An Interview with Jonathan Safran Foer

[DenisTheMennnace]

i wouldnt be able to live without meat, especially because i work out in the gym, but i have a lot of respect for vegetarians and for what they do.

[SkylitDriveFan123]

So he is saying that being a vegetarian made him some sort of enlightened being. He does realize that meat is healthy right?

[DenisTheMennnace]

@SkylitDriveFan123 enlightened doesn't equal healthy my friend

[Jernau11]

@SkylitDriveFan123 he spent a few years researching just that for his book eating animals. The answer to that question is a long and complex one. I suggest a good starting point is his book.

[shepherdsdog01]

@SkylitDriveFan123 This is a complicated, philosophical issue. Do some research before commenting on the health and lifestyle of vegetarians. People who do not eat meat do not inflict their views on meat-eaters, meat-eaters inflict their views on those who do not eat meat.

[psychogrox]

hes cute :D

[MrTasnesto]

Ο Φοέρ δεν έχει γράψει απλά ένα καλό μυθιστόρημα. Στο «Εξαιρετικά Δυνατά και Απίστευτα Κοντά» μας προσφέρει μια ολόκληρη λογοτεχνική εμπειρία.

[MrTasnesto]

Αυτές τις μέρες και αυτές τις ώρες διαβάζω το "Εξαιρετικά δυνατά και απίστευτα κοντά" του Τζ. Σάφραν Φόερ…. Το βιβλίο μολάει και αυτό για τις ώρες των ζωών που τις ζουν απλοί άνθρωποι. Άνθρωποι ήρωες των δικών τους ωρών, ωρών απώλειας, απώλειας και οδύνης, και άλλων ωρών συγκρατημένα αισιόδοξων που γίνονται κατόπιν εκρηκτικά αισιόδοξων, και άλλων ωρών ευτυχίας, και άλλων μοναξιάς.

[brianamw718]

what movie is he talking about around 4:04??

[Shothri]

@brianamw718 Hes talking about the movie "Everything is Illuminated" , which is based on the novel he wrote

[ShaktipatSeer]

Eating animals is wrong - but I still drink milk you can harvest that humanely and even Hindus drink milk.. but slaughtering and eating them - wrong .. eating gelatin - wrong

[twpsynella]

@ShaktipatSeer then a good number of animals are just "wrong."

[HellPatrol92]

@ShaktipatSeer But in India cows are not grown up as they are in the states or sometimes in europe. Check out the vid "from farm to fridge" and look at what happens in diary production. I think "only" about the 75% of milk is producted that way, so there's is the chance not to buy that kind of milk. If you want to drink milk I think you should be quite shure that company or society doesn't produce it that way...

[vonboom]

Eating animals is a guiding light.....you made me a vegetarian that cares

[OiWaa]

I would be a vegetarian, but meat tastes so good!

[HellPatrol92]

@OiWaa Yes, meat tastes good, I liked it when i used to eat it. But for some minutes of pleasure a day you make animals (which have the same nervous system as we have, so physically they suffer the same way as we do) suffer for a whole life. It's not they are killed, it's HOW they are grown up and then killed. If you eat meat, like it or not, you torture for a whole life for some minutes of pleasure. It's you choice, but i think it's not worth living if we torture every single day. Bye!

[Barbaragolden]

Great sharing! ; )

[CDLver]

Thank you, PETA, for posting Johnathon's thoughts.I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this compassionate man speak.

[TheProdigyBro]

WHY ISNT THIS PETA CHANNEL PARTNERED...THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL CASH TO FILL IN FOR THE MANY PEOPLE WHO DO NOT DONATE

[wasabied]

Wow, people are ignorant and rude on this video. This is an artist, and this is the train of his thoughts that helped create the books that you love to read - accept it! You can't pick and choose your authors and their beliefs, races, personalities, if you want to be open-minded as readers should be, then allow this man his own thoughts and way of life.

[brewskhee]

Philosophy major rights book about animal cruelty! Been done before by sophomore year college kids who like to waste money on a bullshit degree. If an Agriculture grad had written it, the words would have meant so much more. Yet, people don't care since they only use one source to get all of their information...like books shown on Oprah. Factory Farming is wrong, but this guy makes all farmers look like redneck animal murderers.

[kirakiraab]

this guy is my hero

[JakobFriisStorborg]

@kirakiraab mine too. Sometimes I can't believe he's real. Somewhat like how some girls feel about jonas brothers. And then again..

[hcs7m8]

The thing is ...there is so much more too it than cruelty to animals. My uncle was a farmer...and could no longer continue his occupation because he could not compete with the factory farmers. This issue is more than just an animal rights issue...it effects us on so many other levels

[jj1552a]

I might even go further and posit that the person responsible for the comment might be employed in the meat producing industry him or herself. It's also possible that he or she is part of a special interest group with a financial interest in maintaining the influence of meat producers. It's also possible that he or she is simply a meat-lover who wishes to comfort him or herself that he or she may continue eating meat with no negative consequences to the earth, other people, or him or herself.

