The most recommended books about vegetarianism

Who picked these books? Meet our 38 experts.

38 authors created a book list connected to vegetarianism, and here are their favorite vegetarianism books.
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Book cover of Food is Your Best Medicine: The Pioneering Nutrition Classic

Ron Pickarski Author Of The Classical Vegetarian Cookbook

From my list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics.

Why am I passionate about this?

A former Catholic, raised in the restaurant business, becoming a Franciscan, and with a passionate love of art, they collectively integrated and came to define my life. I was sent to culinary school. Suffering from a chronic lung condition and obesity, I learned that an animal-based diet was the primary cause and became a vegan in October 1976, regaining my health. Vegan culinary art, as my lifeā€™s passion, led me to compete in the International Culinary Olympics five times in Germany, winning Seven medals, including gold, writing for magazines, authoring four books, and working with the United Nations to help humanity improve its health with a plant-based vegan diet.

Ron's book list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics

Ron Pickarski Why did Ron love this book?

Dr. Bieler discusses the use of food as medicine in lieu of using medicine, enabling oneā€™s body to heal itself through nutritional therapy provided by vegetables and whole foods. His thesis is that improper, or nutrient-deficient, foods cause disease and proper foods heal disease.

It is the first book I read on nutrition shortly after entering the seminary. In his book, he makes the nutritional case for fresh vegetables and fruits as essential to a healthy human diet. 

By Henry G. Bieler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Food is Your Best Medicine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Drugs may not be the only cure for disease . . . 

What do Gloria Swanson and Greta Garbo have in common?

They owe their good health to Dr. Henry Bieler's sane, simple, and utterly profound philosophy that food is your best medicine!

You are what you eat, and Dr. Bieler contends, based on over fifty years of practice, that proper diet plays a key role in warding off and curing disease.

Food Is Your Best Medicine features a fascinating interpretation of how the body functions to maintain good health and addresses all kinds of ailments with specific nutritional approaches.ā€¦


Book cover of Turtle Diary

Jean Ryan Author Of Survival Skills: Stories

From my list on the ways that animals redeem us.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since I was a child, sitting on fallen logs in the forest and making notes on the wildlife, I have been an admirer of animals and their mysteries. That animals feel pain, fear, and affection is obvious, and while we are warned against anthropomorphism, I think the greater mistake is in limiting them to the range of human feelings. I am especially intrigued with the subject of consciousness, believing that all creatures possess their own version of it. In studying the cognizance of other beings, we become better humans, more aware of the unity of all living things. While we have no idea how far we can go in our understanding of animal behavior, it is thrilling to consider the possibilities of this frontier.

Jean's book list on the ways that animals redeem us

Jean Ryan Why did Jean love this book?

Turtle Diary is one of my all-time favorite books. The intimate tone pulls the reader in immediately. Hoban alternates point of view between William and Neera, two lonely Londoners who accomplish a heroic feat and manage to rescue themselves in the process. The writing is spare and beautiful, peppered with delightful asides and observations: ā€œShe had a theatre programme in her hand, fresh air and perfume had come in with her. Her blonde hair and leopardskin coat looked as if theyā€™d go out even if she stayed at home.ā€

By Russell Hoban,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Turtle Diary as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Two lonely Londoners bond over a plan to free the sea turtles at the city zoo in this touching novel from a cult-favorite author who has drawn comparisons to J.D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut.

A wise and touching classic that ā€œcrackles with witty detail, mordant intelligence and self-deprecating irony,ā€ from the author of Riddley Walker (Time)

Life in a city can be atomizing, isolating. And it certainly is for William G. and Neaera H., the strangers at the center of Russell Hobanā€™s surprisingly heartwarming novel Turtle Diary.
 
William, a clerk at a used bookstore, lives in a rooming house afterā€¦


Book cover of Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome

William W. Li Author Of Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself

From my list on to help you eat to beat disease.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a physician, scientist, and food as medicine researcher who has spent three decades studying how the body defends itself against disease to protect health. A major focus of this has been on how your body responds to what you feed it. I'm an internationally renowned physician, scientist and author of the New York Times bestseller Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself. My work has led to the development of more than 30 new medical treatments and impacts care for more than 70 diseases. My TED Talk, ā€œCan We Eat to Starve Cancer?ā€ has garnered more than 11 million views. 

