# Carnism

> A term referring to the belief system that says it is justified to abuse and kill animals, cut them into pieces, and then eat their corpses. It is a term proposed by Melanie Joy in her book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows.

A term referring to the belief system that says it is justified to abuse and kill animals, cut them into pieces, and then eat their corpses. It is a term proposed by <Melanie Joy> in her book [Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Why%20we%20love%20dogs,%20eat%20pigs,%20and%20wear%20cows.txt).

## The Need for the Term

People who practice vegetarianism have long been labeled "vegetarianists" or "vegans," rather than neutrally described as "people who eat a vegetarian diet," whereas people who eat meat are simply called "meat-eaters." That is because practicing vegetarianism for ethical reasons is seen as a philosophical belief system, while eating meat is regarded as simply a matter of course.

But meat-eating is taken for granted only because it is a dominant ideology; it is not something that should be taken for granted at all. The idea that it is acceptable to confine, kill, and eat animals is a violent belief system, and a term is needed to refer to it.

## Justifications for Carnism

To eat meat, justification is necessary. The myths used for justification are connected to one another, and Melanie Joy calls this <the Three Ns of Justification>.

- Eating meat is normal
- Eating meat is natural
- Eating meat is necessary

This method of justification has been used to justify every exploitative system, including <slavery> and the <Holocaust>.

<Tobias Leenaert> adds "eating meat is nice" to this and calls it <the Four Ns of Justification>.

## A Violent Dominance Ideology

Melanie Joy says that carnism is one among the various [violent dominance ideologies](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Violent%20ideology.txt) that exist in our society. Other examples include <racism>, <patriarchy>, and [sexism](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Sexism.txt). Because all violent dominance ideologies make use of the same mechanisms, understanding how carnism works can also be used to understand and resist other dominance ideologies.

<Carol J. Adams> as well, in [The Sexual Politics of Meat](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/The%20sexual%20politics%20of%20meat.txt), points out the intersection of carnism and patriarchy, saying that because the dominant discourse permits meat-eating, we are forced to accept, ignore, neutralize, endure the fact that we are eating dead animals. Adams's discussion of the [absent referent](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Absent%20referent.txt) largely coincides with Joy's discussion of carnism.

## Namuwiki's Incorrect Explanation

If you search for "육식주의" on Google, the <Namuwiki> article appears near the top of the search results. That article explains the "original meaning of carnism" as something like "a person who eats meat, a person who loves meat," but it presents no relevant evidence whatsoever, and this is simply not true.

([Wikipedia](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Wikipedia.txt) and Namuwiki are similar in that anyone can edit their articles, but unlike Wikipedia, which is relatively well managed so that articles can be written only when there are reliable sources, Namuwiki has the problem of containing far too many source-less claims and speculations.)