“How to End Injustice Everywhere” by Dr. Melanie Joy (vegan), Part 1 of 2

Dr. Melanie Joy (vegan), an American social psychologist based in Germany, is a renowned author and speaker whose work explores the psychology of violence, oppression, and social change. In her 2023 book, “How to End Injustice Everywhere,” she uncovers the common roots of injustice and presents relational literacy as a practical, compassionate tool for transformation. “In one day, more farmed animals are slaughtered globally than the total number of people killed in all wars throughout history.” “Carnism is the invisible belief system that conditions us to eat certain animals. Carnism needs to use a set of psychological defense mechanisms that distort our perceptions and disconnect us from our natural empathy for farmed animals, so that we can support the system without realizing what we’re doing.”

“I wrote my book, ‘Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows,’ which helped popularize my findings. The systems themselves are structurally similar, and most importantly the mentality that drives the violence, that enables these systems, is the same. I wanted to write ‘How to End Injustice Everywhere’ to shed light on the common structure of all of these oppressive – or we could say unjust systems – as well as this common mentality that drives them.” “A common denominator in helping to resolve all of these problems is what I call ‘relational literacy.’ It applies to how we relate to other individual humans, to other animals. When you honor someone’s dignity, that means you think of them and treat them as though they have fundamental worth, as though they are just as worthy as you, or anyone else, of being treated with respect and of occupying space on this planet.”