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The Animals We Eat: Between Attention and Ironic Detachment
- Journal of Animal Ethics
- University of Illinois Press
- Volume 12, Number 1, Spring 2022
- pp. 32-50
- Article
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Abstract:
This article engages with two fundamental attitudes toward animals who are used for human consumption: attention and ironic detachment. Taken as polarities linked with animal consumption and the refusal thereof, I discuss how these two attitudes are shaped and manifested during moments of encounter with the animals in question. Starting from a striking photograph from the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in China, I explore the embodiment of these attitudes in the "gaze" of human participants during the encounter with animals who are going to be killed for food.