How what Americans eat became shorthand for who they are, and how that plays out in politics
How what Americans eat became shorthand for who they are, and how that plays out in politics
Historically, Western norms during the 19th and 20th centuries held that to not eat meat is odd at best, and suspicious at worst. The ‘meatless’ have long been framed as social and political threats, levied in discussions of whether they should be politically elevated or subordinated. Dietary preference also links to key political demographics. For example, political scientists have explored whether the concept of a Republican vegan is an oxymoron due to the deep entrenchment of meat-eating and meat production in primarily conservative regions. S. MAREK MULLER: Communication scholarship shows that metaphors, when a word or phrase denoting one object or […]
‘Super Nature’: New documentary captures nature in fresh way with vintage cameras
‘Super Nature’: New documentary captures nature in fresh way with vintage cameras
A global love letter to nature, the documentary ‘Super Nature’ is an immersive exploration of our world today. Shot by people all over the world, the universal and the local combine in this intimate gaze on nature, with a transcendent score and sound design, and voices in many tongue. Embracing all we have, and all we have to lose, it proposes a new way of seeing, as it takes us on a spellbinding journey of discovery and togetherness with our fellow dwellers on earth, both human and non-human. MATTHEW CAREY: ‘Super Nature’, a new documentary about the natural world directed by […]
Every Individual Matters: Wildlife conservation body just widened the circle of what it protects
Every Individual Matters: Wildlife conservation body just widened the circle of what it protects
Compassionate conservation developed from the refusal to accept the presumed conflict between protecting individual animals and protecting populations or ecosystems as inevitable. It didn’t dismiss extinction, it asked, instead, whether conservation had accepted harm too quickly, and whether populations and ecosystems could be protected without treating the individuals within them as disposable. Individuals matter. Remove them, and a population may remain numerically present but lacking in behavioral diversity, cultural knowledge and the capacity to adapt. The loss of the individual and the weakening of the whole go hand in hand. GOSIA BRYJA: For a long time, conservation and animal welfare were […]
