OUT OF SIGHT

An Undercover Investigator's Fight for Animal Rights and Her Own Survival

Out of Sight is both an investigative deep dive into the meat industry’s treatment of farm animals, and a story of resilience and, ultimately, professional and personal triumph.

Readers accompany the author as she uncovers elaborate cover-ups by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and a state governor, and as she clashes with state attorneys general in her struggle to obtain prosecutions of animal abusers, all while battling a nearly unknown and rare neurological disorder.

In Gail's words...

See Full Interview in Psychology Today

My efforts to expose and prosecute animal abusers were often thwarted by network television producers and law enforcement authorities... I decided to write Out of Sight in an attempt to bring awareness to the ongoing issues plaguing the meat industry and, more specifically, the topic of what animals suffer to become food on America’s dinner tables.

Why did I write Out of Sight?

I couldn't stand what I was seeing.

But some of the offenses I’ve documented are so heinous that even agribusiness can’t dismiss them as “standard agricultural practices.” Many of the wrongdoings highlighted in the book—like skinning live animals in slaughterhouses in the name of increased production line speeds, beating surplus dairy calves to death because there’s no market for them, or hanging mother hogs with heavy chains around their necks when their productivity wanes—are clear violations of state animal cruelty laws.

Many of the abuses I’ve documented—i.e., mother hogs immobilized for years in cages so small they can never turn around; chickens suffocated by the millions by farmers attempting to control disease spread; runt piglets killed by having their heads smashed on concrete floors—would never be tolerated if they were perpetrated against companion animals like dogs and cats.

It's personal to me.

My private battle with a debilitating visual processing disorder—the isolation and alienation I experienced—set me up for a lifetime of identifying with helpless beings. It propelled me to spend my life speaking out for the most isolated and alienated among us: farm animals.

Praise for Out of Sight

For years, Eisnitz has been a courageous and eloquent champion for the millions of suffering animals in 'factory farms' who can’t speak for themselves. In this new book she shares the information she has gathered and combines this with her own personal and deeply moving memoir. Shocking, heartbreaking, and full of compassion, this will reach into your heart, make you think about what you eat, and inspire you to do your bit to make this a more caring world.

JANE GOODALL, PHD, DBE

Ethologist and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute

In Out of Sight, Gail Eisnitz weaves together two narratives: how she shut down horrific cruelty inflicted on farmed animals in America, and how she discovered the cause of her abnormal vision and her occasional and unpredictable sense of detachment from the activities she was engaged in. In combination, they make an inspiring story of how one person can overcome obstacles, both external and internal, to contribute to making the world a better place.

PETER SINGER

Co-founder of The Life You Can Save and author of Animal Liberation and Consider the Turkey

This riveting book is a testament to one woman’s courage and tenacity in the face of powerful and corrupt business interests, crippling health issues, and jaw-dropping animal abuse. If you wish to eat like you give a damn, read this book.

JONATHAN BALCOMBE, PHD

New York Times bestselling author of What A Fish Knows

Out of Sight is a deep and unflinching look at the cruel treatments suffered by animals killed for meat and by the workers doing the killing and processing. No one who reads this book will ever again see a piece of meat as just a piece of meat. You will forever understand that meat is just the last stop on a journey of suffering.

CARL SAFINA

New York Times bestselling author of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel and Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe

Absolutely stunning! Gail Eisnitz’s fascinating life experiences reveal odd (and sometimes evil) goings-on in surprising places, from hospitals to pig farms. An eye- and mind-opening read from someone who has been there, found things out, and ripped back the curtain so that we can know all about them, too.

INGRID NEWKIRK

Founder and president of PETA and author of Free the Animals, One Can Make a Difference, and Animalkind

Out of Sight is a brave, important, and inspiring book that deserves a broad global audience. Gail Eisnitz has been indefatigable in her efforts on behalf of the powerless and voiceless, those animal beings―so-called 'food animals'― whose horrific lives are hidden from view. Her new book is a testament to one woman’s unwavering empathy and strength in the face of profound obstacles. A truly stirring account of endurance and triumph for everyone who cares deeply about animals and their wellbeing.

MARC BEKOFF, PHD

author of The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy―and Why They Matter

A light in the darkness of institutional animal abuse, Gail Eisnitz has been relentless in her efforts to make cruelty visible and accountable. This engrossing memoir tells the story of her decades as an investigative journalist, including the terrible personal adversity she endured while trying to expose injustice and relieve the suffering of other creatures. Eisnitz is a writer of great skill and enormous compassion, a truly heroic woman, and shows us in Out of Sight how we too can be a force for good.

MATTHEW SCULLY

Author of Dominion and Fear Factories

Gail Eisnitz’s efforts on behalf of farm animals are to be commended and her memoir detailing those efforts is both disturbing and inspiring. I am hopeful that this eye-opening examination of meat-industry practices leads to meaningful reforms. I will continue to work in Congress to improve emergency and disaster preparedness for farm animals as a way to both ensure their humane treatment and to save hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars spent to indemnify farmers and ranchers for often careless livestock losses.

CONGRESSMAN STEVE COHEN (D-TN)

Longtime member of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus

Gail Eisnitz is a riveting, best-informed writer about the meat industry. Her remarkable previous book, Slaughterhouse, is mandatory reading at Friends of Animals. This new book delivers the most compelling reasons to be vegan, and to understand that the enormous cruelty inside the meat industry can’t be mitigated. We simply must stop seeing animals as our food.

PRISCILLA FERAL

President of Friends of Animals