Melanie Joy (born September 2, 1966) is an American

social psychologist Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the re ...

and author, primarily notable for coining and promulgating the term

carnism Carnism is a concept used in discussions of humanity's relation to other animals, defined as a prevailing ideology in which people support the use and consumption of animal products, especially meat. Carnism is presented as a dominant belief s ...

. She is the founding president of nonprofit advocacy group Beyond Carnism, previously known as Carnism Awareness & Action Network (CAAN), as well as a former professor of psychology and sociology at the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...

. She has published the books ''Strategic Action for Animals'', ''

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows ''Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism'' is a 2009 book by American social psychologist Melanie Joy about the belief system and psychology of meat eating, or " carnism". Joy coined the term ''carnism'' in 2001 and d ...

'' and ''Beyond Beliefs''.

Background

Joy received her M.Ed. from the

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first Harvard school ...

, and her Ph.D. in psychology from the

Saybrook Graduate School Saybrook University is a private university in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1971 by Eleanor Camp Criswell and others. It offers postgraduate education with a focus on humanistic psychology. It features low residency, master's, and ...

. At age 23, while a student at Harvard, she contracted a food-borne disease from a tainted hamburger and was hospitalized, which led her to become a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

. In a speech related by Indian cabinet minister

Maneka Gandhi Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (also spelled Menaka; ''née'' Anand) (born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, and environmentalist. She is a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament and a member of ...

, Joy recalled how her dietary choice, made for non-moral reasons, transformed her perspective on the treatment of animals:

That experience led me to swear off meat, which led me to become more open to information about animal agriculture—information that had been all around me but that I had been unwilling to see, so long as I was still invested in maintaining my current way of life. And as I learned the truth about meat, egg and dairy production, I became increasingly distraught. ..I wound up confused and despairing. I felt like a rudderless boat, lost on a sea of collective insanity. Nothing had changed, but everything was different.

Afterwards, Joy made a gradual transition to

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

. In a 2013 interview, she explained that her doctoral research had initially focused on the psychosociology of violence and discrimination, but later shifted to questions about the psychology of eating meat. Perceiving a pattern of irrational and inconsistent thinking among the subjects she interviewed, she was led to theorize that attitudes about meat reflected acquired prejudice. This idea became the basis for much of her later work.

Theory of Carnism

Joy introduced the term ''carnism'' in a 2001 article published in ''Satya'', initially receiving little attention. The concept was revisited by her 2009 book ''

''. Her ideas influenced subsequent studies of what has come to be known as the

meat paradox The psychology of eating meat is a complex area of study illustrating the confluence of morality, emotions, cognition, and personality characteristics. Research into the psychological and cultural factors of meat-eating suggests correlations with ...

—the apparent inconsistency in common attitudes toward animals, wherein people may express affection towards some animals while eating others—and the

cognitive dissonance In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the perception of contradictory information, and the mental toll of it. Relevant items of information include a person's actions, feelings, ideas, beliefs, values, and things in the environment. ...

it entails. A number of psychologists are supportive of Joy's beliefs concerning the influence of eating meat on attitudes toward animals.

Activism

Joy founded Carnism Awareness & Action Network (CAAN), later renamed Beyond Carnism, in 2010. According to a review by

Animal Charity Evaluators Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), formerly known as Effective Animal Activism (EAA), is a US-based charity evaluator and effective altruism-focused nonprofit founded in 2012. ACE evaluates animal charities and compares the effectiveness of their ...

, the organization uses public talks, media campaigns, video development, and activist training in an effort to shift the public conversation about meat mainly in the United States and Germany. The review judged CAAN's novel organizational strategies to be promising in terms of their potential to foster a sustained network of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

advocates, but noted that the relatively new group lacked a track record, and that the effects of its approach would be difficult to assess.

References

Bibliography

* ''Strategic Action for Animals: A Handbook on Strategic Movement Building, Organizing, and Activism for Animal Liberation'' (2008). . * '' Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism'' (2009). . * ''Beyond Beliefs: A Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication for Vegans, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters'' (2018). . * ''Powerarchy: Understanding the Psychology of Oppression for Social Transformation'' (2019). . * ''Getting Relationships Right: How to Build Resilience and Thrive in Life, Love, and Work'' (2020). .

External links