Product Description

You Don't Have To Be a Treehugger To Be a Vegan is not a diet book, but you will lose weight. It is not a health book, but you will be healthier. This book reveals the reasons why some people advocate a vegan diet, as well as the opposing viewpoints. Eating healthy is for everyone. If you decide to try a vegan diet, an easy 30 day program is included. Eating healthy is not boring, is not a sacrifice, and it does not have to be a political statement. You do not have to change your lifestyle to be a vegan, but it may change your life. It is not difficult. If you ever get hungry, just munch on your neighbor's lawn! Did you know that salmon contains more cholesterol than a double cheeseburger? Socrates once said, "thou should eat to live, not live to eat". Abraham Lincoln said "It's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years". WHAT DO YOU SAY?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #660300 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 136 pages

Review
"An easy-to-read, unbiased overview of food and nutrition. Hugely enjoyable and engaging- a must read." -- Robert Shrifter, M.D.

"An easy-to-read, unbiased overview of food and nutrition. Hugely enjoyable and engaging- a must read." --Robert Shrifter, M.D.

"Prepare to be entertained. This book is insightful, objective and informative- a light-hearted look at diet and health." -- Adrienne Harper, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.

"Prepare to be entertained. This book is insightful, objective and informative- a light-hearted look at diet and health." --Adrienne Harper, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.

Customer Reviews

Chicken Chest
Dan Vishny has written a very humorous book on being a vegan but their our some serious side effects. Ted Smigielski, the Polish nutritionist and caterer of Ed's Hot Lunch, has seen some of the serious side effects of those who have followed the Vishny plan. He has witnessed the formation of a "Chicken chest", a pectoral region with no muscle at all. This condition is not only unflattering but also unhealthy as those inflicted have little strength in the area.

A quick read for absolute beginners
If you know nothing about vegans and are just interested in an introduction to the health aspects alone, than this is the book for you. I feel it was written toward a younger audience (say....early teens) but, to its credit, attempted jokes made it a bit more enjoyable. It is only concerned with the health of a vegan diet (notice the title) so for anyone interested in veganism beyond reducing heart disease and cancer, there are many other books out there that have a more wholistic and less self-centered approach. Also, the topics it does cover are somewhat skimmed over, which may or may not be a good thing for you. To sum it up, wanna know about vegan health in an hour? Read this book. Want to know more than just health benefits, or a more in-depth approach and explanation? Pick something else.

A funny, lighthearted look at veganism!
In the genre of unapologetic, self-deprecating, very humorous books about veganism, You Don't Have To Be a Treehugger To Be a Vegan stands out at the top. The reputation vegans have for being radical and humorless is dashed by this book, since it's a guaranteed laugh. This is the vegan advocacy book to give your friend who thinks we're all a bunch of strange, boring, modern hippies.

This book answers all vegan questions and then some, with great statistics, fun chapter headings ("What About Happy Hour?" "Fruit Loops® Don't Grow on Trees"), and even perspectives from the non-vegan industries. For example, he includes whymilk.com's list of supposed benefits of milk for athletic performance, seemingly to create a balance of information. (He makes it obvious that the milk industry is dead wrong about their findings.)

The book's 30 Days to Leave Your Blubber™ Program takes the shift to veganism slowly and is a well-thought-out plan to cut out animal products. Vishny introduces his plan with sound advice: watch your body change, listen to your body, eat less processed foods, and drink water.

The book's humor reminds readers that while there is so much in this world to be depressed about, no one relates to an angry, resentful vegan. Even though most of us immerse ourselves in information about poor health, horrendous animal welfare conditions, and environmental issues (enough to depress anyone), we have a job to express ourselves as exuberantly happy. As Julia Butterfly Hill said in a recent speech, "I'm not just vegan. I am a joyous vegan!"

You Don't Have To Be a Treehugger To Be a Vegan is not formal dining instruction, but he provides some great basics for vegan food preparation. For example, for the soup base recipe, Vishny instructs us to "chop the daylights out of the above ingredients and place in a soup pot." Now that's the kind of cooking class for vegans without attitude!

Vishny sprinkles factoids, unique cartoons and quotes throughout. ("Did you know salmon contains more cholesterol than a double cheeseburger?" and my personal favorite: "There are over 4,500 species of mammals in the world and only one species consumes milk after weaning.") Usually the ubiquitous quote prefacing each chapter of a book is distracting, but Vishny's use of quotes is perfectly humorous and informational. One sidebar also dispels common myths about veganism. "Myth 3: I'm going to starve on a vegan diet. This isn't Jenny Vegan Craig. You can eat as much and as often as you want."

Vishny doesn't really prove he's not a so-called treehugger as much as he proves he's not in it for animal rights. Like Howard Lyman's book No More Bull, You Don't Have To Be a Treehugger To Be Vegan is not for those with a sensitivity toward animals, though it might just touch their funnybone enough to distract them from the atrocities that animals experience, if even for a moment. --Caity McCardell