ThebasicprinciplesofAnimalLiberationareverysimple.I
havetriedtowriteabookthatisclearandeasytounderstand,
requiringnoexpertiseofanykind.Itisnecessary,however,
tobeginwithadiscussionoftheprinciplesthatunderliewhat
I haveto say.While there shouldbe nothinghere that is
difficult,readersunusedtothiskindofdiscussionmightfind
thefirstchapterratherabstract.Don’tbeputoff.Inthenext
chapterswegetdowntothelittle-knowndetailsofhowour
speciesoppressesothersunderourcontrol.Thereisnothing
abstract about this oppression, or about the chapters that
describe it.
Iftherecommendationsmadeinthefollowingchaptersare
accepted, millions of animals will be spared considerable
pain.Moreover, millions of humans willbenefit too. As I
write,peoplearestarvingtodeathinmanypartsoftheworld;
and manymorearein imminentdanger ofstarvation. The
United States
government has said that because of poor harvests and
diminishedstocksofgrainitcanprovideonlylimited—and
inadequate—assistance;butasChapter 4 ofthisbookmakes
clear, the heavy emphasis in affluent nations on rearing
animals for food wastes several times as muchfood as it
produces.Byceasingtorearandkillanimalsforfood,wecan
makesomuchextrafoodavailableforhumansthat,properly
distributed, it would eliminate starvation and malnutrition
from this planet. Animal Liberation is Human Liberation too.