“Vegan Brain Food”: A mashup of book covers related to this latest edition of “Intersectionality ‘Round the Interwebs.” Clockwise from the upper-left: Sistah Vegan: Food, Identity, Health, and Society: Black Female Vegans Speak by A. Breeze Harper, ed. (2010); Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals by Anthony J. Nocella II and Steven Best, eds. (2004); Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women’s Anthology for a New Millennium by Robin Morgan, ed. (2003); The Pornography of Meat by Carol Adams (2004); The Year of the Flood: A Novel by Margaret Atwood (2009); Penelope by Marilyn Kaye (2007); Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism by Melanie Joy (2009); and VegNews, March+April 2010.
——————————

Sistah Vegan Book: Win a Free Copy!

Editor Breeze Harper is giving away a free, signed copy of her upcoming anthology, Sistah Vegan: Black Female Vegans Speak on Food, Identity, Health & Society. The catch? You have to answer a short essay question, which will (hopefully) get you thinking about issues of food, race, gender, and/or nonhuman animals in new (and fruitful!) way. The deadline is April 1st, so don’t delay!

Let Live Foundation: Food Justice w/ lauren Ornelas (3/21)

I’m so terribly jealous of all you vegan folks living on the east and west coasts; y’all always throw the coolest conferences and lectures! (There’s a reason I titled this link roundup “Brain Food,” yo!) This Sunday, March 21st, Let Live Foundation will be hosting speaker lauren Ornelas of the Food Empowerment Project. On the menu?: Food justice, veganism, and the intersections of human and animal exploitation. If you happen to find yourself in Portland this weekend, attend, take notes, and report back, mkay? (Pretty please? With an organic, raw, fair trade cherry on top?)

The Washington Times: Food For Life Global Is Coming Through Big In Haiti

Who says animal advocates only care about nonhumans, hmmm? Check out this nice writeup Food For Life Global received in The Washington Times, and then hop on over to Disaster Relief in Haiti: Animal Rescue & Vegan/Animal-Friendly Resources to see how else you can help with disaster relief efforts in Haiti (and Chile).

The Voracious Vegan: International Women’s Day: Why Feminism? and “Until We Are All Free”: International Women’s Day (@ Choosing Raw)

In honor of International Women’s Day (which took place on March 8th), the Voracious Vegan penned not one, but two posts. The first includes a short film that, in Tasha’s words explains why “women’s rights and feminism are still relevant and necessary in this day and age.” Additionally, in a guest post at Choosing Raw, Tasha discusses the intersections of feminism and veganism, including the shared ideologies and social systems which allow human, animal and environmental exploitation to thrive. It’s a lengthy piece but well worth it – she touches upon a number of salient points, including the objectification of women’s and animals’s bodies; the state’s (and businesses’) attempts to control the reproductive systems of females, human and nonhuman alike; food and environmental justice; and public safety and human health concerns.

Elaine @ Vegan Soapbox: Celebrating The Victories Of Vegan Women & Female Animals

Also in the International Women’s Day spirit (better late than never!), Elaine highlights the life stories and accomplishments of a few vegan/feminist/animal heroines (or sheroes, if you prefer), including several nonhumans. Little Red and Georgia are my persons of the day – and I long for a time when their rescue, recovery and rebirth will earn them a big fat feminist thank you from a certain popular third wave feminist blog (cough, cough).

Shannon Davis @ POP! goes The Vegan.: Penelope: A Nose by Any Other Name

In my newest baby’s very first guest post, Vegan Burnout Shannon Davis looks at the 2006 romcom Penelope – which stars a delightfully porcine Christina Ricci as the titular heroine – from a vegan-feminist perspective. Spoilers abound, so you may want to rent this one before checking out Shannon’s take!

Vegan Burnout: I do not want to live in a little house on the prairie.

In which The New York Times’s Peggy Orenstein attempts to coin the newest trend, the “feminist” keeping (and slaughtering) of nonhuman animals. Not if Shannon can help it!

What is “The Femivore’s Dilemma,” you ask? Is it reconciling one’s anti-oppressive beliefs with, um, one’s own participation in the exploitation of sentient beings? Perhaps the term refers to the obvious discord between hijacking the bodies and reproductive systems of female nonhuman animals – all in the name of “feminist” self-sufficiency?

None of the above, you say?

Hayes found that without a larger purpose — activism, teaching, creating a business or otherwise moving outside the home — women’s enthusiasm for the domestic arts eventually flagged, especially if their husbands weren’t equally involved. “If you don’t go into this as a genuinely egalitarian relationship,” she warned, “you’re creating a dangerous situation. There can be loss of self-esteem, loss of soul and an inability to return to the world and get your bearings. You can start to wonder, What’s this all for?” It was an unnervingly familiar litany: if a woman is not careful, it seems, chicken wire can coop her up as surely as any gilded cage.

I guess “egalitarian” relationships are, in Hayes’s estimation, only those in which the human animals involved share equal rights and considerations. How very…conventional. *sniff*

Sociological Images: “Lovers Special” Pizza Deal

Meat is for men, vegetables are for women. Different advert, same tired old stereotypes. Cue: exaggerated eye roll.

Sociological Images: The Difference Between Male and Female Vegetarians: Self-Sufficiency!

The difference between (teenage) male and female vegetarians? Young men tell their parents what to cook for them; young women cook their own meals alongside their parents, thus demonstrating what they can eat. With all this gender conformity, I’m surprised the website authors don’t also presume that mom still cooks 100% of the family’s meals. Or that there’s one mom (and one dad) in the picture at all.

The Vegan Ideal: Exploitation and Resistance: The Story of Tilikum

Ida deconstructs the discourse surrounding the killing of Sea World employee Dawn Brancheau by Tilikum, a captive orca whale, showing how the dominant narratives reflect our attitudes about nonhuman behavior, intelligence, and intent. Ultimately, “Tilly’s” actions can be viewed not as a purely instinctual, “wild,” uncontrollable, unpredictable outburst – but as a deliberate act of resistance. Unfortunately, Sea World has yet to receive the message, as Tilikum remains a prisoner.

