Freston Kathy - Beyond Beliefs: a Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication for Vegans, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters

Praise for Beyond Beliefs

Melanie Joy thinks clearly, writes exquisitely, and persuades truthfully. Beyond Beliefs gently melts the bars of the cages which we erect around our beliefs. It deserves a place in every vegan library and on the reading list of every non-vegan.

PHILIP WOLLEN, former vice president of Citibank and founder of Winsome Constance Kindness

From the minute you meet Melanie Joy, it becomes clear that she is a catalyst for connecting you with your deepest levels of compassion and common sense. Instantly you wish you could be at least a fraction as articulate as she is. Luckily, you now have in your hands a guide to help you navigate distances between you and the others in your life, the world, and yourself. Beyond Beliefs will leave you feeling clearer, more connected, confident, and eventhough many difficult issues are addressedhappier. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to be a more mindful agent for bringing the light of conscious living to everything from personal relationships to the predominant culture in which we live.

LANI MUELRATH, author of The Mindful Vegan: A 30-Day Plan for Finding Health, Balance, Peace, and Happiness

In this insightful and engaging book, Melanie Joy offers wisdom, comfort, and advice for any vegan or vegetarian whos ever felt misunderstood by meat eaters and for any meat eater whos ever felt confounded by vegans or vegetarians. This book can show you the way beyond your beliefs, so you can relate and communicate with clarity and compassion. I highly recommend it!

LISA BLOOM, civil rights attorney at The Bloom Firm

Melanie Joy is fundamentally shifting the way we view our relationship with others and ourselves, making the world a better and more compassionate place in the process.

NATHAN RUNKLE, Founder of Mercy For Animals

Dr. Melanie Joy addresses an important subject with keen insight and lucid thought.

GLEN MERZER, author of Off the Reservation

Melanie Joy hit the nail on the head! This is the book all vegans need, to gain perspective, alleviate compassion fatigue, and live healthy lives with a purpose!

SHANNON KEITH, Esq., president and founder of ARME and Beagle Freedom Project

As a member of a veg/non-veg marriage, I am grateful for Melanie Joys wisdom about living with a partners choices while honoring my own integrity. Beyond Beliefs is essential reading for anyone who wants mealtime to be a source of nourishmentphysical, spiritual, and social.

LINDA RIEBEL, PhD, licensed psychologist and faculty, Saybrook Graduate School

Navigating relationships can be hard, particularly for new vegans trying to figure out how to relate to their non-vegan friends and family. Dr. Joys book provides excellent guidance to help with these issues and provides vegans and others with the tools they need for social success.

DAVE SIMON, Esq., author of Meatonomics

"Melanie Joys work contains some of the very best thinking ever on the psychology of eating and provides the first really robust, consistent, deep analysis of some of our most critical food beliefs. In Beyond Beliefs, Joy has again made a major achievement. This book is, please excuse me, a joy to read. I cannot imagine anyone reading this without an aha moment, and one for the good."

JEFFREY MOUSSAIEFF MASSON, PhD, author of When Elephants Weep and other books

"This book can help people with any food beliefs significantly improve their relationships and communication. And if youre vegan (or vegetarian), this book will also help you better understand yourself and be a much more effective ambassador for the cause."

COLLEEN PATRICK-GOUDREAU, author of The 30-Day Vegan Challenge and other books

Copyright 2017 by Melanie Joy, Ph.D.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2017

ISBN 978-1-944903-30-5
eBook ISBN: 978-1-944903-42-8

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

149 Kentucky Street, Suite 7
Petaluma, CA 94952
www.roundtreepress.com

www.carnism.org

For the vegans and vegetarians whose caring and commitment is a gift to the planet; I hope this book gives back to you some of what you give to the world. And for those who stand with you as allies.

And for my husband, Sebastian Joymy admired colleague, my dear friend, and the love of my life.

I am deeply grateful for the support of the many people who made writing this book possible. I want to thank Kathy Freston for getting me to even consider writing it in the first place, and then for her tireless support along the way. I thank my staff at Beyond Carnism, for holding down the fort so I could focus on writing. I am especially grateful to Nina Hengl, who was with me every step of the sometimes arduous process, sharing her wisdom and encouragement; Beth Redwood, who literally worked day and night to create graphics and create a unique cover image; Dawn Moncrief for her much-needed analysis that changed the course of my writing process; Brett Thompson for stepping in and making sure the book made it out into the world; Flavia D'Erasmo, for saving the day and formatting the manuscript; Helen Harwatt for taking the time to review the manuscript and for helping me come up with a much better subtitle; and Robin Flynn for the time and energy she invested in creating a support structure for my work. I also thank staff members Jeff Mannes and Jens Tuider for their impressive commitment and support. I thank Gero Schomaker, whodespite having a crazy busy schedulemade the time to meet with me over many months to discuss and help hone my ideas and to develop the concepts for graphics, and for being a good friend. I thank my editor, Joyce Hildebrand, who went above and beyond for this project; Jim Greenbaum, for helping provide the foundation from which much of my work has sprung; my former agent, Patti Breitman, for advocating for me yet again so I could have the rights to make this book as widely accessible as possible; Susan Solomon, for her steadfast wisdom and guidance and friendship; and Lucie Berreby, for helping me bring my work more fully into the world. I am incredibly grateful for Louise Pfeiffer and Markus Woltjer, who volunteered their time and energy to proofread and format the manuscript; and to Stefanie Sluschny, Carolyn Zaikowski, Nana Charlne Spiekermann, Tobias Leenaert, Wendy Aigner, Alex Higson, Jude Berman, and Teja Watson. Finally, this book would not have been possible without the support of my husband, Sebastian Joy, who was beside me every baby step of the wayhelping hone my ideas, keeping me inspired, taking care of my practical needs, and making sure I kept laughing.

BY KATHY FRESTON

It occurs to me as I write this foreword that I dont know what my life would be like had I not met Melanie Joy at a conference some six years ago and become close friends with her. I had known her brilliant work on the psychology of carnism and admired her strategic way of thinking about the culture of eating animals. She took a burgeoning social justice movement and packaged it into a psychologically compelling conversation. Why, she asked, do we love dogs, eat pigs, and wear cows? And with that question, Melanie set forth a map of critical thinking that connects the dots on why we cherish some animals but eat others. She made so much sense, taking the time to speak into the readers rationale, all the while respecting their ability to find their way into a more conscientious way of eating. Melanie was clearly a formidable intellectual and had a thorough grasp on human psychology; that much I knew.