Wild About Pets: Understanding Carnism

So what it is that makes us see some animals as pets, and others as food? As Dr. Joy explains, it is an invisible belief system called carnism. She will fully define this term and explain its origins, as well as how it impact what we put on our plates.

Wild About Pets: Becoming Vegan

Dr. Joy tells us how a bad experience with a burger led her to becoming a vegan, and eventually writing her book. We’ll also learn about Emily the Cow, who changed the way many look at meat processing, and discuss the protein myth.

Wild About Pets: Also Known As

Dr. Joy talks about the practice of disguising our food through its various names, so we don’t know what we’re actually eating. Also - from bugs to snails, and even pigeons, what we consider gross, other cultures consider a delicacy.

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, And Wear Cows: An Introduction To Carnism

In her groundbreaking new book,Melanie Joy explores the invisible system that shapes our perception of the meat we eat, so that we love some animals and eat others without knowing why. She calls this system carnism. Carnism is the belief system, or ideology, that allows us to selectively choose which animals become our meat, and it is sustained by complex psychological and social mechanisms.

Carnism Awareness & Action Network

CAAN works to expose and transform carnism, the invisible belief system that conditions people to eat certain animals.

Look While You Listen!

Click here to view the photos Susan & Dr. Joy are discussing, and for other useful links

Dr. Melanie Joy

Dr. Joy is a Harvard-educated psychologist, personal/relationship coach, professor of psychology and sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and celebrated speaker. She has written a number of articles on psychology, animal protection, and social justice, which have been published in a variety of journals and magazines.

Dr. Joy is the leading researcher on carnism, the psychology of eating meat, and has been interviewed for numerous magazines, books, and radio on her work, including the BBC, NPR, PBS, and ABC Australia. She has presented her work at national and international academic and grassroots conferences.


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