I grew up eating baloney without ever giving a thought to where it came from. But psychology is all about reflecting on who you are, why you think the way you do and why you do what you do. So let’s explore our eating behavior: why do we think it’s weird or wrong when we hear that in some cultures people eat cat meat or insects or bats. Is it really that different from eating cows and pigs? How are we influenced to think that some foods are okay while others aren’t…?
Resources for this Episode
- Check out Dr. Melanie Joy’s work on carnism at the Carnism website
Psychology Concepts Mentioned in this Episode
- Moral cognitive dissonance
- Psychological distancing or Psychic Numbing
- Cognitive distortions
- I explored the idea of Supernormal Stimtuli in this episode.
Brianna
April 14, 2016I’m so glad to hear someone is participating in psychological research behind the meat and dairy culture. A lot of what Dr. Joy mentions is also noted in Diet for a New America by John Robbins and I found that to be very interesting. The industries have spent ridiculous amount of money to brainwash children in schools, giving humans almost no choice but to believe that eating meat is not a choice but a necessity.
Thoroughly enjoyed and respected this interview. It’s nice to finally find someone willing to help spread awareness of the evils of the factory system.
Will Roberts
April 14, 2016Wait, so Dr. Joy is an expert in “carnism”, which is a term she invented? I guess that’s one way we can all become experts in something. It’s not surprising that she gets called a hippie – she’s taking a very extreme position and leading with the assumption that said position is “right”.
Not a big fan of this interview. It would have been nicer to hear from someone on the subject without a clear agenda.