CONSUMING ANIMALS AS an EDUCATIONAL ACT Dissertation
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CONSUMING ANIMALS AS AN EDUCATIONAL ACT Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Bradley D. Rowe, B.A., M.S., M.A. Graduate Program in Education The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Bryan Warnick, Chair Dr. Ann Allen Dr. Antoinette Errante Dr. Philip Smith Copyright By Bradley D. Rowe 2012 Abstract The main purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate that consuming animals is an educational act that warrants sustained attention. The main question I address is: What does the consumption of animals have to do with the life of the educated person? I argue that we should learn more about the lives—which is to say, the deprivation, torment, and death—of the animals we eat. This sort of learning requires a fresh way to think about not only education, but also food, eating, and animals. I aim to illuminate the extent to which we are implicated in systems of immense suffering, and at the same time, provoke us to grow by questioning deeply-entrenched habit of consuming animals. This dissertation is a theoretical exploration that may or may not lead to dietary change, but that does, I believe, hold potential to change the way we think and act in the world. In Chapter 1, I lay out the reasons why consuming animals is a rich subject for educational philosophy. Chapter 2 is a brief overview of the animal ethics literature to analyze the moral arguments for bringing nonhuman beings into the realm of human moral consideration. Clearly, eating animals is an ethical act and it is important to review who has said what about it. In Chapter 3, I explore John Dewey‘s conception of growth and argue that, for human moral growth, we should consider the habit of consuming animals. In Chapter 4, I shift the focus to (mis)education at the cultural level. I argue that it is important to understand the consumption of animals—as a problem of cultural miseducation—so that we are better situated to rethink and resist the cultural forces that ii shape the consenting attitudes underlying this fundamental act of consumption. Chapter 5 examines the educational significance of understanding animals-becoming-meat—that is, the agricultural and slaughtering practices that turn living, full-bodied animals into fragmented, edible pieces of meat. This chapter has a broader function, too, as I make a case for extending scholarly inquiry addressing consumerism and commercialism to (re)encompass production and labor. Animals-becoming-meat is a particular form of production and labor that illustrates and exposes the larger problems of distance, ignorance, and alienation in contemporary life; it also demonstrates how the foundational role of production is largely concealed and thus taken for granted in consumer society. I end with Chapter 6 where I argue that the most effective and transformative pedagogical means to understand animals-becoming-meat is to watch the process unfold, with our own eyes. Given the great extent that corporate agriculture goes to conceal the brutality behind its walls, I believe we must be unsettled with disturbing visuals of animals- becoming-meat. I argue that education should unveil the exploitive practices that remain deliberately hidden from public view—even if it is culturally taboo to do so. iii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I want to thank my committee. Each member possesses the qualities I value greatly in a human being: patience, intelligence, kindness, and understanding. Bryan Warnick introduced me to this thing called ―philosophy of education‖ and continues to show me how expansive and rich the area is. He has a knack for pushing me beyond my comfort zone, challenging me to become a better thinker and writer. Moreover, Bryan has provided me with many scholarly and teaching opportunities that have been central to my well-being and growth. I could not ask for a better advisor. Ann has kept me grounded, so to speak, and reminds me how imperative educational policy and practice are for implementing real change in the world. Antoinette has opened me up to a whole new world of ideas. Her compassion for others—human and animal— inspires me. Phil has been a steady source of emotional and intellectual support. I have learned a lot about philosophy and education in his classroom but I have learned more about myself through many, many long conversations with him. I thank all of you for your commitment and time. I am grateful for the abundance of support from friends, colleagues, and scholars who have all influenced this work in their unique way: Sam Rocha, Tom Falk, Todd Bitters, Leanne Sunderman, Susan Laird, Erin Castro, Michael Mueller, Abraham DeLeon, Katie Sandford-Gaebel, Taylor Klassman, josh kurz, Maria Cynthia Anderson, iv DeLeon Grey, David and Rachel Larson, Mitchell and Tonya McAlpin and the entire McAlpin family, Heather Dawson, and Ben Johnson. I owe a special thanks to Karen Graves. Karen put her faith in me during the beginning years of my doctoral