As consumers become increasingly aware of the animal agriculture industry’s cruelty and environmental devastation, clever industry marketers are adapting with alternative “humane” and “sustainable” labeling and marketing campaigns. In the absence of accurate information, it has never been more important to educate people on the realities behind the industry lies, and people are hungry for the truth.
The Humane Hoax features a range of engaging and thought-provoking essays from eighteen notable experts who are at the forefront of this marketing and societal shift, chronicling every aspect with in-depth analyses and intellectual rigor. Among other timely topics, we will explore how the humane hoax intersects with feminism, environmentalism, how it is represented in the media, and the affects it has on human and non-human communities alike. The Humane Hoax will leave the reader questioning everything that they have been conditioned to believe as consumers.
Essays include:
“A Pig Called Silver” by Ingrid L. Taylor
“The Terrible Truths of Backyard Chicken Farming” by Alastor Van Kleeck, Ph.D.
“Murder, She Wrote: Legitimating the Meat Economy with ‘Femivorism’” by John Sanbonmastu, Ph.D.
“One Bad Day” by Carol J. Adams, M.Div.
“Reinforcing Rationalizations and a Rooster” by Hope Bohanec
“Greenwashing a Bloody Business: The Planet Can’t Survive ‘Sustainable’ Animal Farming” by Lorelei Plotczyk, M.B.A.
“Grazing vs. the Planet: The Failed Attempt to Greenwash Animal Farming” by Nicholas Carter, M.A.
“New and Improved?: Deconstructing the Narrative of So-Called Better Meat” by Robert Grillo
“A Fox Guarding the Henhouse: Can Animal Agriculture Reform Itself?” by Matthew Chalmers
“The Ethical Vegetarian Myth“ by Sailesh Rao & Lisa Barca, Ph.D.
“Corrupting the Language of Animal Welfare” by Devatha P. Nair, Ph. D.
“Kindred Spirits of Commodified Objects?: Disconnection and Perception in the Humane Hoax“ by Dr. Joanne Kong
“‘Humane Eggs’ and ‘Happy Wings’: A Look Behind the Labels“ by Karen Davis, Ph.D.
“Humane Myths and Media: The Reproduction of Speciesism in Mainstream U.S. News“ by Lisa Barca, Ph.D.
“Modern Foodie Culture: A Celebration of Violence“ by Robert C. Jones, Ph.D.
“Honor Killing: Spirituality Bypass and False Faith in Do-It-Yourself Slaughter“ by Cogen Bohanec, Ph.D.
“Using the Deeper Dimensions of Jain Ahiṃsā to Shed Light on Dairy’s Humane Hoax“ by Christopher Jain Miller, Ph.D.
“Amidst the marketing claims of ‘happy’ and ‘humane,’ this anthology provides the truth that sets free consumers who want to live ethically and eat honestly. Concurrently, it seeks to set free those animals trapped in the agricultural system, of which ‘small,’ ‘family’ and ‘organic’ farms are all a part”—Victoria Moran, author of Main Street Vegan and host of The Victoria Moran Podcast
“We live in an era of a catastrophic and rapid ecological genocide, and concurrently increasing human poverty and exploitation. We live in an era of massive exploitation and suffering of animals on a scale beyond imagining. These calamities are intertwined. Biophysically, we cannot resolve the ecological crisis or achieve global food security without transitioning towards plant foods. Mentally, we cannot relinquish our tendency to rationalize our exploitation of humans, animals or the environment without a universal and encompassing empathy. Never before has the confluence of science, rationality, ethics and compassion been more important. As such I hope this anthology reaches far and wide.” —Dr. Tushar Mehta, creator of PlantBasedData.org
“The Humane Hoax shines an important and necessary bright light on the many myths and marketing lies surrounding animal agriculture. Violence, exploitation, commodification, and killing sentient beings to satisfy our desires can never be made ethical by adding the word ‘humane’ to it. Humane animal farming is, and always will be, an oxymoron.”—Charles Horn, Ph.D., author of Meat Logic: Why Do We Eat Animals?