Finally, over at the Bitch Blogs, guest bitch Brittany Shoot has been busy! In no particular order:

The Biotic Woman: Vegans of Color

Vegans of Color founder Johanna Eeva shares with us the genesis of VoC, gives several examples of white privilege in the vegan community, and discusses the reactions to her work, both positive and negative, from vegans and non-vegans alike. If you’re not already a VoC reader, get thee to vegansofcolor.wordpress.com and subscribe to the blog’s feed, stat. Just be sure to lurk before you speak, and do check out the resources section for additional reading.

The Biotic Woman: What Natural Disaster Means for Chilean Women

In times of crisis – earthquakes, war, tsunamis, religious and ethnic conflict, you name it – women and children often bear the brunt of hardship, and not uncommonly in physically and sexually violent ways. The recent disasters in Chile (and Haiti) are no exception; here, Brittany details the risks faced by Chilean women, and in questioning to what extent these (and other) disasters may be linked to our destruction of the environment, uncovers yet another intersection between women, nonhuman animals, and the planet we all call home.

The Biotic Woman: The Dirty Politics of Coal

Coal mining (and burning) is neither clean nor sexy, despite what General Electric would have you believe.

The Biotic Woman: My Enviro-Oscars Roundup

Avatar, Avatar, Avatar! Also: can a huge, conspicuously consumptive, Hollywood wankfest like the Oscars ever truly be “green”?

See also: Domination and Rape in Avatar: This Is “Respect” for Animals?, to which I simply cannot link often enough.

The Biotic Woman: Legal Representation for Animals in Switzerland

Seizing upon a Swiss referendum which sought to give nonhumans legal representation in court (sadly, it failed) as a jumping-off point, Brittany briefly examines the history of prosecuting nonhuman animals in court, oftentimes for “crimes” of which they were arguably victims. Looking back, Westerners tend to view these practices as archaic; and yet, animals are commonly “tried” and “executed” – more often than not, sans the “luxury” of a jury trial – in modern times. (Three words: breed specific legislation. Two more: Save Spork.)

See also: Egypt’s Pigs: Beaten, Stoned, and Burned Alive (Part 1) and Religious Discrimination and the Killing of Egypt’s Pigs (Part 2), which I wrote for “the other blog” during the swine flu scare of last summer.

The Biotic Woman: A Profile of Celeb Chef Katie Lee

Brittany uses a New York Times Magazine profile of celeb chef Katie Lee to segue into a mini-rant about how the current trend towards “eco” living (and eating) rarely intersects with vegetarianism and veganism, which is – for those living in Western/industrialized nations, at least – the greenest of the so-called “green” diets.

See also: “(Car) Bon Voyage” (VegNews, April 2010), in which Farm Sanctuary’s Jasmin Singer picks a similar bone with the eco-tourism industry.

——————-

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare patriarchy intersections parallel oppressions animals and women sexism misogyny gender feminism race racism violence stereotyping exploitation sex intersectionality kyriarchy megatheocorporatocracy pop culture speciesism flickr photos news in the news quick links link roundup link dump Intersectionality ‘Round the Interwebs international women’s day oppression food justice food for life global bitch the biotic woman coal green the oscars vegans of color sistah vegan race racism food Tilikum Sea World femivore The Femivore’s Dilemma sheroes heroines let live foundation lauren Ornelas Food Empowerment Project breeze harper books book covers flickr photos

While the recent earthquake (and resulting tsunami) in Chile has received less coverage – at least in regards to subsequent relief efforts – than that in Haiti, I was able to find some information on animal-friendly organizations that are providing help with disaster relief. Please feel free to share any additional information in the comments!

Food for Life Global is on the ground in Chile, providing vegan and/or vegetarian meals to quake survivors:

BBC, Feb 28 — The death toll from Chile’s earthquake has more than doubled to 708 and is expected to rise further, President Michelle Bachelet has said. Previously about 300 people were estimated to have been killed in Saturday’s 8.8 magnitude quake – one of the most powerful recorded. Massive damage is hampering rescue teams as they struggle to reach those still buried in the rubble.

Food for Life emergency relief teams in the area are mobilizing to provide help. Donate now!

Vegan Bake Sales for Chile: As of this writing, I can’t find a post dedicated specifically to vegan bake sales to benefit Chilean quake survivors on the PPK blog, however, a search of the forums does bring up a few relevant threads. Head on over to the PPK to organize and announce your own bake sale for Chile!

Finally, Kinship Circle reports on the animal rescue efforts of international and local animal welfare groups. I’ve added additional links where necessary; the most recent alerts appear first, followed by earlier ones.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 3:37 PM
Subject: Worse Than We Thought – Letter From Kinship Circle

3/15/10: KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID
Chile’s Animals – Worse Than We Thought. Help Us Be There.

Animals with broken bones. Eyes cloudy with saltwater.
A kitten cut. Puppies under rubble. There are thousands more, each one a bark and purr unheard… THIS IS CHILE, post-quake.

Dear Supporters,

I just got off the phone with Kinship Circle’s Chile contact. She described the forgotten victims of Chile’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake on 2/27/10 — followed by 20+ aftershocks, some as high as 7.2 and 6.9, and two tsunamis.

Socorro Animal Chile, SACH (Animal Relief Chile) is a coalition of Chilean animal protection groups united for the relief of an estimated 700,000 (or more) animals scattered across Dichato, Constitucion and Pichilemu, Chile. SACH sends three veterinarian-led teams into the field daily. They’ve formally requested assistance from Kinship Circle’s disaster response team.

SACH has also asked us to raise funds on their behalf, with three main goals to:

1. Erect a temporary tent shelter/clinic to care for animals abandoned in the earthquake.
2. Carry out a spay/neuter campaign.
3. Focus on transport and adoption campaigns, particularly in the U.S.