program and remains an attentive listener, knowledgeable mentor, and personable colleague. My immediate family has been a constant reminder of the significance of love in human lives. Thank you: Jennifer Ventling, Susan and Michael Hufford, Harold Rowe, Jesse and Joshua, Lisa and Brandan Adams, Olivia and Isabella, and Brian and Michelle Rowe. No words could express my appreciation for the abundance of love my mother, Susan, has provided throughout my life. She is the most patient and caring person I know. Finally, I am deeply thankful for the love and wisdom of my grandparents, Mary and Ray Rowe—the farmers in my life. They have shaped my views on food, animals, and the land in the deepest sense. This dissertation would have never happened without their influence. I will never forget the Farm. v Vita 2004. .B.A. Social Science Education, Wright State University 2006. M.S. Teacher Education, University of Dayton 2010. M.A. Educational Philosophy The Ohio State University 2009-2010. .Graduate Teaching Associate The Ohio State University 2009-2012. .Visiting Instructor Denison University Publication Rowe, Bradley. ―Food, Habit, and the Consumption of Animals as Educational Encounter.‖ Philosophy of Education 2012. Urbana, Ill: Philosophy of Education Society (forthcoming). Rowe, Bradley, and Taylor Klassman. ―Educational Dystopia: Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein and Race to the Top.‖ In Dystopia and Education: Insights for Theory, Praxis, and Policy, edited by Eric Sheffield and Jessica Heybach. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing (forthcoming). Rowe, Bradley. ―Frankenstein, Monsters, and Science Education: The Need for Broad- based Educational Policy.‖ In A Guide to Legislation and School Policy in Science Education: Assessing Schools for Generation R (Responsibility), edited by Michael Mueller, Deborah Tippins, and Arthur Stewart. New York: Springer, 2012. Rowe, Bradley. ―Understanding Animals-Becoming-Meat: Embracing a Disturbing Education.‖ Critical Education 2, no. 7 (2011):1-25. Rowe, Bradley. ―What‘s Wrong with Genetic Engineering? Ethics, Socio-scientific Issues, and Education.‖ In Cultural Studies and Environmentalism: The Confluence of Ecojustice, Place-based (Science) Education, and Indigenous Knowledge Systems, edited vi by Deborah Tippins, Michael Mueller, Michiel van Eijck, and Jennifer Adams, 129-136. New York: Springer, 2010. Warnick, Bryan, Bradley Rowe, and Sang Hyun Kim. ―Student Rights, Justice Clarence Thomas, and the Revolutionary Vision of Education.‖ Educational Theory 59, no. 2 (2009):145-165. Rowe, Bradley. ―Animal Rights and Human Growth: Intellectual Courage and Extending the Moral Community.‖ Philosophical Studies in Education 40 (2009): 153-166. Fields of Study Major Field: Education vii Table of Contents Abstract. .ii Acknowledgements. .iv Vita. vi Chapter 1: Food, Consuming Animals, and Language. .1 Introduction. .1 Food and the Consumption of Animals as Educational Encounter. .6 Consumerism, Consumption, and Consuming Animals. 12 The Purposes of My Methodology. 15 Conclusion. .18 Chapter 2: Animal Ethics: A Brief Overview. .19 Introduction. .19 Philosophy and the Moral Status of Animals. 22 Classical and Historical Views. 22 Contemporary Theories of Animal Ethics. 30 Moral Interests and Rights: Peter Singer and Tom Regan. 37 Eco-feminism: A Heart-felt Critique. .46 Pragmatism, Moral Pluralism, and Competing Goods. 49 Conclusion. .56 viii Chapter 3: Animal Ethics and Human Growth: On the Habit of Consuming Animals. 58 Introduction. 58 Why Animals—and Why Meat? . .59 Animal Ethics for Human Growth . 65 John Dewey and Growth. 66 Meat Eating as Habit and Catalyst for Growth. 70 A Case of Animals Ethics and Growth. 79 Conclusion. .85 Chapter 4: The Cultural Hegemony of Meat as Cultural Miseducation. 89 Introduction. 89 The Problem of Generations, Cultural Liabilities, and the Cultural Hegemony of Meat. 92 Liability #1: The Industrial Meat Eater. .94 Liability #2: Language and the ‗Absent Referent‘. 100 Liability #3: Objectification and Consumption of Women‘s and Animals‘ Bodies. .105 Conclusion. .112 Chapter 5: Animals-Becoming-Meat: From Living Animal to Dead Commodity. 114 Introduction. 114 School Lunch and a Comprehensive View of School Commercialism. .117 Education Down on the Farm. 123 Stories behind Meat: Humans, Animals, and the Land. .130 The Stickers: Or, Those Who Kill the Animals we Eat. .135 Chickens: Or, Wings and Eggs. 139 ix Pigs: Or, Bacon and Pork Chops. 142 The Land and Resources. 145 Proponents and Defenses of Factory Farming. .148 Conclusion. .157 Chapter 6: A Disturbing Conclusion: Seeing the Unseen, Education the Taboo. 160 Introduction. .160 The Role of the Visual in Consumer Culture. 161 Education and Visual Representations of Animals-Becoming-Meat. 163 What Will Parents Say? A Case for Autonomy. .172 Conclusion. .182 Bibliography. .186 x Chapter 1 Food, Consuming Animals, and Language Introduction In highly consumerist societies, eating animals has become one of the most atrocious of all human-nonhuman relationships.