[Superstar3330]

Where exactly did Jonathon Safran Foer see these cattle? Texas is where most cattle in U.S. come from. I have lived in Tx all my life. I grew up on one of the largest cattle ranches here. We had 8000 cattle. It was pasture land, trees, windmills. Nice place for a cow. Every rancher I have ever seen raises their cattle on pasture land. You know wheat & grass.

So the fact that cattle are raised in horrible environment 99% of the time, is stupid & ludicrous

[cpmkw]

"Where exactly did Jonathon Safran Foer see these cattle?"

WOW! I think these comments speak for themselves. What a stereotype.

GREAT job on this video btw -- touchingly and disarmingly lucid, straightforward, honest, and compelling. Keep up the beautiful work, PETA and Jonathan!

[Superstar3330]

Dairy cattle and beef cattle are totally treated different. Eating meat is beef cattle! Mr. Foer doesn't know what he is talking about!

[Erin2018]

I'm vegetarian, but for health reasons as opposed to animal-love reasons.

I'm just amazed at how people say, "I can't eat animals because they're living creatures!" Plants are living creatures too, and trees as well. In the grand scheme of things, trees and plants are exponentially more important contributors to our lives than animals. Yet how many ethical vegetarians become sorrowful when they eat a salad...on a wooden plate? Inconsistent logic is why I reject "ethical" vegetarianism.

[honeybear64]

@Erin2018 It's "inconsistent logic" only if you consider plants and animals to occupy an equal status. Vegetarians are perfectly well aware that plants are living; the issue is not whether something is living, but whether it is sentient.

And, meat-eaters consume far more plants than vegetarians; it's just that their plants are cycled through animals.

[mpeniak]

well said

[street4sky]

Erin- Your word are unbalanced. It is also important to consider the animals' living conditions as well as what you put in your own body. Get educated and reevaluate.

[concerto404]

@erin2018

I've heard that argument exemplified better at the end of Pulp Fiction, but no one took it seriously.

Without going into the physical difference between animals and plants (ie: a brain), what Foer presents is a problem of the breeding process of animals. Animals are treated like a plant, where they are boxed, watered, fed, with void for any health or life consideration. Weather animals or plants pay higher value to earth is an idiots argument, they are both needed!!!

[LoveKristyLove]

I think you're looking at it the wrong way. When people say the "can't eat animals because they're living creatures" I think they mean because they can feel and it's just cruel and inhumane to raise them in the way that is common on factory farms and slaughter them. Plants on the other hand, whilst being living creatures, cannot feel pain, nor do they have a thought process.

[allison2811]

@Erin2018 plants do not suffer. DUh

[selwynr]

paleblue, you are intellectually dishonest, illogical and self-serving. I'm a vegetarian but I could get into eating people like you, just so there would be less red-necks in the world. And NO, you DO NOT LOVE ANIMALS. If that's what love is to you, then I'd hate to be your son, brother, sister, or daughter.

[mysticism9]

thanks Jon, you're the man!

[JCmultiverse]

there appears to be a trend towards vegetarianism and a trend towards peace - the developed world has moved on from cannibalism and the debate is now vegetarianism - so I anticipate that in the year xxxx most of the developed world will be vegetarians - Jonathan Safran is at the leading edge - I'm a meat eater- I just love the taste - but hell I feel guilty because there is no way I could slaughter a cow or lamb- I tried vegetarianism for a year and failed - I will keep trying

[Ratboy2004]

The comments below reflect our society. Your ignorance is overwhelming. The Crusades resulted in millions dead, more than Hitler...check the facts. Become informed about how food is made. Once you have learned how the food is processed, you will change your diet.

Food Inc. - documentary

Food Matters - documentary

How many "large" or obese people do you see that are over 60? Ever wonder why?

Become informed before making a comment you arm chair quarterbacks!

[alesstop]

for me,,its just a (( bla,,bla )) that guy should write about what's happening in the sacred land,,wich palestine,,,jewish complained all time about what happened during the 2 ww,,right now they're doing the same horrors as thye nazis did make ,,i think they're similar,,and they deserve to be erased from earth,,infortunately,,,hitler didnt succeed..

aless

[nedmu]

wow. seeing his book reviews I immediately hated this guy. I just pictured some snobby academic with good reviews because he writes heavy handed about politics and culture, but this guy is down to earth and this is a good interview. i'm gonna check out his book.

[ClaudineMignard]

This is great! I can't wait to get your new book! Thanks for your views. You have made this grandmother happy!

