Loved this, from a discussion on Making Hay of Dr. Melanie Joy’s new book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows:

What we eat – what we choose to consider food – is the product of ideology when we aren’t forced by necessity to eat whatever we can get.

And this:

Our goal isn’t to simply get people to stop eating meat, dairy and eggs, but to abolish the system that is carnism, one burgeoning vegan advocate at a time. In doing so, we must remember that when we ask a person to stop eating meat, we’re not simply requesting a change in diet. We are requesting a shift in deep-seated ideology, one that is intimately connected with family, community, spirituality, and politics. Making a change in lifestyle, the roots of which lie deep and strong, is no small task. When we realize this, we are able to approach our advocacy from a place of love and compassion, not anger and judgment. I really believe that when we advocate from this loving place, the world is possible.

Which is to say what we choose to consider food for most of us in North America and Europe is ideologically determined, and that overcoming ideology is what makes it difficult, but possible. (Ideologies can be changed through defamilarization and exposure to different modes of thinking).

Made me think of this recent pairing of images:

Little Orphan Angelo at Farm Sanctuary:

And this shirt, now available at Food Fight! in Portland and likely elsewhere:

The answer, of course, is one like me – before beginning the process of unlearning ideology and investigating the realities of “animal agriculture” that led me to becoming vegan . . .