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The first exploration of vegan Irish epistemology, one that can be traced along its history of animism, agrarianism, ascendency, adaptation, and activism.
Irish vegan studies are poised for increasing relevance as climate change threatens the legitimacy and longevity of animal agriculture and widespread health problems related to animal product consumption disrupt long held nutritional ideologies. Already a top producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, Ireland has committed to expanding animal agriculture despite impending crisis. The nexus of climate change, public health, and animal welfare present a challenge to the hegemony of the Irish state and neoliberal European governance. Efforts to resist animal rights and environmentalism highlight the struggle to sustain economic structures of inequality in a society caught between a colonialist past and a globalized future. Animals in Irish Society explores the vegan Irish epistemology, one that can be traced along its history of animism, agrarianism, ascendency, adaptation, and activism. From its zoomorphic pagan roots to its legacy of vegetarianism, Ireland has been more receptive to the interests of other animals than is currently acknowledged. More than a land of "meat" and potatoes, Ireland is a relevant, if overlooked, contributor to Western vegan thought.
"This book is an ambitious piece of scholarship at the intersection of Irish studies and critical animal studies. It takes the reader on a unique historical and sociological journey exploring the complex and often contradictory relationships between Ireland's human animal and nonhuman habitants. This text will be of interest not just to sociologists but also to activists and academics with an interest in Irish studies, animal ethics, and/or animal studies." — Journal of Animal Ethics
"This is a very good read, one that will interest not only animal activists but also historians, sociologists, critical legal scholars, and others." — CHOICE
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Timeline of Anti-speciesism Efforts in Ireland
Introduction
1. Celticism, Christianity, and Animism in Gaelic Ireland
2. Human and Nonhuman Relationships under British Colonization
3. Activism for Other Animals in Ireland, Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
4. Modern Activism for Other Animals in Ireland
5. Nonhuman Animal Welfare and Irish Food Sovereignty
Conclusion: Human-Nonhuman Relationships in the Global Era
Notes
Works Cited
Index