An Introduction to Carnism with Dr. Melanie Joy (vegan), Part 1 of 2

Dr. Melanie Joy (vegan) is a distinguished Harvard-educated psychologist specializing in the psychology of eating animal-people, social change, and relationships. She is an accomplished author of bestselling books, in which she expounds her theories regarding the psychology of violence and non-violence and strategies for cultivating robust and wholesome relationships.

“Imagine that you’re not vegetarian or vegan, and you’re biting into a juicy hamburger, and your dining companion turns to you and says that hamburger is not made from beef, it’s made from golden retrievers. Now, take a moment to think about your thoughts and your feelings. Chances are, what you just thought of as food, you now think of as a dead animal. And what you just felt was delicious, you now feel is disgusting. And so therefore, instead of continuing to eat the hamburger, you probably want to throw it in the trash and maybe even take to the streets and protest.”

This brain-twisting example illustrates Dr. Melanie Joy’s most profound realization: namely, carnism, a term she coined after extensive research and analyses, which she explains in her globally acclaimed book “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows,” which has been translated into more than 20 languages. Carnism is an invisible, powerful, yet false belief system that conditions society to consume animal-people! This noble study has been featured worldwide and brought Dr. Joy numerous prestigious awards, including the Ahimsa Award and the Empty Cages Prize, all on behalf of our precious animal-people.

“So, carnism is a violent system. It’s actually an oppressive system; it’s literally organized around violence. Meat cannot be produced without killing. And again, dairy production causes extensive harm to animals. So, carnism needs to get used as a set of psychological defense mechanisms. These are mechanisms that distort our perceptions and disconnect us from our natural empathy so that we act against our values and against our rationality without even knowing what we’re doing.”