SACH needs Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid in Chile to assist with:
— Search and Rescue / Trapping
— In-Field First Aid
— Wound Transport to Veterinary Clinics
— In-Field Sustenance (food/water program)
— Assessment and Tracking of Animal Populations
— Emergency Sheltering (once a temporary staging area/clinic is established)

WE NEED TO RAISE $500,000.

kinshipcircle.org/donation/

I know you have DONATION FATIGUE! We wouldn’t ask, with Haiti animal aid still underway, if it weren’t critical. I ask for you to reach deep, to help with funding needs outlined below. We can’t keep our promise to Chile’s animals without funding, as most of our resources went to Haiti work.

With deep gratitude,

Brenda Shoss, president, Kinship Circle

Please donate to Kinship Circle / Animal Relief Chile now:

BY MAIL:
Kinship Circle
Animal Relief Chile
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63130

ONLINE:

kinshipcircle.org/donation/

Your donation helps pay for:
**This is to show why we’re fundraising. DO NOT SHIP ITEMS TO US.**

STAGING AREA/TEMP SHELTER IN CHILE:
– Large vehicles: 3 SUVs
– Gas fueled generators
– Basic veterinary surgical equipment and examining table
– Basic veterinary clinic equipment, including vaccines, medicines, etc.
– Subcutaneous fluid bags, lines, needles
– Portable X-ray machine and light table
– Fans and portable air conditioners for surgical tents
– Kennels, run, carriers, cages…for rescued animals
– Sturdy large tent shelters for clinic, animal sheltering, volunteers
– Electrical lighting for staging area/volunteer camp at night
– Fencing
– Leashes, collars
– Bowls
– Litter-boxes & Litter
– Cat and dog food
– Water
– Blankets; Newspaper
– Trap cages
– Catch poles
– Hygiene
– Refrigerator cold storage of medication

VOLUNTEER DEPLOYMENT & GROUND ACTIVITIES:
– Airfare reimbursement for volunteer deployments
– Lodging for volunteers, whether in hotel, rented property, or camp
– Sustenance (food, water) for volunteers + some equipment, such as catchpoles, etc.
– Administrative costs for web construction, public messaging, long distance communications…

A Plea From Earthquake-Stricken Chile

Dear Ms. Shoss and Kinship Circle,

The earthquake and following tsunami that Chile suffered on the early morning of the 27th of February devastated several small towns close to the coast. Thousands of animals are silent victims of this catastrophe. Hundreds of dogs live with their owners in shelters and thousands roam the ruins of towns and cities. The dogs’ guardians have lost everything and do not have the resources to feed their animals. Some opted to abandon them.

Chilean animal welfare groups and veterinarians decided to work together to help animals and created Socorro Animal Chile (Animal Relief Chile).

Socorro Animal Chile (Animal Relief Chile) formally requests assistance from Kinship Circle for our animal aid operation in Dichato, Constitucion and Pichilemu, Chile. We need trained animal disaster responders and rescue and veterinary specialists. On behalf of the animal organizations in SACH/Animal Relief Chile, we ask that Kinship Circle deploy its team to Chile to work within our animal disaster plan, in response to Chile’s earthquake.

We also ask Kinship Circle to temporarily receive donations in the United States on behalf of Socorro Animal Chile. We urgently need funding to sustain our work for animals. Difficult bureaucratic steps necessary to opening a Paypal account ourselves, in Chile, have prompted SACH to request financial aid from other countries, especially the United States. That is the reason we ask Kinship Circle to accept funds on our behalf.

For all your help I am grateful,

Alejandra Cassino, Chief Coordinator
Adriana De La Garza, International Affairs
Socorro Animal Chile / Animal Relief Chile

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=329459149031&ref=ts

www.sach.bligoo.cl/

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid is a nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers and resources for animal victims through its network of trained responders in the U.S. and Canada. www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

* DONATE TO CHILE OR HAITI ANIMAL RELIEF FUNDS:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

* DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

*********************

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SIGN-UP FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Subject: Chile Quake – Some 700,000 Animals May Be Affected

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
3/5/10: Chile Quake – Some 700,000 Animals May Be Affected

Kittens amid rubble. An 8.8. earthquake struck Chile’s central region, namely Constitucion, Chile, on 2/27/10. photo source: 21paradigm.wordpress.com/

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Strongest Earthquake To Hit Chile In 50 Years
2. Some 700,000 Animals Affected, Animal Relief Chile Says
3. International NGOs On Alert For Chile’s Animals

==================

1. Strongest Earthquake To Hit Chile In 50 Years

CHILE EARTHQUAKE / DISASTER OVERVIEW
- 2/27/10: Magnitude 8.8 – OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE
- MAIN AFFECTED REGIONS:
60 miles NNW of Chillan, Chile
65 miles WSW of Talca, Chile
70 miles NNE of Concepcion, Chile
200 miles SW of Santiago, Chile
SOURCE: earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010tfan.php

- (AP) 3/4/10: The magnitude-8.8 quake and tsunami that followed ravaged a 700-kilometer (435-mile) stretch of Chile’s Pacific coast and killed at least 802 people. People missing, unknown. People affected, 2 million.

- Chile has asked other countries and the UN for temporary bridges, field hospitals, satellite phones, electric generators, water purification systems, field kitchens and dialysis centers.

- (guardian.co.uk) 2/27/10: The 22-mile deep earthquake caused buildings to collapse, fires to erupt, and unleashed a tsunami across the Pacific. It devastated the city of Concepcion, 70 miles from the epicentre.

- “This quake was around 500 times the magnitude of the one that devastated Haiti in Jan.,” but it was deeper and Chile’s buildings are sturdier, so there were less casualties.

- Powerful aftershocks: There were 29 of magnitude 5 or greater, and one reaching 6.9, the US Geological Survey reported.

