Today on WBUR 90.9: Melanie Joy Discusses Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows
Were you listening to 90.9 today?
On today’s edition of WBUR’s program Here and Now, Robin Young interviewed Melanie Joy, the author of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows.
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Earlier this year Joy released a video promo for the book. Her video points out the strangeness of an ideology that justifies eating some animals while being very critical of eating other animals. Why is it so offensive to suggest eating a golden retriever but not controversial to eat a pig? She says this stems from a dominant ideology that has yet to be named. She calls it “carnism”.
From MelanieJoy.org:
What is carnism?
Carnism is the name I’ve given to the belief system, or ideology, in which it’s considered ethical and appropriate to eat (certain) animals. Carnism is essentially the opposite of vegetarianism; while a vegetarian is a person who believes it’s unethical to eat animals and therefore eschews meat, a carnist is a person who believes it’s ethical to eat animals and therefore eats meat.
You could easily make the case that with all of the undercover investigations of factory farms that everyone must already know that raising animals for food involves significant animal cruelty. In the NPR segment, Melanie Joy says her book does not ask the question: What is the truth about meat production? Instead she asks, “what is the truth about the system that conditions us so deeply, that teaches us not to  feel,  that teaches us to turn away from very issue that requires that we bear witness in order to transform it?” (Quote from the radio program)
Download an mp3 of the radio program.
If you are interested in reading and discussing one of Melanie Joy’s books, you can join the Animal Liberation Theory & Action Discussion Group. We are reading her book, Strategic Action for Animals. We are meeting 6pm-8pm for the next 7 Thursdays, starting this week. Email drew@VegWorcester.com if you want to join.
February 22, 2010
Tags: books, theory Posted in: Animal Rights, Misc
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