Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals

Written by Hal Herzog

Narrated by James Anderson Foster

“A fascinating, thoughtful, and thoroughly enjoyable exploration of a major dimension of human experience.”— Steven Pinker, author of How the Mind Works 

A maverick scientist reveals the inconsistent and often paradoxical ways humans think, feel, and behave towards animals in this engaging, informative, and though-provoking book, now newly revised.

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat is a highly entertaining and illuminating journey through the full spectrum of human-animal relations. Drawing on his groundbreaking research in the field of anthrozoology, Dr. Hal Herzog tries to make sense of our complex relationships with animals and the challenging moral conundrums we face regarding these creatures who share our world—and some, our homes. 

A blend of anthropology, behavioral economics, evolutionary psychology, and philosophy, updated to reflect evolving attitudes and the most recent findings, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat  is a poignant, often challenging, and frequently laugh-out-loud funny trip through a world of animal rights activists, cockfighters, professional dog-show handlers, veterinary students, biomedical researchers, and more. It will forever change the way we think about other living creatures and, ultimately, how we see ourselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Dec 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063119307

Hal Herzog

Hal Herzog is recognized as one of the world’s leading anthrozoologists. He is a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University and lives in the Great Smoky Mountains with his wife Mary Jean.

Reviews for Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat

[Lee Eaton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'd definitely recommend this book. It opens your eyes to other people's thinking ?

[Bryan Shapiro · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This does not address the pathological enmeshment codependency between humans and animals. Most of my friends who own dogs, say they would rather be close to a dog, then be close to a human.

[Angie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent read. I thought I was digging into a book on veganism when, in fact, this is a full-fledged breakdown of the psychology and ethics of all our animal relationships. Definitely worth a listen.

[vantine-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Herzog's book is a nuanced look at animals and our relationship with them. He looks at hypocrisies and inconsistent thinking as well as the compromises we all make. He is able to demonstrate that ethics is a messy business and that most things are not as cut and dry as we might assume.

Recommended for people who like reading books like Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test as it has the same sort of approachable language and some humor. Fans of non-fiction authors like Mary Roach should also read it for similar reasons.

[gwendydd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a fascinating look at the relationship between humans and animals, focusing primarily on the ethics of human-animal relationships. Herzog examines the various relationships we have with animals: we eat some (but different cultures eat different animals), we keep some as pets (but different cultures and even different people have different ideas about what animals are acceptable pets), we use some for sport (hunting, cock fighting), and we use some for medical experiments. Some people devote their lives to fighting for animal rights. At the root of all of these interactions are some major ethical questions about what we should and should not do to animals. Why is it okay to eat some and not others? Why is it okay to feed a rat to a snake, but not a kitten? Why do some people keep mice as pets, but then kill mice they find in their kitchens? Ultimately, our relationship with animals is full of ethical conflicts. If you believe that any animals have rights, then logically those rights must either extend to all animals, or you must deny human rights. There is no logical way to decide what animals have what rights, or whose lives are more valuable than others. Herzog examines how these paradoxes play out in situations like cock fighting and medical research. Ultimately, he concludes that we have to come to terms with the inherent paradoxes in our relationships with animals, and we have to be comfortable with the fact that there is no logically/ethically consistent way to define human/animal relationships.This makes for some really interesting reading, and requires a lot of soul-searching from the reader.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author is a psychologist with an interest in animal-human relationships. This book looks at studies on so many topics, many of which create moral quandries with regard to animals. He covers so many topics, it’s hard to recall them all, but based on the title you can probably guess, one of them looks at why some cultures keep dogs as pets and some eat them. Topics include pets, animal testing, farm animals, cock fighting, dog shows and breeding, animal activists, and so much more. I love animals, and I have plenty of moral quandries with what I do/don’t do or think, feel, etc. when it comes to animals. I am not vegetarian, but what (little) meat I eat (not very often) is humanely-raised. I won’t buy products tested on animals. I do wear clothes made from animal parts (though not fur). I will catch and release bugs, spiders, etc. One thing – that he mentioned a few times – that I always found odd was that some vegetarians eat fish. That’s one I don’t “get”! There is a lot of information and he presents the results of lots of studies, and it’s hard to remember everything, but I did find it all very interesting. And I’m still conflicted about many things!

[kemilyh1988 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Don't fight roosters, come on folks.

[dabofdarkness · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So much food for thought on this one! The author leads us on an exploration of the animal-human relationship, pushing the reader to think about several choices they have made. There’s plenty of morality questions here where the author does a good job of letting the reader come to their own conclusions without forcing his opinions on them.I’ll touch on a few of the subjects that really stood out for me. Captive dolphins for human entertainment or supposed health treatments: humane or not? It’s becoming more and more common to frown upon captive animals for entertainment, and yet more and more common to keep them around for health treatments. Who doesn’t want to go swimming with the dolphins? But at what cost? I have read about a few places were the dolphins are not netted in but come freely for the fish and tourists are entertained in the process. Is that the reasonable middle ground?Next was the discussion on mice bred for scientific and medical research. These mice never live wild, free lives and have been used for generations for scientific research. Once they have fulfilled their use, they are euthanized. How much is a mouse’s life worth? The author does a great job of getting into the numbers. If 100,000 mice could be the key to curing a specific type of cancer, would that be acceptable? Many of the same questions are raised for other species, such as apes and monkeys. Also, how does euthanizing so many animals weigh upon the researcher?Some of the sections were a bit tougher as they touch a little closer to home. Food chickens versus cock fighting: the food chickens live in tightly enclosed spaces, sometimes never seeing the light of day. Meanwhile the fighting cocks get gourmet meals, have well-tended yards, and several hens for companionship. A lifetime of bad days versus a life of good days with one bad day at the end.Vegetarianism – includes fish or not? This is an interesting question I find that my vegetarian/vegan friends answer a little differently from person to person. Other such questions come up for discussion. Some areas of the world, dogs are on the menu and they are kept in deplorable conditions prior to slaughter, much like American chicken slaughterhouses. The torturing of small animals as kids is perhaps more common than expected and may be a way for kids to learn to empathize with others. Why is feeding frozen baby mice to snakes acceptable but not euthanized kittens? As you can see, tons of questions are brought up.I found this book fascinating and a touch disturbing. It made me question several of my own established ideas of human-animal relationships. I had to do this book in several small chunks because I often set it down to think about it. Over all, it was a very worthy read.Narration: Mel Foster did a good job, never stumbling over scientific phrases and yet was congenial, not like a computer voice. He was a great fit for this book that tackled some tough subjects.

[martinbodek · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An excellent and thorough book that asks more revealing questions that you can shake a stick at it. I love his conclusion, hinted at throughout the book (and is not really a spoiler if I say it outright), which is: we are all hypocrites. I love it because it's true, and it bears out after the arguments he puts forth solidly. I like his writing as well, as it's a stylistic amalgam of some of my favorite writers (Gladwell, Roach, Foer, among others).

[winstondog-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Real good for anyone that has a relationship with animals but the book needed to end about 75 pages earlier. Real preachy at the end. No mention about horses but that could make a whole 'nother book.

[alwright1_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was interesting to consider the inconsistencies in how we think about animals, but I didn't get a lot of new information. I suppose the information about research animals was mostly new to me. There are a lot of moral questions to consider in the text (I guess it's still text if you listen to it), but if our use of animals is something you've thought a lot about before then the questions asked here probably aren't so different than the ones you have decided on for yourself. I think it would be great for anyone who hasn't yet considered our relationship with animals and our use of them.

[addunn3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Author reveals the many contradictions humans have with their animals. Well written and easy to read.