“Animal advocacy is working—more dairy, egg, and meat producers tout ‘humanely raised’ or ‘carbon-friendly’ than ever before. Yet The Humane Hoax reveals that these glitzy, hollow labels hide the real and significant harms that animal agriculture continues to wreak. This anthology is a necessary, complete rejoinder to the recent locavore, femivore, and meat apologist movements. The Humane Hoax’s highly-educated authors show us in entertaining, diverse ways—supported with thorough research and approachable explanation—that a path to a better world cannot include animal agriculture.”—Karthik Sekar, author of After Meat
“Hope Bohanec, and her brilliant team of essayists, expose the meat industry’s cynical greenwashing and mislabeling for what it is: Orwellian double-speak. Read this book, learn the truth, and take the power back with your food choices.”—Jane Velez-Mitchell, TV Journalist, NYTimes bestselling author, UnchainedTV founder
“This book expresses a fiercely compassionate worldview. It refuses to shy away from suffering—and inspires us to do something. Often, food labels and ads mislead consumers and don’t tell the whole truth. The Humane Hoax will open your mind.”—Alene Anello, Legal Impact for Chickens
“This collection of thought-provoking essays from a wide variety of voices exposes a truth that the animal agriculture industry works hard to conceal. The Humane Hoax is a wake-up call to every consumer who believes that labels such as ‘cage-free,’ ‘pasture-raised,’ or ‘responsibly sourced’ are anything but a marketing ploy.”—Mark Hawthorne, author of Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal Suffering
“Consumers want to believe that the animals they eat are well-treated. However, humane labels and regulation bring comfort only to consumers, while the animals remain just as—if not more—exploited. This anthology helps shine a much-needed light on what ‘humane’ concepts actually mean for the beings they are designed to protect. In order to make informed decisions, to look ourselves in the mirror and ask if we are truly living the values we purport to have, we must know the truth. Consumers deserve to know the reality behind the labels. They deserve to know what they are paying others to do to animals in their name. I urge you to read this book and ask yourself: if you personally had to do to animals what humane labels allow, would you?”—Emily Moran Barwick, Activist, Educator, Speaker, and Writer at BiteSizeVegan.org
“As you step into the world of The Humane Hoax, you will be instantly transported into the reality of the cruel and harsh world that innocent farm animals endure second by second until they are violently killed for their meat, dairy and eggs. The so called ‘humane meat’ racket is visually exposed word by word, sentence by sentence in this collection of powerful essays. This book’s immersion into the truth behind the lies and deception of humane labeling will leave you ready to ditch any notion that animals are treated any better on so called ‘humane meat farms.’
The editor of The Humane Hoax, Hope Bohanec, has a depth of compassion for the sentience of all life combined with lifelong knowledge and experience of the issue. The fact that she’s seen and documented first-hand these horrors make her an excellent eye-witness. A staunch advocate for revealing the unbridled truth behind the fabricated labels and lies, I highly recommend her work.”—Renee King-Sonnen, Founder & Executive Director, Rowdy Girl Sanctuary & The Rancher Advocacy Program
“What would the world look like if we were all willing to live a life of empathy based on the truth? Witnessing the truth through this book is so powerful. I want to get a copy into the hands of every human on earth. A perfect eye-opening, heart-opening look at the reality of the myths behind humanewashing labels. A true wake-up call.”—Rae Sikora, Co-founder Institute for Humane Education, Vegfund and Plant Peace Daily
“The Humane Hoax makes clear the depravity of the myth of ‘humanely raised’ animal foods. The claim to being in any way ‘humane’ is simply false; the claim to being more healthful is a lie; the cost to the environment is often even worse than from conventional animal farming; and there is the added insult of duplicity.”—Glen Merzer, author, Food Is Climate and Own Your Health
“Lies poison everything. Humane hype not only injures animals by hiding the harms they suffer but also hurts people by tricking them into betraying their own ethical commitments. Coming at the problem from every angle, the diverse contributors to this essential volume not only expose the lies but also explain why they have been so persuasive. Read this book to make sure you haven’t been hoodwinked and to learn what you need to know to refute the fictions that coax so many people who care about animals into literally buying into cruelty.”—pattrice jones, author of Oxen at the Intersection and founder of VINE Sanctuary