William's book list on to help you eat to beat disease

William W. Li Why did William love this book?

This is a book all about gut health, and how the microbiome and the foods that either nurture it, or harm it, can heal or injure your gut. As a physician, I know how miserable intestinal distress can be for someone who suffers from it. Written by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, a gastroenterologist, Fiber Fueled (and its follow-up cookbook) will answer almost every question youā€™ve ever had about how to heal your gut with food.

By Will Bulsiewicz,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Fiber Fueled as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fix your health with fibre not fads - the instant New York Times bestseller

The benefits of restrictive diets like paleo and keto have been touted for more than a decade, but as award-winning gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz, or 'Dr B', illuminates in this groundbreaking book, the explosion of studies on the microbiome show that elimination diets are in fact hazardous to our health. What research clearly indicates is that gut health is the key to boosting our metabolism, balancing our hormones and taming the inflammation that causes a host of diseases. And the scientifically proven way to fuel ourā€¦


Book cover of Diet for a Small Planet: The Book That Started a Revolution in the Way Americans Eat

Ron Pickarski Author Of The Classical Vegetarian Cookbook

From my list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics.

Why am I passionate about this?

A former Catholic, raised in the restaurant business, becoming a Franciscan, and with a passionate love of art, they collectively integrated and came to define my life. I was sent to culinary school. Suffering from a chronic lung condition and obesity, I learned that an animal-based diet was the primary cause and became a vegan in October 1976, regaining my health. Vegan culinary art, as my lifeā€™s passion, led me to compete in the International Culinary Olympics five times in Germany, winning Seven medals, including gold, writing for magazines, authoring four books, and working with the United Nations to help humanity improve its health with a plant-based vegan diet.

Ron's book list on vegetarianism, food history, health, and politics

Ron Pickarski Why did Ron love this book?

This was a ground breaking book at the time and makes the case from a food security and sustainability perspective as to why humans should embrace vegetarianism as a lifestyle change. It is the second book on food, after Food is Your Best Medicine, that led me to becoming a vegetarian. 

By Frances Moore Lappe,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Diet for a Small Planet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Discover a way of eating that revolutionized the meaning of our food choices and sold more than 3 million copiesā€”now in a 50th-anniversary edition with a timely introduction plus new and updated plant-centered recipes
 
ā€œFrances Moore LappĆ© is one of the few people who can credibly be said to have changed the way we eatā€”and one of an even smaller group to have done it for the better.ā€ā€”The New York Times
 
In 1971, Diet for a Small Planet broke new ground, revealing how our everyday acts are a form of power to create health for ourselves and our planet. Thisā€¦


Book cover of Animal Liberation Now: The Definitive Classic Renewed

Jonathan Birch Author Of The Edge of Sentience: Risk and Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI

From my list on change the way you think about animal minds.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always thought of myself as someone who ā€œcares about animals,ā€ but I came to see that I was thinking mainly about mammals and birds and overlooking the vast majority of animal life: fishes and invertebrates. Iā€™m a philosophy professor at the London School of Economics, and for almost 10 years now, Iā€™ve also been part of an emerging international community of ā€œanimal sentienceā€ researchersā€”researchers dedicated to investigating the feelings of animals scientifically. In 2021, a team led by me advised the UK government to protect octopuses, crabs, and lobstersā€”and the government changed the law in response. But there is a lot more we need to change.

Jonathan's book list on change the way you think about animal minds

Jonathan Birch Why did Jonathan love this book?

Are things getting better or worse for farmed animals? I greatly appreciate the honesty of Peter Singerā€™s update to his 1975 classic. His dream was to inspire a movement that would end cruel ā€œfactory farmingā€ by boycotting its products. And he did inspire a movementā€”but the industry has only got bigger, more intensive, more brutal, more ruthless.

Itā€™s wrecking our environment, our health, and other animalsā€™ lives all at once. The enemy was tougher to beat than he thought. Where do we go from here if we care about other animals? I think this book is a really powerful place to start.