==================

2. Some 700,000 Animals Affected, Animal Relief Chile Says

EFE, Chile. www.sach.bligoo.cl/

ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE
www.cefu.cl/ * www.sach.bligoo.cl/

CEFU executive director Alejandra Cassino estimates more than 700,000 companion animals may be affected by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Chile’s central region on 2/27/10. Coalition for the Ethical Control of Urban Animals (CEFU) has called upon other Chilean animal organizations to unite for these victims. Under the banner ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE, the coalition provides a national support network to cover veterinary care, resource management, communications, volunteers, etc.

ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE MEMBER GROUPS, SO FAR:
- Animanaturalis * www.animanaturalis.org
- Animal Consciousness
- Rima
- ADAR
- ASPS Talca
- Independent Animal Enraizarte
- Students from the Universidad Diego Portales, Universidad Mayor, Iberoamericana and Universidad de Chile

MONETARY DONATIONS TO ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE:

DIRECT DESPOSIT (the only option at this time)
Animal Relief Chile — also called Socorro Animal Chile (SACH) — asks the Chilean animal community and the rest of the world to join this campaign to help the animal victims of the earthquake, and their caretakers.

WIRE OR WESTERN UNION DONATIONS FROM YOUR BANK TO:
The account of the Organization OPRA
Account: 01-16460-0, Development Bank
Ruth: 65640920-0
CODE FOREIGN DEPOSITS: BKSACLRM
Send a confirmation email to: aporteanimal [at] gmail.com

SUPPLY NEEDS (translated from Spanish): For donations of perishables (dog/cat food…) and medical supplies, communicate directly with those responsible for receiving/coordinating aid:

** Animal Relief Chile: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=329459149031&ref=ts
Alejandra Cassino Marcel, 09-235-1982, socorroanimalchile [at] gmail.com

SOURCE OF THIS INFORMATION, TRANSLATED FROM SPANISH
Socorro Animal Chile (SACH)
socorroanimalchile [at] gmail.com, sosanimalchile [at] gmail.com
website: www.sach.bligoo.cl/

Coalition for the Ethical Control of Urban Animals (CEFU)
coalicion [at] cefu.cl, denuncia [at] cefu.cl, prensa [at] cefu.cl
website: www.sach.bligoo.cl/

==================

3. International NGOs On Alert For Chile’s Animals

Rescue worker Cristian Velasquez found and comforted this puppy found alive inside a collapsed house in Constitucion, March 1, 2010. Velasquez gave him bits of food and water after rescuing him from (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)

WORLD SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANIMALS (WSPA)

animalsindisasters.typepad.com/

EDITED FOR LENGTH

The impact on animals is becoming clearer, as we now have information from several of our member societies in affected regions… A center run by our member society, Centro de Rehabilitacion y Rescate de Primates (CRRP) that provides shelter for 165 mistreated primates has been damaged too. CRRP staff said that one of the monkeys has died and others are much stressed… Some animal shelters run by non-member societies are also reportedly seriously damaged. Many dogs have been left homeless, and there are reports of animals roaming around towns…. Flights into Chile are very limited. We now have confirmed tickets, to fly directly to Santiago, on Sunday night…

INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE (IFAW)

www.ifaw.org/ifaw_international/

IFAW Emergency Team on Alert — A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck near the city of Concepcion, Chile… More than 2 million people are displaced, wounded or otherwise affected… Shortly after the earthquake, IFAW reached out to our friends at animal protection groups in Chile to assess the needs of animal victims. We are standing ready to provide emergency grants or whatever else is appropriate during these difficult times.

Animales terremoto en Chile

www.flickr.com/photos/prensanimalista/sets/72157623551563382/

***************

Please Give To Kinship Circle’s Disaster Aid Fund…So We Are Always Ready! Hurricane Katrina, Rita, Missouri Flood, Iowa Floods, Gustav, Ike, Kentucky Flood, California Wildfires, Haiti… You helped us be there for animals.

* DONATE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE DISASTER AID FUND: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

* DONATE TO HAITI ANIMAL RELIEF: www.KinshipCircle.org/haiti

* DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle natural disaster disaster relief animal rescue chile quake earthquake wspa ifaw pet companion animal animal companion dog canine cat feline lion in the news flickr photos Constitucion tsunami Animal Relief Chile cefu Coalition for the Ethical Control of Urban Animals Animanaturalis Animal Consciousness Rima ADAR ASPS Talca Independent Animal Enraizarte Universidad Diego Portales Universidad Mayor Iberoamericana Universidad de Chile

Recently, I had the pleasure of reviewing Melanie Joy’s Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism (2010) though the website Basil & Spice. As a former psychology major and vegan of five years (and vegetarian for eight years on top of that), Carnism is right up my alley. Dr. Joy, a social psychologist and animal advocate, deconstructs our “meat culture,” identifying a number of key defense mechanisms that shield Westerners from an uncomfortable reality: how can we claim to “love” and “care for” nonhuman animals, yet enslave, torture, slaughter, dismember, process and consume them to the tune of tens of billions* per year? The answer lies in our carnistic system.

Carnism 101

Carnism, Joy posits, is the invisible belief system (or ideology) that underlies our unthinking consumption of “meat.” We have so internalized this behavior – “meat”-eating – that we do not even recognize it as a choice, but rather blindly accept it as a normal and necessary way of life; “meat” consumption is “just the way it is.” Carnism is the logical counterpart to vegetarianism: just as one can decide not to eat meat, so too is meat-eating a choice. And yet, while the terms “vegetarianism” and “veganism” are part of common parlance, we have no such word for “carnism.” Because the ideology that supports “meat” consumption remains unnamed, it’s seen as something natural, inevitable, existing outside of a belief system. Or it’s not seen at all – it’s invisible. We can avoid thinking about it because we lack the tools (words) with which to talk about it. In naming, there is power. Words matter.