[sharonhart12345]

if you don't like it don't comment assholes .. he's genius and genuine.

[alotojam]

I don't understand howyou people can find fault in someone who is proclaiming nothing but hope for humanity and the world in general. Famine in third world countries? THATS PART OF WHAT HE IS SAYING, before you knock vegetarianism, research the pros against the meat industry cons.

Jarrick has transposed the "value" that Jonathan speaks of (a creatures life and ability to have a certain resonance) with the value of economy and a primitive hunger satisfaction. Empty criticisms.

[AleisterCrowleyMagus]

This idiot is an immature, incredibly self-important hack who wrote the most absurdly hyped novels in publishing history. He's written two piles of ridiculous steaming shit, for which he was massively overpaid (million dollar advances -- please stop the madness!), and now he's preaching to us like a literary Moby with a doe-eyed earnest expression that we. should. stop. murdering. the. poor. animals!! This idiot knows nothing about the realities of famine in third world countries. Grow up.

[UndyingRevolution]

So i guess when you stuffing your face with steak, or whatever you eat, you're contributing to a better society? When you start doing something that actually helps the world, you come back to us.

[grassabrutta]

Could not agree more !!

[jarrick81]

Jonathan used reason like Dane Cook sets up a joke. Neither of them make any sense but they do end up entertaining people. I raise my our cows, butcher them, and eat them because I value them. I will not stop doing that in 20 year.

His idealism is interesting but not founded in reality of economy, health, or history. He imposes his beliefs under the precept that it could happen and end war. If there is no objective benefit other than a wish then it is nothing but high brow composed rhetoric.

[UndyingRevolution]

If you value your cows, you surely wouldn't butcher them.

The abolition of slavery was also seen as a "pipe-dream" and "unrealistic". To counter an argument simply because you think it's not worthwile, does not mean it is not plausible.

Actually, the abolishment of meat-eating is a very real possibility. Already I can see an increase in the number of people who no longer want to take part in this barbaric practice.

[grassabrutta]

Unless the cow is delivering you qulaity and quantity of milk.....why else would you 'value them' if it wasn't for their meat value ? What else would you have in mind for these cows ?

Eating meat is not barbaric. Maybe you had a bad experience of some kind that created in you a sensation of revulsion...but for the majority it is quite normal....even a great percentage of those cow-loving hindi folk

[anouck86]

of course it is normal for the majority of people because they are not thinking about it. Just because the majority thinks it's right doesn't make it right. There are a lot of people in certain regions who think that female genital mutilation is ok...but that doesn't make it right!

[paleblued0t]

it is right to eat meat. humans are omnivores. it is your choice to not eat meat but our bodies are designed for meat consumptions, there is nothing at all wrong with it.

also, Johnathan straight up lies in this interview. he has not been a veg since age 10. this guy has talent but he comes off as extremely pretenious sometimes.

[paleblued0t]

I love how this comments gets a -4. meat tastes good. our bodies digest it because--gasp!--we have since the dawn of time been designed to ingest it. I love animals but I don't need to "reconcile" eating meat. I like meat. factory farming is extremely cruel but that doesn't change the fact that humans eat meat just like many others animals, humans just do it more efficiently.

[deepverse]

@paleblued0t

Let's be clear about this: humans' biological efficiency at eating and digesting meat is not in any way an argument for its moral rightness. Part of the beauty of human culture is its ability to help us rise above our often brutal biological origins to make better moral judgments about what we should do that aren't necessarily based on what we CAN do. Add to this the fact that humans can be equally healthy (in many cases moreso) on a vegetarian diet, and your argument is defunct.

[UndyingRevolution]

You can even see plant-based diets be encouraged by governments. In my country at least (Australia), we are being bombarded by government ads saying "eat more fruit and veg" ; "a diet high in vegetable foods may decrease your chances of cancer", "saturated fat and choleterol are not good for us". Not one government ad about eating meat and dairy (although plenty by meat industry)..

I think you'll find that meat industry will follow the same path as the tabacco industry (a once super-power).

[mackhunk]

you're so cool man. let us support vegetarianism. stop killing animals for food. Animals have lives

[TehSmexican]

If we didn't eat animals, they would become over populated. In fact, if we raised endangered species for consumption, they would thrive.

[UndyingRevolution]

Don't give humans so much credit. What do you think happened before humans came about? Do you think the world was overrun by all these animals that humans didn't kill? It's only relatively recently that humans have existed in such large numbers.

By the way, humans eating animals may cause their numbers to balloon, however this is not 'thriving' as you describe it. How you can call being raised in cages, fed drugs, and butchered at a young age 'thriving', is beyond me. It;s pure cruelty.

[lobbyhorses]

You should listen to this very intelligent young man.

He is the most promising novelist for decades

[roppert100]

i could not agree more

[christusfactusest]

shalom!

