CarnismTereza Vandrovcová

Carnism

• Melanie Joy (2011). Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism

• = dominant cultural belief system

Why a new term?

• Omnivore = individual who can ingest both plant and animal matter (but what and why does he eat?)

• Meat-eater = just a description of a diet (not beliefs that stand behind)

• Carnivore = individual who requires meat for survival (predators)

• Carnist = individual who chooses to eat meat of „edible“ animals based on his or her beliefs (and/or is raised this way).

Vegetarian vs. „meat-eater“

• Do only vegetarians hold an ideology?

Some beliefs

• We need to eat animals• Most animals are kept at family farm / grass fed• Farm animals are less emotional and intelligent

Why haven‘t we named it earlier?

• You don‘t see most of those 60 billion animals on the meadows

• You don‘t see factory farms in the news

Invisibility

Images do not reflect the reality

Mostly invisible

• Maybe you will meet them at the highway

Social and psychological invisibility

• Influence of social conditioning• We care about all animals as children

Psychological numbing

• It is better to become numb toward them• We need to be sufficiently desensitized before

killing an animal

Edible vs. Inedible animals

Different perception

• Social construction

Cultural differences

Cognitive schema• psych. framework that shapes our beliefs

Historical shift

• Norbert Elias (1939): The Civilizing Process• More and more difficult to see a whole animal

Paradox

• Ethology vs. the reality of current agriculture

„Meat paradox“

• Steve Loughnan (2010). The role of meat consumption in the denial of moral status and mind to meat animals

• 2 experimental groups:– a) eating beef– b) eating nuts

• Difference in moral concern and in perceived cow‘s capacity for suffering

Cognitive dissonance• Leon Festinger (1957)• Contradiction of beliefs, values or behavior• Three methods of reduction of discomfort: – Change behavior or cognition (vegetarian)– Change the conflicting cognition (numbing)– Ignore or deny information (ignoring the reality,

cultural justifications)

Justifications: „3Ns“

• 3 justifications of carnism• Eating meat is OK because it is

1) Normal2) Natural3) Necessary

1) Eating meat is normal

• It is expected by social norms (in our society)

2) Eating meat is natural

• Humans consumed animals for millenia• Other animals hunt (but also eat their children...)

3) Eating meat is necessary 1/2• Protein Myth • Other health issues...

But it is not necessary...• The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians

of Canada, the British National Health Service, the Dietitians Association of Australia, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, the Mayo Clinic and others agree that well planned, plant-only diet (with an adequate intake of vitamin B-12) is healthy and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases (atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity)

3) Eating meat is necessary 2/2• Overpopulation of animals etc.

Free will?

• Was your decision informed?

The Cognitive Trio

• Objectification – pork, beef, poultry• Deindividualization – thousands of them• Dichotomization – „farm animal“, edible

animal, slaughterhouse = meaning of life

Beyond carnism

• Understanding - helps us think more critically • Standard, present for a long time and considered

normal ≠ automatically the right thing

Thank you for your attention

• E-mail: tereza@vandrovcova.cz