Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism

by Melanie Joy PhD, John Robbins (Foreword by)

Overview

In this paperback edition is a foreword by activist and author John Robbins and a reader's group study guide. This groundbreaking work, voted one of the top ten books of 2010 by VegNews Magazine, offers an absorbing look at why and how humans can so wholeheartedly devote ourselves to certain animals and then allow others to suffer needlessly, especially those slaughtered for our consumption.

Social psychologist Melanie Joy explores the many ways we numb ourselves and disconnect from our natural empathy for farmed animals. She coins the term "carnism" to describe the belief system that has conditioned us to eat certain animals and not others.

In Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows Joy investigates factory farming, exposing how cruelly the animals are treated, the hazards that meatpacking workers face, and the environmental impact of raising 10 billion animals for food each year. Controversial and challenging, this book will change the way you think about food forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781573245050
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	09/01/2011
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Melanie Joy, Ph.D. is a social psychologist, professor, and author. She teaches psychology and sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and is the leading researcher on carnism, the ideology of meat production and consumption. She is the author of Strategic Action for Animals: A Handbook on Strategic Movement Building, Organizing, and Activism for Animal Liberation. Dr. Joy can be found online at www.melaniejoy.org.

John Robbins is the author of the bestselling The Food Revolution, Diet for a New America, and No Happy Cows. His life and work have been featured on PBS.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Foreword 7

1 To Love or to Eat? 11

2 Carnism: "It's Just the Way Things Are" 23

3 The Way Things Really Are 37

4 Collateral Damage: The Other Casualties of Carnism 73

5 The Mythology of Meat: Justifying Carnism 95

6 Through the Carnistic Looking Glass: Internalized Carnism 115

7 Bearing Witness: From Carnism to Compassion 135

Book Group Discussion Guide 151

Resources 155

Notes 163

Bibliography 177

Index 201

Editorial Reviews

"An absorbing examination of why humans feel affection and compassion for certain animals but are callous to the suffering of others." Publishers Weekly

Reviews

"An absorbing examination of why humans feel affection and compassion for certain animals but are callous to the suffering of others." Publishers Weekly

"This eyeopening book makes us question what we really mean when we say we love animals. Anyone who has ever loved a dog or a cat or a hamster or a bird will find abundant food for thought here." John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America, The Food Revolution, and Healthy at 100

"An altogether remarkable book that could transform the way society feels about eating animals." Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of The Face on Your Plate

"A thoughtful book full of substance and style. It should be required reading for anyone interested in what we eat and why." Kathy Freston, author of the New York Times bestselling Veganist and Quantum Wellness

"One of the most thoughtprovoking books in decades. The realization that we've been conditioned throughout our entire lives to think and act a certain way toward animals, and that we've been so disconnected from ourselves and our fellow beings, gives us a chance to make our choices freely." Heather Mills

From the Publisher