Buy David Kirby's "Animal Factory," and He Promises His Next Book Will Be About Something Adorable

Imus was on a quest this morning to improve the sales of David Kirby’s latest book Animal Factory, which he estimated has been selling at a rate of one per day, and not because it isn’t a finely reported, well-written piece of investigative journalism.

“It is a topic people don’t want to face,” Kirby admitted about his book, which focuses on factory farming in the U.S., the inhumane ways animals are raised and slaughtered, and the impact these farming methods have on the environment and public health.

Kirby insisted Animal Factory is more than a catalog of horrors. “It’s about people who are defending their communities, bringing in greater regulations and more enforcement,” he said. “And promoting an alternative way of raising animals in this country that is humane and sustainable, and can produce affordable food that is healthy.”

Why, then, are sales so sluggish and media outlets so hesitant to talk to Kirby? Is it because, like Imus, they have weak stomachs?  Or are they controlled by corporate sponsors? Whichever it is, the I-Man worked his magic today on Animal Factory, and by interview’s end everybody was feeling the power.

First, Kirby told Imus it is “absolutely” possible to meet the demand for meat and poultry in this country, and to do it the right way. “We just need more farmers,” he said. “Two percent of the population produces 100 percent of the food.”

In fact, a proliferation of new family farms could address unemployment concerns, while simultaneously making the rules fairer. “Get rid of the subsidies for all the grain that we feed these animals,” Kirby encouraged. “Put a ban on antibiotic use unless you’re treating a sick animal. Make sure producers can get their animals to the market through humane and regional processing plants.”

That sort of change seems generational to Imus, and maybe it is. But working toward it is more productive, not to mention healthier, than settling for a status quo where cattle feed literally consists of chicken s*it. 

What’s more, a report released last Friday on the residue program for cattle in this country found drugs, heavy metal, and pesticides in our beef. Also routinely found in cow dung: arsenic, copper, and antibiotics, all of which Kirby said can cause neuro-toxicity, developmental delays, and other illnesses.

For all his Negative Nelly-ing, Kirby is not suggesting people like Charles, who loves him a turkey club sandwich, ward off meat forever. “You’re saying we don’t have happy little pigs and chickens and cows running around the barnyard anymore,” Imus observed.

Dire circumstances could dictate a return to those idyllic times. “Eventually we’re going to have to get rid of these factory farms altogether,” Kirby said. “Because of the disease, because of what’s in our food, because of things like swine flu and MRSA.”

Trends are beginning to change, albeit slowly; Kirby reported that the demand for organic food grows by 20 percent every year. “People are starting to learn,” he added. Regardless of the power and size of food producing conglomerates, they will always adhere to consumer demand.

After this harrowing experience, it’s unlikely Kirby will ever write as divisive a book again. “My next book is going to be about puppies,” he said, and sighed.

-Julie Kanfer


Comments

[Margaret Mobley]

The reason ANIMAL FACTORY dropped on Amazon book sales is because everyone is buying Paula's book, SAVANNAH STYLE, to use her recipes and style. Need I say more? From Margaret Mobley, Savannah, GA