The Shameless Carnivore

Book excerpt: Wondering if you're a true carnivore? Looking for a great recipe for Rattlesnake Chili? Read this book: a fast, funny, and enlightening celebration of the immense joys of flesh—consuming it, that is. The average American consumes 218.3 pounds of meat every year. But concerns about mad cow disease, industrial feedlot practices, and self-righteous vegetarians have made the carnivorous lifestyle somewhat déclassé. Now, Scott Gold issues a red-blooded call to arms for the meat-adoring masses to rise up, speak out, and reclaim their pride. The Shameless Carnivore explores the complexities surrounding the choice to eat meat as well as its myriad pleasures. Delving into everything from ethical issues to dietary, anthropological, and medical findings, Gold answers such probing questions as: Can staying carnivorous be more healthful than going vegetarian? What’s behind the “tastes like chicken” phenomenon? And, of course, What qualities should you look for in a butcher? The author also chronicles his attempt to become the "ultimate carnivore" by eating 31 different meats in 31 days (as well as every cut and organ of a cow) He includes tasty recipes and describes his experiences hunting squirrels in Louisiana attending the annual testicle festival, and even spending an entire, painstaking week as a vegetarian. From the "critter dinners" he relished as a child to his adult forays into exotic game and adventures in the kitchen, Gold writes with an infectious enthusiasm that might just inspire you to serve a little llama or rattlesnake at your next dinner party. This is the definitive book for meat lovers.