[Emmaleigh711]

He's cute

[dearxyouu]

you suck at fuckign life

[TheHumina]

dude...you spelled the word 'fucking' wrong. so what does that say about your life???

[munkeephonix]

dude, you just corrected one of the most trivial and entirely meaningless mistakes ever. so what does that say about your life?

[lmdobbs816]

Well everyone, do realize that this video is psoted by PETA which is an animal rights organization. This video was obviously edited to show only his pro-animal rights statements. If you want to hear about his writing search for a video NOT posted by PETA.

[tommycoen]

I really respect Jonathan Safran Foer and I fell in love with his character, Oskar Schell, but this vegetarian thing is weird. I mean we don't eat meat in order not to harm animals. But what about plants? Don't they suffer? Just because they're silent and they don't move, it doesn't mean that they don't hurt... Unfortunately we cannot live on minerals and light, like plants do.

[Lirave]

Probably because plants can't sense pain since they do not have a nervous system.

[KharlozU]

@Lirave They do have a nervous system, but the truth is, we don't know if they suffer pain, or if so, how they suffer it. We do know they suffer stress, but they react positively to that stress. If you trim plants, for example,they grow stronger and greener, and thus healthier. We do have a great deal of knowledge on how animals suffer, as they are physically and psychologically very similar to us. They may, in fact, feel more pain than we do.

[UndyingRevolution]

If you wish to prevent harm to plants, then you too should be vegan. All those animals you eat also eat plants. But to make 1 kilogram of meat, the animals have to eat about 8-10 kgs of plants.... so you are contributing to about 10 times as much plant suffering as a vegan would be. I suggest if you're a person of conviction, do something about it! Go veg.

[MMAenthusiastUHHE]

Being vegetable is good and all. But the body does need meat.

[ithinkihateyou]

Where did you get that idea?

Besides being a vegetable? That'd be really hard... lol.

[pocketsandchange]

JSF, sexy pants.

[justuslot]

Im a vegeterian myself, but the point of this interveiw should have surely been the book?!! Mind you we can't be sure weather it's his fault of the interveiwers.

[PolitBurro]

There are no actual damaging environmental ramifications from eating meat that aren't also evident from vegetarianism. Imagine converting all the existing wildlife habitat to vast croplands necessary to support a world converted 100% to veganism. There goes most of the habitat for the wildlife! Simple ecology. Rigid Veganism is a sham, and is no more "correct" than a mixed (natural) diet that we evolved to digest. I'll be the thorn in his idea of 100% vegans within 20 yrs.

[toReasonWhy]

Hearing him speak and what his books are about make me hope that if I ever read them I will hate them. Such a twerpy little pretentious douche. And a vegetarian. I've seen one half decent interview of him. Doesn't stand up to the greatness of great authors, especially older authors. But we've got our great living (or VERY recently living) ones: Foster Wallace, Franzen, Eugenedes, McCarthy. And our older great ones, Pynchon, Kosinski, Fitzgerald.

[GrantOBeans]

Jonathan Safran Foer is one of my all-time favorite authors, and this just made me love him even more.

[paclean]

thank goodness he was asked about his books.

[M4rple]

jeez, I wish the audience or the interviewer or whoever would ask different questions!!

[thesuperflyone]

This guy is as lame as they get..

[AuthorityFigure]

I disagree. His writing has honestly made my life better - and that's anything but lame to me. I like thoughtful people. And while I do eat meat, i'd certainly go vegetarian for a day if it meant i could hang with this guy. One of my favorite people ever.

[diogofreitas]

In fact there's a movie with the same title as the book.

[lordterk]

for an educated author she should realize its not "The Ukraine"

[mahglazzies]

Is this all he talks about?

Jesus. I loved "Everything is Illuminated," it's one of my favourite books, but there's got to be something more interesting for him to speak of.

[kasiael]

I totally agree... I am so disapointed with the author I regret I saw this interview. He should stay with writing ... Is it sposored by PETA ?

[kkristynnn]

Me too. His books are awesome, and I don't want to watch the rest of this interview! I thought this would be about his books.

[kleutertjes]

I think this guy is a legend but the vegetarian crap is bullshit. If one of your beloved animals dies anyway, they wont really care will they? On the other hand, fuck the bio-industry.

[thefuckheadsgalore]

I sort of agree, if you love animals then sure, don't eat meat, but honestly, I would still eat meat if I had a pet cow. But I also think people eat wayy to much meat (and food in general!), so I'm down with vegetarianism. I eat meat sometimes, but I don't find it that important to my diet.

[MissLovett08]

I love his books. I was bored half way through. Why would he not be involved in the making of his book into a movie???

[Caulfieldsyndrom]

true true true

[Tayl0NP]

Yes!