Reading of Melanie Joy

Tuesday the 11th I went to a reading of Melanie Joy.

She works at Harvard as a psychologist and wrote a book where she analyses why it's okay for us to eat meat and why we eat just a few animals. When we think of eating dogs, cats, etc. then a lot of people are shocked, but in fact you can ask yourself, why is eating a pig okay, but not a cat? 

She gave a good presentation about the gap we have in our head when it's about our eating habits where a lot of animals are slaughtered for in a way that is too awful to imagine. And even we know this truth, we just ignore it. We eat meat without accepting it was once an animal.

Next to that she said what the causes are of this gap in our head. It's part of our culture and is seen as normal. We need to understand it's a cultural habit, so it isn't the truth we are talking about. Because when you go look at other cultures, there will be things we think that are extreme and they see that also as a truth. But it's just a perception, another pair of glasses to look at the world. So you can say that the need to eat meat isn't based on the factual reality, but on our normative reality.

Another thing is that the meat industry is such a big actor in our economy what makes that they also have a lot of influence on our politics. This makes that the policy all let this happen, because there is alot of money involved in this issue. 

I thought this was a very good reading. She's a very pleasant woman that informes in a clear language. I thought the information she gave me, in spite of the fact that I knew most of it already, was a real eye - opener for me.

I think that I'm doing a really good job already by eating no meat and fish and trying to drink more soymilk etc. It always can be better but I'm working on it.

Next step I have to do is reading her book "Love dogs, Eat pigs, Wear cows". Another book on the "must - read - list". I'll put down here a review of it, but give me some time. Still have some books to go before I can start at this one.
You want more information, just go to her website.