By Peter Singer,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Animal Liberation Now as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE UPDATED CLASSIC OF THE ANIMAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, NOW WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY YUVAL NOAH HARARI

ā€œThe indispensable foundational text for the movement, new and updated with the honesty and philosophical depth characteristic of all of Singerā€™s work.ā€ ā€”J.M. Coetzee, author of The Lives of Animals and Disgrace

ā€œPeter Singer may be the most controversial philosopher alive; he is certainly among the most influential.ā€ā€”The New Yorker

Few books maintain their relevance ā€“ and have remained continuously in print ā€“ nearly 50 years after they were first published. Animal Liberation, one of TIMEā€™s ā€œAll-TIME 100 Best Non-Fiction Booksā€ is one suchā€¦


Book cover of Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement

Robert Zimdahl Author Of Agriculture's Ethical Horizon

From my list on beginning to think about the ethics of agriculture.

Why am I passionate about this?

Several years ago I gave a paper - Human experiments in Teratogenicity - a brief exploration of the use of herbicides in the Vietnam. I was accused of and being a traitor to my discipline and siding with the environmentalists who wanted to diminish herbicide use in agriculture. I wasn't guilty as charged. The accusation encouraged me to explore agriculture's values and ethical foundation. I have continued to explore the ethics of agriculture, question the ethics of the whole agricultural enterprise. I've written, learned, and thought about the application of moral philosophy to agriculture. The book selected will help readers think about the questions and guide those interested in pursuing the application of moral philosophy to agriculture.

Robert's book list on beginning to think about the ethics of agriculture

Robert Zimdahl Why did Robert love this book?

One of the very important agricultural issues is treatment of animals especially those grown in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Singer was among the very first who wrote about how animals are treated by the agricultural enterprise and by people. He was among the first to tell us that animals can suffer and therefore we must consider our moral obligation to any creature that can suffer.

Animal science has made more progress than most other agricultural disciplines in changing the way animals are treated. There is still a long way to go.

By Peter Singer,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Animal Liberation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How should we treat non-human animals? In this immensely powerful and influential book (now with a new introduction by Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari), the renowned moral philosopher Peter Singer addresses this simple question with trenchant, dispassionate reasoning. Accompanied by the disturbing evidence of factory farms and laboratories, his answers triggered the birth of the animal rights movement.

'An extraordinary book which has had extraordinary effects... Widely known as the bible of the animal liberation movement' Independent on Sunday

In the decades since this landmark classic first appeared, some public attitudes to animals may have changed but our continued abuseā€¦


Book cover of In Praise of Veg: A modern kitchen companion

Niki Webster Author Of Rainbow Bowls: Easy, delicious ways to #EatTheRainbow

From my list on healthy plant-based recipes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been a fan of vegetables as long as I can remember, I went plant-based as a young girl and have never looked back. I love to celebrate vegetables in their wholesome, vibrant goodness and put them at the center of your diet. I love nothing more than pairing different flavours and textures to create feel-good food that tastes as good as it does for you and the planet. I have been running my blog ā€“ Rebel Recipes for over 6 years and have four plant-based cookbooks with fans from across the globe!

Niki's book list on healthy plant-based recipes

Niki Webster Why did Niki love this book?

This chunky and vibrant book by Alice Zaslavsky is going to make you put vegetables at the center of your plate! With over 150 recipes plus information about flavour combinations, rule-of-thumb buying/storing/cooking methods, shortcuts. Itā€™s really inspiring and informative and will help you re-think how you structure meals. One not to be missed.

By Alice Zaslavsky,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In Praise of Veg as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For fans of Samin Nosrat, Anna Jones and Stephanie Alexander, the ultimate veg guide for food lovers

'Alice Zaslavsky is a force of nature!' Nigella Lawson

The definitive guide to making vegetables the centre of the plate.

