Real Talk from The Writer of "Skinny B*tch," Rory Freedman

Aspiring to be a skinny bitch? Yearning for a model's body? We won't tell. According to former Ford Model agent Rory Freedman and former model Kim Barnouin, authors of Skinny Bitch, "You cannot keep eating the same shit and expect to get skinny." With a very real approach to dieting and veganism, Kim and Rory pull no punches and leave the tongue-biting to the weak. These strong women know a thing or two about staying fit and healthy and deliver sound advice, quick wit, and humor in Skinny Bitch for women ready to change their eating habits for the better. Check out what Rory had to say in a no-holds-barred conversation about her book, veganism, and animal rights.

The book is a really easy and quick read with tons of information; how has the feedback been from readers?

Thanks! The feedback has been awesome. People really seem to appreciate the tone of the book. Where is it written that diet books have to be boring?! Kim and I wanted Skinny Bitch to be really accessible and fun and laugh-out-loud funny.

I know that you focus on the health issues related to eating meat, but you also touch on the ethical reasons for choosing a vegetarian diet. Can you tell me a little about what you find most disturbing about the way that animals are killed for food?

Every single aspect of it is disturbing. The animals' lives are miserable before they even make it to slaughter. The maltreatment, confinement, and transportation of these animals is unspeakable. And the slaughter practices are beyond barbaric. First, all the animals-cows, chickens, pigs-are shackled by their legs and hung upside-down. Well, of course, they're scared to death and they're desperately struggling to free themselves. In order to keep them from injuring factory workers, the animals are supposed to be "stunned." A metal bolt is shot into and retracted from the brains of cows. Pigs are electrocuted with prods. Chickens' heads are dragged through electrically charged water. But their struggling makes it very hard to stun them, and workers often miss their "mark." It's totally common for pigs and chickens to be fully conscious when thrown into the scalding tanks or for cows to be conscious while having their throats slit and the skin cut off their faces. Linda McCartney said it best: "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, we'd all be vegetarian."

How long have you been vegan, and what prompted the change?

I've been a vegetarian for over 12 years. I went veg in college after getting PETA's Animal Times magazine in the mail. I always called myself an animal lover, but after reading about factory farms and seeing pictures of stockyards and slaughterhouses, I felt sick and ashamed. What kind of animal lover would contribute to that? That day, I stopped eating cows, chickens, and pigs, and I gave away all my leather, wool, and silk.

A year later, I read a story in another Animal Times magazine about fish. No more fish since then.

About nine years after that, I went to a conference on factory farming. That was the end of the line for dairy and eggs.

What are some delicious foods that you were introduced to after going veg?

I ate so much meat and crap for so many years, I swear, my taste buds were dead. When I first went veg, it was not an easy transition for me. I was not impressed by the meat and dairy substitutes in the beginning. But now, I cannot get enough of them! I love tofu, soy burgers, soy chicken, rice milk, soy ice cream.

Isn't your diet way more satisfying?!

Oh my God! I have never loved food more! I used to be such a picky eater. Now, I love everything! I used to hate healthy food. But when I gave up dairy, I really started craving the good stuff.

Fruits and vegetables should not taste bad to you. If you don't like 'em, it's because your taste buds are dead from all the shit you eat.

What advice would you give to the people who are still clinging on to those burgers and chicken wings?

Get with the program! You are what eat. Do you really want to eat the rotting, decaying, decomposing flesh of a dead animal? Disgusting! Try Boca's vegan burgers or Health Is Wealth's "buffalo wings."

OK, let's play word association. I'm going to say a word, and you say the first thing that comes to mind. Meat.

Gross me out the door.

Leather.

The skin of a dead animal. Hardly fashionable.

Fur.

I'm sorry, but give me a fucking break! Only a total asshole would think that it's acceptable to anally or vaginally electrocute animals for "fashion."

Animal factories.

Hell on Earth for animals. And a display case for the ugliest aspects of man: selfishness, greed, gluttony, and apathy. And I don't just mean the people who own animal factories or who work there. I mean everyone that contributes to the existence of these places by consuming animal products.

Animal testing.

It is really so scary and tragic that our world sanctions the torture of animals in the name of science.

Milk.

Pus, blood, scabs. Disgusting.

Any last words of advice to aspiring skinny bitches?

You are what you eat. You cannot be thin and beautiful if you are eating the fear, grief, and rage of tortured animals. The best thing you can do for yourself, animals, and the environment: Go vegan!