Melanie Joy - Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism, 10th Anniversary Edition

Melanie Joy's book is an important and groundbreaking contribution to the struggle for the welfare of animals. It helps us step outside the box of carnism so that we are better positioned to think critically and be a part of the solution, helping to create a more compassionate and sustainable world.

Yuval Harari, New York Times bestselling author
of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

An absorbing examination of why humans feel affection and compassion for certain animals but are callous to the suffering of others.

Publishers Weekly

There's plenty of information in this book, and insight and argument. But the true achievement of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows is that it reminds us of what we already know. With eloquence and humility, Melanie Joy appeals to the values that all of us already have and have always had. She reminds us of who we are.

Jonathan Safran Foer, award-winning author of
Everything Is Illuminated, Eating Animals, and We Are the Weather

This is a must-read book for everyone who is horrified by the idea of eating dogs but eats pigs, cows, and chickens. Melanie Joy examines the psychological props that make it possible for us to adore some animals and eat othersand kicks them all aside. Why We Love Dogs is written in a clear and lively style, and I'm delighted to see it out in a new edition with a foreword by Yuval Harari.

Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton
University, author of Animal Liberation

Melanie Joy is a thought leader whose work is potentially world changing. A few years from now, carnism will be a household term, and how we think about eating animals will be fundamentally altered.

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, India's longest-serving member of
Parliament and chairperson of People for Animals, India

Few books have done more to change the way I think than Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows. This is a framework for thinking about how dominant ideologies disguise, protect, and conserve themselves. It will help you see not just the ideology that governs our relationship with animals, but the presence of ideologies that want to remain hidden all over modern society.

Ezra Klein, cofounder and editor-at-large at Vox

Melanie Joy is one of the great thinkers of our time. Her excellent Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows... makes a powerful, novel argument for eating plant-based. Her reasoning transcends just health and is a must-read for anyone who wants to make thoughtful food choices.

Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and
New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zones

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows is groundbreaking. Melanie Joy brilliantly explains why people resist information that would help them make more healthful food choicesand how they can overcome this.

Michael Greger, MD, New York Times bestselling author
of How Not to Die and founder of nutritionfacts.org

Why read Melanie Joy? Because her concept of carnism makes us see things differently. Because she addresses readers with empathy. And because she belongs to a new and exciting generation of committed intellectuals. All of these reasons are good. But there is another one that surpasses them all. You have to read Melanie Joy because what she tells us is important.

Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk,
photographer, author, and humanitarian

Melanie Joy's work took me from getting it to living itall in the time it took me to finish her groundbreaking book.

Josh Tetrick, founder and CEO, Just

Melanie Joy is a seer: she sees how and why we humans do what we do and she provides passage through our unconscious behavior so that we can make more thoughtful choices. She is infinitely respectful of the reader, and so we walk away feeling wiser and empowered to be changemakers.

Kathy Freston, New York Times bestselling author
of Quantum Wellness, Veganist, and The Lean

Why We Love Dogs helped me understand the issue of eating animals from a new, unique, and empowering perspective. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to make more compassionate, rational, and healthful food choices.

Daniel Negreanu, six-time World Series of Poker bracelet
winner and member of the Poker Hall of Fame

Melanie Joy, PhD

Foreword by Yuval Noah Harari

This edition first published in 2020 by Red Wheel, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright Copyright 2010, 2011, 2020 by Melanie Joy, PhD
Foreword copyright 2020 by Yuval Noah Harari

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser,
LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Previously
published in 2010 by Conari Press, ISBN: 978-1-57324-505-0.

ISBN: 978-1-59003-501-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request

Cover design by Kathryn Sky-Peck
Interior by Steve Amarillo / Urban Design LLC
Typeset in Baskerville and PMN Caecilia

Printed in the United States of America
IBI
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter

For witnesses everywhere.

Through your eyes, we may find our way.

The greatness of a nation and its moral
progress can be judged by the way
its animals are treated.

MAHATMA GANDHI

This book is the result of a project that began many years ago, with an idea that turned into a doctoral dissertation, which then grew into the volume it is today. Over the years, many people helped shape my ideas and hone my words, and supported me as a professional and a person. To them I am eternally grateful. I want to thank Aimee Houser, my brilliant and inspiring editor, who worked with me every step of the way; my agent, Patti Breitman, who believed in my work and made sure it found a home; Clare Seletsky, who carried this project through the home stretch; Caroline Pincus and Bonni Hamilton of Red Wheel/Weiser, for their enthusiasm and support; Carolyn Zaikowski, who insisted that I write this book; Bonnie Tardella, for her tireless editing; Janice Goldman, George Bournakis, Herb Pearce, and Susan Solomon for being my lifelines; Anna Meigs, for her wisdom and guidance; Ruth and Jake Tedaldi, for helping me when I most needed it; Teri Jessen, for her vision; Bonnie and Perry Norton, for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to carry out my work; Fred and Claudette Williams; Dina Aronson; John Adams; Stephen Cina; Adam Wake; Linda Riebel; Michael Greger; Zoe Weil; V. K. Kool; Ken Shapiro; Stephen Shainbart; Hillary Rettig; Rita Agrawal; Eric Prescott; Laureano Batista; Josh Balk; and Robin Stone. I also want to thank my friends and family who have supported me throughout a very long journey. Finally, I want to thank Josh Balk; Stacey Wells; Daniel Braune; Theresa Lukassowitz; Cristina Castellan; Michelle Schaefer; Sana Al-Badri; my brilliant and beloved husband, Sebastian Joy; and my team at Beyond Carnism, for their invaluable support for the new edition; and I thank Yuval Harari, for the compelling and insightful new foreword he provided and for the invaluable work he is doing in the world.