In this comprehensive and fully illustrated kitchen companion, food writer and presenter Alice Zaslavsky profiles 50 favourite vegetable varieties, offering 150+ recipes reflective of both tradition and modernity, just as all good cooking should be. Uniquely organised by colour and filled with countless tips on flavour combinations, rule-of-thumb buying/storing/cooking methods, shortcuts, and veg wisdom from over 50 of the world's top chefs, Inā€¦


Book cover of Eating Animals

Zachary Austin Behlok Author Of Perspectives

From Zachary Austin's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Philosopher Lebanese-American Existentialist Professor

Zachary Austin's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Zachary Austin Behlok Why did Zachary Austin love this book?

By Jonathan Safran Foer,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Eating Animals as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

To reduce risk of pandemics for ourselves, our gaze needs to turn to the health of animals. Discover Jonathan Safran Foer's eye-opening and life-changing account of the meat we eat.

'Should be compulsory reading. A genuine masterwork. Read this book. It will change you' Time Out

Eating Animals is the most original and urgent book on the subject of food written this century. It will change the way you think, and change the way you eat. For good.

Whether you're flirting with veganuary, trying to cut back on animal consumption, or a lifelong meat-eater, you need to read this book.ā€¦


Book cover of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Lukas Volger Author Of Snacks for Dinner: Small Bites, Full Plates, Can't Lose

From my list on cookbooks for making plant-based cooking a habit.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been writing vegetarian cookbooks for almost 15 years, and have had many different jobs in the world of food ā€“ cooking in restaurants, running a small food business, working food photography shoots, and much more. While in my day-to-day eating, I go on and off following a strict plant-based diet, itā€™s long been my default style of eating because I find it to be so healthy, affordable, and fun! Iā€™m never not excited and inspired by the abundance and diversity of vegetables and the incredible techniques and dishes that cuisines around the world have done with them. 

Lukas' book list on cookbooks for making plant-based cooking a habit

Lukas Volger Why did Lukas love this book?

When I was a young cook, I picked up my copy of this opus from a neighborā€™s stoop sale, and it immediately became one of my most valued possessions. Iā€™d go to the farmerā€™s market, buy a vegetable I didnā€™t recognize, and then back at home consult this, my vegetable bible, for how I should cook it. It has never steered me wrong and 20 years later, I still find new things to learn from it and am always in awe of Deborah Madisonā€™s prescient wisdom on the subject of how to thoughtfully shop, cook, eat, and live. Itā€™s warmly written and exhaustive in its scope ā€“ as much of a reference as it is a practical cookbook for regular use. 

By Deborah Madison,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What Julia Child is to French cooking and Marcella Hazan is to Italian cooking, Deborah Madison is to contemporary vegetarian cooking.  At Greens restaurant in San Francisco, where she was the founding chef, and in her two acclaimed vegetarian cookbooks, Madison elevated vegetarian cooking to new heights of sophistication, introducing many people to the joy of cooking without meat, whether occasionally or for a lifetime.  But after her many years as a teacher and writer, she realized that there was no comprehensive primer for vegetarian cooking, no single book that taught vegetarians basic cooking techniques, how to combine ingredients, andā€¦


Book cover of Pork Pie Pandemonium: Albert Smith's Culinary Capers

Neil Plakcy Author Of In Dog We Trust

From my list on crime-solving dogs.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I met my husband, he had two dogsā€”Gus the collie and Charlie the Yorkie. When the collie crossed the rainbow bridge, we brought another big dog into the householdā€”a golden retriever. Charlie let Sam know that my husband was HIS human, and Sam could have me if he wanted. That began a beautiful twelve-year love affair. I knew I had to write about the relationship between man and dog, and chose the mystery novel as my framework. I spend hours every day researching my books ā€“ walking my current goldens, Brody and Griffin; feeding them; grooming them; playing with them; and observing how they interact with the world.

Neil's book list on crime-solving dogs

Neil Plakcy Why did Neil love this book?

Itā€™s laugh-out-loud funny, and despite the fact that he flunked out as a police dog, Rex is a great detective who usually knows more than his human counterparts.

Higgs has also done a great job of combining culinary details throughout the series. In this one, youā€™ll learn all about pork pies. But even vegetarians will love these books.

Book cover of Food is Your Best Medicine: The Pioneering Nutrition Classic
Book cover of Turtle Diary
Book cover of Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome

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