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An Inquiry Into Animal Rights Vegan Activists' Perception and Practice Of An Inquiry into Animal Rights Vegan Activists’ Perception and Practice of Persuasion by Angela Gunther B.A., Simon Fraser University, 2006 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the School of Communication © Angela Gunther 2012 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2012 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for “Fair Dealing.” Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Angela Gunther Degree: Master of Arts Title of Thesis: An Inquiry into Animal Rights Vegan Activists’ Perception and Practice of Persuasion Examining Committee: Chair: Kathi Cross Gary McCarron Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Robert Anderson Supervisor Professor Michael Kenny External Examiner Professor, Anthropology SFU Date Defended/Approved: June 28, 2012 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Abstract This thesis interrogates the persuasive practices of Animal Rights Vegan Activists (ARVAs) in order to determine why and how ARVAs fail to convince people to become and stay veg*n, and what they might do to succeed. While ARVAs and ARVAism are the focus of this inquiry, the approaches, concepts and theories used are broadly applicable and therefore this investigation is potentially useful for any activist or group of activists wishing to interrogate and improve their persuasive practices. Keywords: Persuasion; Communication for Social Change; Animal Rights; Veg*nism; Activism iv Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................. ii Partial Copyright Licence .................................................................................................. iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... v List of Tables and Figures ................................................................................................ vii List of Acronyms or Glossary ........................................................................................... vii Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1. There’s No Such Thing as Empty Rhetoric: The Enthymeme as Embodiment of Worldview ................................................................ 8 Unsubstantiated Assumptions: ARVAs’ Take on Human Nature, Persuasion, and Social Change ........................................................................................................ 17 Chapter 2. Unpacking the Enthymemes .................................................................... 25 Premise 1 ............................................................................................................... 25 Premise 2 ............................................................................................................... 36 Premise 3 ............................................................................................................... 46 Premise 4 ............................................................................................................... 58 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 66 Chapter 3. Effective Communication: Obstacles and Opportunities .................. 68 Coming to Terms with Persuasion .................................................................................. 69 What do ARVAs Hope to Succeed At? ........................................................................... 71 Distinguishing ARAs from ARVAs ................................................................................... 73 The Role of Motive .......................................................................................................... 74 Goals and Sub-Goals ...................................................................................................... 76 How is Success Measured? ............................................................................................ 78 ARVA Is As ARVA Does ................................................................................................. 80 The Way It Is: ARVA Communication Practices and Failures ........................................ 81 Leafleting and Outreach ......................................................................................... 82 Mainstream Media ................................................................................................. 88 Promoting Veg*nism in a Promotional Culture ....................................................... 89 Distinguishing Disruptive Image Events from Spectacles ...................................... 90 Lack of Consubstantiality, Stereotypes, and Rhetor Fatigue ................................. 92 How ARVAs Incur Rhetor Fatigue ......................................................................... 97 An ARVA View of Social Change ........................................................................... 99 Chapter 4. Two Case Studies ................................................................................. 104 Holocaust on Your Plate (HoYP) .................................................................................. 105 Being Right or Getting it Right? ........................................................................... 108 v Authorship and Authority ...................................................................................... 111 Representing the Rhetorically Viable Other: Heroes not Villains, Hope not Despair ........................................................................................................ 114 Leafleting on Campus ................................................................................................... 120 Future Ex-Veg*ns ................................................................................................. 122 What is it About a College Environment That Promotes and Sustains the Practice of Veg*nism? ................................................................................. 124 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 130 References .................................................................................................................... 133 vi List of Tables and Figures Table 1. What Should the Animal Rights Movement Focus on Most? ........................ 73 Figure 2. Peta’s Comparison of the Nazi Holocaust to the Slaughter of Animals for Food ....................................................................................................... 106 List of Acronyms or Glossary AR – Animal Rights ARA – Animal Rights Activist ARV – Animal Rights Veg*n ARVA – Animal Rights Veg*n Activist CAFO – Concentrated Animal Feedlot Operation CLOW – College Leafleting Outreach Work CoP – Community of Practice DM – Diffusion Model HoYP – Holocaust on Your Plate IFAF – Industrial Food Animal Facility PET – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Veg*n – Vegetarian and/or Vegan vii Introduction People, including those of import and status, have publicly advocated for the consideration of the ‘rights’ and welfare of non-human animals since the time of Pythagoras. Yet it is only in recent decades, following the publication of Peter Singer’s (1975) Animal Liberation, that an explosion of animal advocacy communication has occurred. Concomitantly, the topic of animal advocacy communication has become more salient in society and among social scientists. Since the early 1990s the study and analysis of the social and cultural impact of animal advocacy communication— particularly in the context of promoting vegetarianism and veganism (hereafter referred to collectively as veg*nism)—has been steadily and increasingly appearing in academic journals and movement literature. Yet, despite increasing attention, awareness, and movement support (as evidenced by considerable growth in both the membership and operating budgets of animal rights based veg*n advocacy groups such as Vegan Outreach and Mercy For Animals) the percentage of North Americans who are practicing veg*ns remains largely unchanged at 2-3%, and per capita consumption of animal products is increasing domestically and globally. This raises questions about the efficacy of animal advocates’ current communication efforts, and the willingness and/or ability of their audiences to actually implement dietary changes in response to these communications.1 This thesis looks at the rhetorical practices of a group of animal advocates— Animal Rights Vegan Activists (hereafter referred to as ARVAs)—for the purposes of 1There are, of course, myriad additional, oftentimes countervailing forces at play that must also be taken into account: while animal advocates’ efforts have dramatically increased, so too have the efforts of the producers of animal products. The challenges this presents are discussed throughout the paper. 1 determining why and how ARVAs fail to communicate effectively (i.e., persuasively), and
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