This is, I think, is Carnism’s greatest strength. With the introduction of one simple, short word, Joy gives us a tool with which to single out our “meat” culture for criticism and critique. “Carnism” unveils the choices behind the curtain – choices which are so incongruous with our innate sense of compassion, Joy argues, that we must go to great lengths to defend these choices from scrutiny. At a macro level, this is called psychic numbing: “we disconnect, mentally and emotionally, from our experience; we ‘numb’ ourselves. [...] Psychic numbing is adaptive, or beneficial, when it helps us to cope with violence. But it becomes maladaptive, or destructive, when it is used to enable violence.”

On both an individual and institutional level, we engage in a number of defense mechanisms that help us to achieve psychic numbing:

1. Denial: Also called “practical invisibility,” denial (as proposed by Joy) is the process by which the horrific realities of “meat” (and egg and dairy) production are literally kept invisible to us. For example, we “grow” billions of chickens, turkeys, pigs, cows, lambs, etc. for food every year; but where are they!? Few of us rarely, if ever, witness these animals grazing the land, rearing their offspring, sunning themselves in the grass or preening in the dirt. But they’re out there: crammed by the tens of thousands into massive, windowless buildings, located in large complexes on the outskirts of town. These animals are trucked to and from slaughter in unmarked vans; their only exposure to the outdoors comes when they await sale or death, on the auction block or at the slaughterhouse. Practically speaking, they remain invisible to us, as does their suffering. Because many of us enjoy eating “meat,” eggs and milk, this is how we like it.

2. Avoidance: The counterpart to denial, avoidance involves “symbolic invisibility”; it is “knowing without knowing.” The animal agriculture industry – with no small amount of help from the other major social institutions, such as the government and news media – feed us ridiculous, transparent lies about “meat” production, and we eagerly gobble them up. “Humane meat” is a joke; labels such as “organic,” “free range,” “grass fed,” etc. are rendered meaningless through industry lobbying and self-policing, and besides, no unnecessary death can ever be called “humane.” While the government has ostensibly established myriad rules regarding food safety, animal welfare, and environmental responsibility, again, these rules remain full of loopholes and usually go unenforced. For example, chickens aren’t considered “animals” under either the Animal Welfare Act or the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act. Polluting animal ag. monopolies may be ordered to clean up their fetid shitholes (read: manure-filled lagoons) – but it’s usually the public footing the bill through tax monies.

3. Justification: We use a series of myths in order to convince ourselves of the “justness” of carnism. These myths typically involve the 3 Ns, as Joy refers to them:

Normal – Carnism has become normalized, such that its tenets are social norms. Social norms are both descriptive (telling us how things are now) and prescriptive (dictating to us how things ought to be).

Natural – If something is “natural,” it’s assumed to be “justifiable”: “The way ‘natural’ translates to ‘justifiable’ is through the process of naturalization. [...] When an ideology is naturalized, its tenets are believed to be in accordance with the laws of nature.” “Natural” = “the way things are meant to be.”

Necessary – Closely tied to the supposed “naturalness” of carnism, “meat’s” perceived “necessity” makes it seem inevitable; not a choice. But clearly “meat” consumption is a choice – in industrialized nations, anyhow – as any vegan or vegetarian can attest.

4. Objectification: Via objectification, we reduce living, sentient beings to nothing more than objects; we objectify them. Clearly, a cow is nothing like a television set – but both are considered pieces of property in our “modern,” “civilized” society.

5. Deindividualization: Through deindividualization, we strip animals of their individual identities, viewing them as pieces of a group and nothing more. One individual in the group is thought of as indistinguishable from all the rest; thus, the singular sentient beings become unfamiliar abstractions. (This is why Americans recoil at the thought of eating dog meat; most of us have either lived with or known at least one dog on a personal level. Dogs are individuals, familiars, whereas cows, pigs, fishes and chickens are not.)

8. Dichotomization: Dichotomization involves grouping animals into two distinct, often diametrically opposed, categories: food/not food, cute/ugly, dirty/clean. These categories are usually arbitrary and based on our own prejudices and stereotypes rather than any semblance of reality. Along with objectification and deindividualization, dichotomization allows us to “distance” ourselves from “food” animals at will.

9. Rationalization: To rationalize a behavior is to attempt to provide a rational explanation for a behavior that is, at its core, irrational. Animal agriculture is wasteful, unsustainable, harmful to human health and the environment, and – above all else – inherently cruel to the billions of nonhuman animals who are enslaved and killed for nothing more than human “taste” and “convenience” and corporate profits. Yet, our culture is replete with rationalizations for this most irrational of business and ethical models (for a few dozen examples, see the Defensive Omnivore Bingo cards).

10. Dissociation: Described by Joy as “the heart of psychic numbing,” dissociation is “is psychologically and emotionally disconnecting from the truth of our experience; it is the feeling of not being fully ‘present’ or conscious.” Often times, dissociation is triggered by a traumatic experience, for example, experiencing or witnessing a physical assault. Given that “meat” production involves the assault and murder of tens of billions of sentient beings per year – and “meat”- eating is, literally, the consumption of a once-living, once-feeling individual – it makes sense that the same psychological defense mechanism that protects us from reliving our own distressful experience also shields us from the uncomfortable truth that, with every animal-based meal, we are directly participating in another being’s living (and dying) hell.

A Call to Action

In order to counter carnism, Joy says that we must “bear witness” – that is, make the invisible, visible. At its core, bearing witness involves naming, identifying, and challenging our “meat”-eating culture. This can be as simple as living vegan in a non-vegan world – indeed, for many, veganism is the moral baseline – thus acting as an example of an alternative way of being. Volunteering at or donating to an animal sanctuary, attending protests, writing, photography, art-as-activism, adopting a homeless animal in need, organizing a vegan bake sale, procuring vegan and animal rights books for your local library, raising a compassionate vegan child, engaging in open rescues, shooting undercover footage of a local animal exploitation business – all of these (and more!) are examples of bearing witness. Bearing witness begins – but does not end – on one’s plate.

