Many common myths about our diet still persist today: We are at the top of the food chain. Eating meat is part of the circle of life. We have the anatomical features of other predatorial animals. We are by nature predators and hunters. We have dominion over all other life. They have become deeply embedded in our collective consciousness. But is there really any factual, scientific or even religious basis to these widely held beliefs?
Harvard social psychologist Melanie Joy brings her theory of carnism out of academia and into popular culture with her acclaimed book, “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism.” Once I picked up this book, I just could not put it down. I read through it in just a few hours and then went straight to Joy’s web site, carnism.com, eager to learn more!
The Core of Carnism
In Joy’s words, “There is a vast mythology surrounding meat, but all the myths are in one way or another related to what [Joy] refers to as the Three Ns of Justification: eating meat is normal, natural, and necessary. The three Ns have been invoked to justify all exploitative systems, from African slavery to the Nazi Holocaust. When an ideology is in its prime, these myths rarely come under scrutiny. However, when the system finally collapses, the Three Ns are recognized as ludicrous.” “The Three Ns are so ingrained in our social consciousness that they guide our actions without even having to think about them. They think for us. We have internalized them so fully that we often live in accordance with their tenants as though they were universal truths rather than widely held opinions.”
Can I Get a Witness?
Joy says the most effective strategy against carnism is Witenssing. “Witnessing, or bearing witness, is being willing to see the truth – with our hearts as well as with our eyes. When we bear witness to another (human or nonhuman), we see the world through his or her eyes; we empathize.” “Transforming carnism thus requires that we choose to bear witness to the reality of the system and its victims, and become active proponents of change. Virtually all violent ideologies have depended on preventing mass witnessing, and virtually all social movements have depended on cultivating mass witnessing.”
I heard all of it: if you don’t eat meat, your body will suffer; if you don’t drink milk, your teeth will fall off; if you don’t eat eggs, your brain will slow down. Amongst others. The cows, the cows ASK to be milked! Oh they do, don’t we know that… the hens, the hens BEG us to take their eggs! What would they do with all those eggs otherwise. The meat culture is a culture of “we need the animals, but most of all, they need us”. I’ve had this book on my to-read list for a while now, I’m looking forward to reading it. My partner is a meatarian and has told me, after the shock of me telling him I was going vegan, that us humans ARE carnivores, look at our teeth! And I believe him: I believe he believes it, for so long I have too. Maybe one fine day…
one of my favorite books. after i read it i bought 4 more copies to hand out to people. this along with Will Tuttle’s “World Peace Diet” should be read by everyone.