As I read this book I discovered that it wasn't just about food or veganism vs. other diets but rather something of a meditation on life, ethics, mindfulness, and the author's internal journey from eating whatever to Vegan and then to a mindful awareness of what and why he is eating.

Cerulli's journey included the fishing he did every summer when young and his gradual conversion to a vegan lifestyle. Then, for health reasons and on the advice of his doctor he began adding dairy and eggs back into his diet. Part of the journey was the author's research into the production of the foods he and Cath were obtaining locally, from the supermarket, and from their own vegetable patch. Becoming aware of how many animals die to produce grains and vegetables, milk and eggs, had him thinking more deeply about man's place in the natural world. It also led to his returning to fishing and then eventually to contemplating taking up deer hunting.

In the end, Cerulli's point isn't that we should all take up fishing and hunting but that everyone should have a deep awareness of their relationship to the meadows, forests and streams and to the plants and animals that co-inhabit them with us and make up the cycle of life that we all belong to.

Well written and well research, [The Mindful Carnivore] immediately drew me in and presented me with much new information (especially about deer and the ins and outs of deer-hunting) and the author's inner struggles as to the ethics of food production, hunting, etc. were enlightening. This turned into an entertaining book I would recommend to a wide range of people. One blubber described it as an "engaging meditation on what it means to be human."

Emotional and thoughtful. I could only take little bits at a time, but it gave me plenty to analyze. The only criticism I suppose I have is it's not really a hunting memoir, but that's the closet genre I can put it in. The cover text makes it sound like it's going to be more of a propaganda piece for an extreme version of "eating local" but rather it's more of a honest ambivalence about how one should get their food sources in a modern society. ( )