Carnism: A Review

Since first beginning this review (it’s taken me way too long to finish, I tell you what!), I’ve compiled and posted a sort of “outline” of Carnism on Animal Rights & AntiOppression (see: Carnism: Meat, Deconstructed); the points and comments to which Dr. Joy has kindly responded, so be sure to check it out, if you haven’t already! Additionally, Brittany Shoot – aka, The Biotic Woman – recently interviewed Joy as part of her stint at the Bitch Media Blogs; you can read parts 1 and 2 of the conversation here and here. Many of the questions and criticisms I had after first reading the book are addressed in these two spaces, and the below “pros” and “cons” reflect this accordingly.

First and foremost, I love that Joy ties carnism to similar, human-directed “violent ideologies.” Throughout the text, she gives examples of how denial, avoidance, routinization, justification, objectification, deindividualization, dichotimization, rationalization and dissociation have been – are being – used to support sexist, misogynist, racist, anti-Semitic, nationalist, and colonialist systems of oppression. In my outline of Carnism, I urge the reader to think of additional examples, beyond those offered by Joy. Hopefully, Joy’s inclusion of intersectionality in Carnism will spur her audience to make these connections for themselves, in their everyday lives. Once you open your eyes and your mind to the idea that all oppressions are linked at a root or cellular level, these intersections become evident everywhere. Perhaps this can prove a useful route to veganism for unrepentant speciesists who insist on placing humans at the top of their hierarchy? (i.e., rather than persuade them to reorder their hierarchy, demonstrate why it’s in their own best interests to dismantle the system altogether.)

Similarly, the concept of the book itself – naming carnism – is both useful and timely. Admittedly, I approached Carnism with a touch of skepticism – what is carnism, how does it differ from speciesism (if at all), and why do we need two separate terms for what seem like the same/similar concepts? However, my doubt quickly turned to excitement; while carnism is obviously related to and informed by speciesism – carnism may best be described as a subset of speciesism – the two are distinct processes. In particular, Joy won me over with her likening of carnism to vegetarianism (and veganism); all are belief systems that form the basis for our dietary habits. “Carnivore” simply can’t be substituted in place of “carnism,” as the former describes one’s biological need for meat, while the latter does not. Or, as I summarized it in my outline,

Carnism is to vegetarianism as
carnivore is to herbivore as
meat-eater is to planter-eater.

‘Carnism’ and ‘vegetarianism’ describe philosophical or ethical systems that justify a specific diet;
‘carnivore’ and ‘herbivore’ describe one’s biological constitution; and
‘meat-eater’ and ‘plant-eater’ describe specific behaviors.

Carnism is related to speciesism – and many of the same psychological mechanisms are at play in each – but the two are clearly not the same. While this became plainly evident to me as I progressed through Carnism, those who are less familiar with veganism and animal advocacy issues may have more trouble making the connection. To this end, Joy doesn’t clearly situate carnism within the more global concept of speciesism in the book.

Of course, it’s worth noting that Carnism was obviously written with two audiences in mind: vegans and vegetarians who want to learn more about the psychological underpinnings of our “meat”-obsessed culture, and omnivores who are curious about or perhaps beginning to question their diet. Seeing as the latter group may not even know what the term “speciesism” means, possibly Joy deliberately avoided a more comprehensive discussion of “isms” in order to keep it simple – and unintimidating or inoffensive – for “meat” eaters. (For additional clarification, see this comment Dr. Joy made at Animal Rights & AntiOppression.)

From past conversations I’ve had with authors and publishers, I’ve come to understand that (oftentimes, and especially in this tight economy), it makes the most financial sense to cast as wide a net possible when writing and marketing a book. Many books simply wouldn’t make it to market otherwise; and two books, penned on the same topic, but for different audiences? Fuhgeddaboudit! So while I understand the need for…multitasking?….I’m still sometimes disappointed by the results.

The lack of discussion of speciesism mentioned above is one example of this. Another is the amount of time Joy spends explaining the basics of animal agriculture – cage size, feedlots, slaughter lines, etc. – of which many vegetarians and vegans are already aware. Much of the book involves descriptions of animal agriculture; while Joy provides quotations from her own doctoral research, she also draws heavily from several animal welfare staples, including Gail Eisnitz’s Slaughterhouse (1997), Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation (2005), and Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma (2006). Having read the first over a decade ago; been exposed to excerpts from the second here and there; and nothing but disdain for the third, I found myself skimming or even skipping past these passages. While I’ve no doubt that these discussions are both necessary and useful for convincing omnivores to eschew “meat,” for me personally, those pages would have been better spent delving further into the psychology (and even sociology) of carnism. It’s a trade-off for which I blame neither Joy nor her publisher; if Carnism had been written with a smaller, already-vegan audience in mind, the book might never have been published. **

Similarly, while Joy does mention eggs and dairy, most of the focus is on “meat” consumption. Over at Animal Rights & AntiOppression, she explains her choice of word usage:

In my book, I discuss the production and consumption of all animal products, including eggs, dairy, and sea “food.” Because I want the book to appeal to a meat-eating audience, for simplicity and clarity I refer to “meat” more often than “animal products” but only after having explained, in detail, the violence inherent in the production of all animal products.

Presumably, the same processes at play in carnism also work to prop up the consumption of other animal-based foodstuffs. However, because of her use of “meat” as a sort of catch-all term throughout the book, I found myself zeroing in on animal flesh to the exclusion of eggs and dairy. (It’s all about framing, yo!) Indeed, the term Joy chooses to describe the ideology of consuming animal flesh and by-products uses the Latin carne – meaning ‘flesh’ – as its root, thus suggesting that these processes only apply to “meat” consumption. Not that I have a better, more inclusive alternative in mind – carnism seems to be the best choice, particularly considering its correlates. But given the possibility for confusion, I think it might have been wise to name eggs and dairy alongside “meat,” even at the risk of alienating the omnivores in the audience. (Really, it’s only a few extra words: “meat, eggs and dairy.”)

