Carnism



![The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation, in which the American president pardons a turkey, has been cited as an illustration of carnism.[30]](/uploads/202501/03/Obama_ThanksGiving_Turkey_Pardon_20094311.jpg)
Carnism is a concept in discussions of humanity's relation to animals, defined as a prevailing ideology that conditions people to support the use and consumption of animal products, especially meat. The argument holds that carnism is a dominant belief system supported by a variety of defense mechanisms and mostly unchallenged assumptions. The term carnism was coined by social psychologist Melanie Joy in 2001 and popularized by her book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows (2009).