar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/greenparentchgo

Comments

[VegR27]

And on a side note, all those people in the news freaked out about health care and protesting new plans, etc. are so desperate because they're all unhealthy and suffering. You can't argue that a plant based diet, done right, without cloggers like soy and wheat, is not healthier that a meat and dairy diet. The proof is in the pudding...­.worldwide­.

[RMankovitz]

I am a great supporter of those who choose to be vegan/vegetarian, or even those who choose to eat Twinkies and Coke.

In support of your comments on this thread, perhaps you can share with us exactly what you do and do not eat, how long you have been eating that way, and a list of the medications you now use, if any.

Also, a list of the nations that eat the same diet that you eat would be helpful.

[VegR27]

For RMankovitz: For the last 6 years, I have been completely vegan and mostly raw, no animal products in my food or household products. No medications, either.

Nations of people with large vegan, vegetarian, and/or raw populations: Hindus, Buddhists, Seventh Day Adventists, Rastafarians, Black Israelites, Sikhs, Jainists, the Essenes (historical), to name a few.

[Calinative]

If you consider both meat-eating and veganism to be simply "political choices" and not nutritional choices, why the need to push politics on children?

In any case, I don't think they are political choices.
Meat-eating = standard human diet going back millions of years of evolution.
Veganism = Eating disorder

[posttheist]

So you think that human beings ate bloody raw flesh that they hunted with their hands before we had tools and fire? Just like chimps and apes do!? NOT! They don't eat meat because they don't have tools and fire just like we did not until rather recently in our evolution...

[Calinative]

It might not have been as barbaric as you make it sound. Here's a recipe for steak tartare found on a cave wall from a million years ago. I've found it's just as delicious now as it must have been for our early ancestors. I recommend it with toasted sourdough, salad greens, and a side of sweet potato fries.

1 lb. filet Mignon or top sirloin, freshly ground, med. grind
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. yellow mustard
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped parsley
3 tbsp. capers, drained
1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
Seasoned salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp. cognac (opt.)

[RMankovitz]

I completely agree with you that we should look at our heritage to determine what nature intended us to eat. I certainly follow this approach, which is outlined in my books "The Wellness Project" and "The Original Diet."

Of course, chimps are our closest living genetic relatives and, as you point out, we should follow their lead.

I presume you know of Jane Goodall, who is considered the greatest living expert on chimps. She discovered that chimps eat meat - lots of it. One recent Gombe study, for instance, concluded that the 45 members of one troop ate a ton of monkey meat per year. During one hunting binge, chimps killed 71 colobus monkeys in 68 days; one chimp alone killed 42 monkeys over five years. All told, chimps may kill and eat a third of the Gombe’s colobus population each year. Some speculate that chimps eat more meat than many Americans. Here is a link:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/jane-goodalls-wild-chimpanzees/our-closest-relatives/1909/

If you want to see chimp hunting in action, follow the link below. They do not need tools or fire. A group of chimps track an animal such as a monkey, and rip it apart with brute force, limb from limb. They then eat virtually all parts raw. They scream with pleasure at the prospect of a meal with meat. Here is a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDFh5JdYh7I

Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com

[Suasoria]

I wish I was empress of the universe and could put this book into the hands of every child.

[RMankovitz]

I think it's great that Ruby Roth wrote a book for children on the ethical treatment of sentient beings such as animals. I have ordered a copy, and am hopeful that it includes at least some discussion on the following issues.

It seems that few vegans realize that eating commercially produced annual monocrops including wheat, corn, or soy leads to the horrific destruction of tens of millions of ground-living animals that are mangled in the agricultural machinery used to produce those foods, organic or not. This information came my way from discreet conversations with commercial farmers. I support those who choose to be vegan or vegetarian, but I don't eat those foods.

It seems that few caretakers of pets such as dogs or cats realize (in my opinion) that they have an ethical obligation to feed their pets foods that are in concert with their genetic heritage, and to do otherwise is animal abuse. I do not feed my cats anything that comes in a can or a bag. I feed them what nature intended them to eat. Barring accidents or injuries, they will never need to see the inside of a vet's office.

Finally, we are all caretakers of our own animal bodies. Each of us has an ethical obligation to feed ourselves foods in concert with nature. I have written several books on the subject.

Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitWellness.com

[Calinative]

"...they have an ethical obligation to feed their pets foods that are in concert with their genetic heritage, and to do otherwise is animal abuse."

And an ethical obligation to feed their children foods that are in concert with their genetic heritage, and to do otherwise is child abuse.

[RMankovitz]

I certainly agree.