Finally – and also owing to Joy’s diverse audience – I wasn’t especially impressed with the book’s “Resources” section. Not a few of the recommended organizations and books promote animal welfare (which is still a fundamentally speciesist ethical system) as opposed to animal rights; for example, Joy provides links to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Humane Farming Association (HFA), and describes Matthew Scully’s Dominion as “a ‘conservative case’ for animals rights.” (It’s not; in the book’s final chapter, Scully argues in favor of animal welfare, even though he spends the previous few hundred pages laying out the case for animal rights.) Puzzlingly, Joy also gives PETA mention, which seems to me a no-no if the goal is to avoid alienating one’s audience; PETA is perhaps the most divisive animal advocacy group out there, hated by omnivores and vegans alike.

Conclusion

I hope it’s evident from my lengthy review that I quite enjoyed Carnism, even if the amateur psychologist in me might have preferred book more scientific in nature (and the vegan, more radical in scope). Psychological theories and research of speciesism, animal exploitation and “meat” (and eggs and dairy!) consumption can only help us in our vegan activism and outreach, no matter the form it takes. To this end, Carnism is a valuable addition to the anti-oppressive literature.

Footnotes

* In the United States, for example, ten billion land animals – the majority of whom are chickens, but also including no small number of cows, pigs, turkeys, lambs, etc. – are killed for food every year. Up to another half a billion land animals die at the hands of the animal agriculture before reaching the dinner table, and perhaps ten billion sea-dwelling animals are similarly farmed, killed and consumed every year. That’s 20.5 billion sentient creatures, killed strictly for the dietary wants of Americans, in the time it takes our fair planet to make just one trip around the sun!

** I had a similar issue with Making a Killing: The Political Economy of Animals Rights (Bob Torres, 2007), which I read last winter. Torres discusses animal rights in relation to anarchism, but because the book seems geared towards both non-anarchist vegans and non-vegan anarchists, I didn’t feel as though he made a particularly compelling case for either. I came away intrigued by anarchism – and its potential to transform society for the better, particularly that of nonhuman animals – but not knowing a whole lot about anarchism as a social system. To this end, if anyone can recommend a decent introduction to anarchism, I’m all ears. Errr, eyes.

Videos (!)

In promotion of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism, Dr. Joy produced the following videos explaining the book and its concept. For those of you who prefer your book summaries in A/V form – enjoy!
 
“Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism” book trailer
Book trailer for “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism.” Video Produced and Directed by Beacon Street Films.
 

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare psychology sociology books book review melanie joy carnism meat eggs dairy animal agriculture food defense mechanisms denial avoidance routinization justification objectification deindividualization dichotimization rationalization dissociation intersectionality intersections parallel oppression oppression violence racism sexism misogyny ism prejudice violent ideology videos

A neon red-and-white sign declares: “My Bloody Valentine sells out.”
CC image via Penningtron on Flickr.
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Vegansaurus!: What creepy chefs do to get laid

Guest blogger Kristen looks at a Valentine’s Day article which highlights the foods that non-vegan chefs cook for their lovers. Surprise, surprise: many are animal-based, thus transforming the descriptions into an appalling spectacle of sex and death. The original article at Grub Street, for example, is decorated with a disgusting photo of scallops in an orange-and-green sauce/oil slick. Yuck.

Suicide Food: Happy Valentine’s Day: a digression

Just when you thought the butcher’s counter couldn’t get any more grotesque, behold: heart-shaped slabs of “meat”! I shit you not.

The Pursuit of Harpyness: Be A Bitch: To the New York Times Public Editor

In which Roman Polanski’s 13-year-old rape victim is likened to – wait for it – “quarry.” “Quarry” being another word for a hunted “game” animal.

The link above is to a complaint letter (good!) written in response to a piece which ran in The New York Times (bad!); you can read the original piece in its entirety here: Polanski’s Visions of Victimhood by Dennis Lim.

The Discerning Brute: Who Wears The Pants?

Joshua Katcher dissects a trailer for the upcoming documentary “An Emasculating Truth” – brought to you by, ahem, Dockers – which, surprise, is chock full of sexism and speciesism. In particular, the men appearing in the film advocate violence towards animals as an expression of one’s masculinity. Katcher ties this overt encouragement of violence with Levi’s own history of environmental and labor violence towards its employees and their families, many of them poor women of color.

Marji @ Animal Rights & AntiOppression: Olivera Farms, the Price of Eggs

In her discussion of California-based Olivera Farms, Marji provides a cogent study of animal rights and veganism as issues of human rights and food justice; “The price of eggs goes beyond the cost of a dozen at the grocery store.” Ditto: “meat” and dairy. The true price of these – which includes untold animal suffering, environmental degradation, and poor human health and declining quality of life – is kept hidden from us, by our government at the behest of corporate interests. It’s time we wake up and stop subsidizing these cruelties, both at the cash register and in the voting booths. Go vegan. Vote Green.

Elaine @ Vegan Soapbox: Guide To Analyzing PETA’s Nude Activism

Though Elaine and I generally disagree when it comes to PETA’s nude activism, I respect her opinion re: the intersections of feminism and veganism. Unlike PETA’s minion apologists, she’s actually taken the time to dissect, examine and analyze the issues involved, rather than defending PETA solely because the group (purports to) defend nonhuman animals.* Her guide to analyzing (PETA’s) nude campaigns is both useful and thought-provoking, if not entirely feasible on a post-by-post basis.

* Plus, she has a vagina and a BA in Women’s Studies! And I say (repeat) this with not a whit of sarcasm or mockery, as male privilege – much like white privilege – is very real, and not at all a laughing matter. (If you’ve no idea wtf I’m talking about, consider yourself lucky for missing Installment #3,625 of Twitter Wars.)

