Book Recommendations

Becoming Vegan

Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina

Thorough and easy to use, an excellent resource for new vegans. A complete nutritional guide to adopting a vegan diet, addressing common concerns regarding protein, vitamins, and minerals, and providing a vegan food pyramid for good health. Also covers the dietary needs of children, seniors, athletes, and people who are over- or underweight.

Animal Ingredients A-Z

E. G. Smith Collective

This slim volume gives you everything you need to know in order to recognize animal ingredients in all their many forms. Crucial for trips to the grocery store, clothing store, and drugstore, as well as for restaurant survival. For all those times you've read through an ingredients list and thought, "What the hell is that?"

Healthy Highways

Nikki and David Goldbeck

The traveler's guide to healthy eating, this guidebook describes 1,900 eateries and natural food stores throughout the United States. While the guide covers healthy eating on the road in general, it also specifies vegetarian, vegan, and vegan-friendly options. The book is organized by state and then by city. Practical details like phone numbers, hours of operation, maps and directions help to get you there in a hurry when you're hungry. Other features include ideas for portable snacks, healthy "rules for the road," and a variety of travel resources. This guide is indispensable for vegans travelling within the United States.

Diet for a Small Planet

Frances Moore Lappe

While somewhat dated, this original is still a seminal book about the world-wide animal and human suffering caused by animal agriculture. It links the personal and political, analyzing the social and economic consequences of contemporary food production and offering personal actions for change and hope. The book debunks old protein myths and provides "old school" tips and recipes for meatless cooking.

Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating

Erik Marcus

The best, most comprehensive guide to the health, environmental, and animal-rights aspects of veganism. Simultaneously depressing yet hopeful, this book presents solidly researched information to make a convincing argument for veganism.

Whole Foods Companion

Dianne Onstad

An excellent reference guide to natural foods such as: fruits; vegetables; grains; legumes; nuts, seeds and oils; and herbs, spices and other whole foods. Encyclopedic information covers nutritional facts, buying and storage tips, ideas for preparation and use, and food lore. A very valuable resource.

Diet for a New America

John Robbins

This classic connects our food choices with their consequences for the health of our bodies and our planet. It combines medical, agricultural, environmental, and economic research to make the case for decreasing our consumption of animal products. A wealth of both objective and personal information empowers readers to make healthy, nourishing choices.

Vegan Diet as Chronic Disease Prevention

Kerrie Saunders

Provides health and nutrition information to support a vegan diet made up of the "New Four Food Groups:" fruits, grains, vegetables, and legumes. This is a useful compilation of scientific evidence and fact sheets of plant-based nutrients.

Animal Liberation

Peter Singer

The classic book analyzing "speciesism" by revealing the abuse of animals in factory farming and scientific experimentation. The ethical viewpoint combines philosophical arguments for animal rights with humanitarian and environmental arguments for vegetarianism.

Vegan Freak

Bob Torres and Jenna Torres

A refreshing explanation of vegan ethics, filled with practical tips on how to survive as a vegan in a non-vegan culture. A humorous and fun yet also serious and political introduction to both the theory and practice of veganism.

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