The Diverse Carnism of Fur Farming Discourses in Finland
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Lotte Suveri “PLANTS ARE LIVING TOO” THE DIVERSE CARNISM OF FUR FARMING DISCOURSES IN FINLAND - Values and Institutions. Master's thesis of Geography Keywords: Fur Farming, Carnism, Speciesism, Values, Institutions, Discourses Turku 2016 The originality of this thesis has been checked in accordance with the University of Turku quality assurance system using the Turnitin OriginalityCheck service. Turun yliopiston laatujärjestelmän mukaisesti tämän julkaisun alkuperäisyys on tarkastettu Turnitin OriginalityCheck – järjestelmällä. 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF TURKU Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science Department of Geography and Geology SUVERI, LOTTE: ”Plants are living too” The Diverse Carnism of Fur Farming Discourses in Finland – Values and Institutions Master’s thesis, 84 p., 9 reference p. 40 credits Geography September 2016 Various elements shape and sustain values related to animals in the society. Speciesism defines the value of animals depending on their use for human purposes and creates a base for carnistic culture that justifies the commodification of animals. There are various basic human values that interrelate with the justifying mechanisms of carnistic behaviour and create a base for institutions supporting carnistic values. This research paper examines fur farming in Finland as a phenomenon constructed by different values. The main discourses related to fur farming are identified through interviews conducted by Q-methodology on a national and regional level. The discourses were interpreted by combining the theory of basic human values (Schwartz 1992) with the theory of carnism (Joy 2010). In national discourse actors emphasized the ethical aspects of fur production and concluded that fur farming should be prohibited with a period of transition. Regional discourse was supportive of fur farming, pointing out the economic importance, tradition and trust in the certification guaranteeing animal welfare. A third discourse consisted of conciliatory aspects such as seeking of alternative solutions for fur farming. Carnistic elements were found in all discourses. Regional discourse consisted mainly of anxiety-avoiding values supporting carnism, whereas national discourse highlighted anxiety-free values helpful in deconstructing the carnistic schema. All discourses consisted of motivationally opposing values which supported contradictory ways of thinking about animals that were reasoned through personal consumption of animal products. Institutions supporting and creating values related to fur farming such as education, legislation and certification were also identified in these discourses. Keywords: Fur Farming, Carnism, Speciesism, Values, Institutions, Discourse 3 TURUN YLIOPISTO Matemaattis-luonnontieteellinen tiedekunta Maantieteen ja geologian laitos SUVERI, LOTTE: ”Kasvitkin ovat eläviä” Moniulotteinen Karnismi Turkistarhaus Diskursseissa Suomessa. Arvot ja Instituutiot. Pro gradu -tutkielma, 84 s., 9 liites. 40 op Maantiede Syyskuu 2016 Lukuisat seikat muokkaavat ja ylläpitävät eläimiin liitettäviä arvoja yhteiskunnassa. Spesismi määrittelee eläinten arvon ihmisten niille luoman käyttötarkoituksen mukaan perustuen karnistiselle kulttuurille, joka oikeuttaa eläinten tuotteistamisen. Useat perustavanlaatuiset arvot ovat yhteydessä karnistista käytöstä oikeuttaviin mekanismeihin, jotka luovat pohjan karnistisia arvoja tukeville instituutioille. Tämä tutkimus tarkastelee turkistarhausta Suomessa erilaisten arvojen rakentamana ilmiönä. Päädiskurssit turkistarhauskeskustelusta on eritelty kansallisella ja alueellisella tasolla tehdyistä haastatteluista käyttäen Q-metodologiaa. Diskurssit on tulkittu yhdistämällä teoria ihmisten perusarvoista (Schwartz 1992) karnismiin (Joy 2010). Kansallinen diskurssi painotti eettistä näkökulmaa ja turkistuotannon lopettamista siirtymäajan puitteissa. Alueellinen diskurssi tuki turkistarhausta ja korosti sen taloudellista merkitystä sekä tuotannon perinteisyyttä. Lisäksi sertifioinnin nähtiin takaavan eläinten hyvinvointi tarhoilla. Kolmas diskurssi etsi vaihtoehtoisia tapoja jatkaa turkistuotantoa. Karnistiset elementit olivat läsnä kaikissa diskursseissa. Alueellinen diskurssi koostui pääosin karnismia tukevista arvoista, joiden avulla eläinten tuotteistamisen ristiriitaisuuden aiheuttamaa ahdistusta pyrittiin välttelemään. Kansallinen diskurssi taas painotti arvoja, jotka auttavat yksilöä purkamaan karnistista maailmakuvaa. Kaikista diskursseista löytyi ristiriitaisia eläinkäsityksiä tukevia vastakkaisia arvoja, joita perusteltiin henkilökohtaisilla eläintuotteiden kulutustottumuksilla. Myös turkistarhaukseen liitettäviä arvoja tukevat ja ylläpitävät instituutiot kuten koulutus, lainsäädäntö ja sertifiointi olivat löydettävissä diskursseista. Asiasanat: Turkistarhaus, Karnismi, Spesismi, Arvot, Instituutiot, Diskurssit 4 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 6 2. Fur farming in Finland .......................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Institutional regulations and recommendations on fur farming .................................................... 11 3. Commodified animals shaping values and discourses in society ......................................................... 15 3.1 Discourses and values (in society) ................................................................................................ 16 3.2 Basic human values ...................................................................................................................... 19 3.3 Institutions creating and sustaining values related to animals ...................................................... 21 3.4 Speciesism and animal imagery .................................................................................................... 28 3.5 Carnism – the ideology behind animal consumption?................................................................... 31 3.6 The psychology of consuming animals.......................................................................................... 33 3.7 Carnistic values ............................................................................................................................ 35 3.8 Carnism and views on animal ethics ............................................................................................. 37 4. Materials, methods and research ethics............................................................................................. 42 4.1 Q-methodology ............................................................................................................................ 43 4.2 Ethics: Reflexivity in research ....................................................................................................... 53 5. Fur discourses in Finland .................................................................................................................... 58 5.1 Economic regional discourse ........................................................................................................ 60 5.2 Ethical national discourse ............................................................................................................ 63 5.3 Conciliatory Discourse .................................................................................................................. 68 5.4 Values and carnism ...................................................................................................................... 70 5.5 Carnistic institutions .................................................................................................................... 81 6. Discussion.......................................................................................................................................... 84 7. Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................. 86 8. References ........................................................................................................................................ 87 Appendix. 1. Statements for Q-sorts .................................................................................................. 98 Appendix 2. Participants in Q-Methodology ..................................................................................... 100 Appendix 3. The document selection for Q-Methodology ................................................................ 101 5 1. Introduction Animal production has become more and more of an issue in Western countries as the public concern for societal, ethical and environmental aspects of factory farming practices has increased. This can be seen in Finland in the polarization of public debate about fur farming, where different values related to animal production are being emphasized. These values are based on various mechanisms that construct how animals are understood in human societies. There is very little or none research on the relation of carnism and basic human values, as well as the values related to animal production. This thesis answers these shortcomings. Carnism is an ideology that justifies the commodification of animals (Joy 2010). Common values towards animals are based on speciesism (Singer 1975) where animals are valued according to their use for human purposes. Speciesism is producing and maintaining carnistic culture and it can be used