(Me @) POP! goes The Vegan.: CSI on Spike: Vegetarians who consume “meat.”

I report on an unexpected piece of televised vegetarian-feminist awesomeness, courtesy of a sixth-season rerun of CSI.

Institute for Humane Education (IHE): FEATURED CHANGEMAKER: LAUREN ORNELAS: SEEKING FOOD JUSTICE FOR ALL

In its February newsletter, IHE interviews lauren Ornelas, founder of the Food Empowerment Project. Ornelas discusses the genesis of FEP, as well as some of the group’s current projects:

Being an all-volunteer organization, we’ve been spending a lot of time working on a new website and putting together a series of newsletters that aim to help people go vegan or stay vegan. The newsletters will provide information about industrial animal factories and their impacts on the animals, people and the environment, the importance of recognizing the plight of farm workers, and also other injustices related to food.

We’re also working on addressing the issue of food deserts, starting with Santa Clara County, where volunteers spent hours surveying grocery, liquor and convenience stores to determine the degree of availability of healthy foods in both low and high-income areas. Our goal is to eventually work with the local communities and the city government in order to eliminate what we know to be inequities in lower-income neighborhoods.

Saying Goodbye to Target: Women

Last month, Sarah Haskins announced her departure from Current’s Target: Women series. (No, it’s good news! She’ll soon be penning scripts for Amy Poehler and Natalie Portman!) In light of this development, I think it’s high time I share these two Target: Women videos that I’ve been sitting on for 6+ months.

The topics raised in each segment indirectly touch upon nonhuman animals, the natural world, and how women are linked to each. In the first, Haskins has a little fun with the return of “the cougar” – i.e., older women who “prey” on younger men. Cougars are “wild” (read: free-living), dangerous, “exotic” – and seductive! What does it say about our culture that unconventional women are likened to these beautiful-but-menacing predators?

Sarah Haskins in Target Women: The Cougar (May 28, 2009)
Watch out young men. The Cougar is on the prowl. No, not the mountain lion kind. The lady kind.

In “Your Garden,” Haskins pokes fun at the many (many!) euphemisms for “lady parts,” a large number of which involve nonhuman animals and nature (even nature itself is given a feminine face in the form of “Mother Nature”). Also skewered: advertisements for “feminine hygiene products” that play into this cutesy talk (because dog forbid we call a tampon a tampon or “Aunt Flo,” menstruation!).

Sarah Haskins in Target Women: Your Garden (April 17, 2009)
Afraid of using technical terms to describe your lady parts? Try these fresh, mountain scented natural metaphors.

FYI: all of the previous Target: Women episodes are available for viewing here.

When Bitchy Meets Eco-Feminist

The Biotic Woman: Transphobia and Ecofeminism and

The Biotic Woman: Talking About Transphobia and Ecofeminism With Ida Hammer

In these posts, Brittany addresses the shameful history of transphobia and trans exclusion in feminist circles in general, and vegetarian-ecofeminist communities specifically. The series includes a (too-short, IMHO!) interview with trans activist Ida Hammer of The Vegan Ideal, whose posts on trans issues I’ve linked to on several occasions. There’s a lot to digest here, but I urge you to check it out, links and comments included.

Oppression is oppression, no matter the target; in our struggle for liberation, we can leave no one behind.

The Biotic Woman: You Say Tomato…

In a post that’s only intensified my spring fever, Brittany examines one side of the “veganism is a moral baseline” coin. While eating vegan is the single most important choice you can make at mealtime, food justice issues reach well beyond the cruelties and wastefulness of animal agriculture. Local, seasonal eating vs. global food swapping. Monoculture vs. diversity. Heirloom crops vs. genetically modified/standardized foodstuffs. DIY vs. industrialization. Politics, labor and free trade. So many issues; how to navigate them as both an animal and human rights advocate?

The Biotic Woman: What Big AR Gets Wrong

While PETA merits a brief mention, Brittany’s musings on Big AR instead gravitate towards cookies, vegetarian burgers, compromise and growth – and inevitably arrive at the conclusion that the revolution will not, in point o’ facts, be funded. (Speaking of Starfucks: What do we want? Vegan doughnuts at Dunkin’s! When do we want ‘em? 2011! That said, NOM. I’d have to try it, at least once.)

Academic Miscellany

New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies: November 2009 Newsletter

Via vegansaurus!, I learned of the NZCHAS, which is (in vegansaurus’s words) “doing some pretty groundbreaking shit.” The Center puts out an occasional (but lengthy) newsletter, and though I can’t find a subscription sign-up, you can view a list of past newsletters here.

To give you an idea of what’s featured in a typical NZCHAS newsletter, the November ‘09 .pdf includes two book reviews (of A Kingdom for Animals – the History and Politics of the British Animal Rights Movement and Softening the Stony Heart of Eternity: Contributions to a Critical Theory for the Liberation of Animals); information on new associates, including select publications; and academic news and event information.

Lib Now! Conference Schedule, Registration Form, and Flyer are Up!

For what, you ask? The 9th Annual North American Conference for Critical Animal Studies, which will be held April 10, 2010 at SUNY Cortland in NY. Details and links at Lib Now!

Lib Now!: Anarchist Studies Initiative

Also at SUNY Cortland this April is the unveiling of the Anarchist Studies Initiative. If you happen to be in town for the aforementioned Critical Animal Studies conference, arrive a day early and take in double the radical awesomeness.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare patriarchy intersections parallel oppressions animals and women sexism misogyny gender feminism race racism violence stereotyping exploitation sex intersectionality kyriarchy megatheocorporatocracy pop culture speciesism flickr photos news in the news quick links link roundup link dump Intersectionality ‘Round the Interwebs sarah haskins target women cougar garden menstruation video peta nude activism transphobia ida hammer bitch magazine the biotic woman meat valentine’s day heart my bloody valentine food empowerment project hunting masculinity violence