October 2017: European Association for Critical Animal Studies (EACAS) conference held at Lund University, Sweden.
Despite the name, as well as attracting European scholars, this event was attended by academics, activists, and artists from around the world. Indeed, in their opening speech the organisers pointed out that the event was almost double the expected size, with over 120 people from 19 countries and 5 continents having registered. The formal title for the event provides a clear sense of its aim and focus: Non-human Animals in Society: Exploring New Pathways for Resistance, Change and Accommodation. In line with this sentiment, the conference contained three days of papers which not only offered analyses of ethical issues relating to animal agriculture, food activism, and media representation of animals (and animal rights issues), but also explored a diverse range of ways in which to respond to these problems.
Veganism played a key role throughout the conference, as the focus of both academic debate and lunchtime discussion (with delegates lucky to receive a vegan breakfast, lunch, and plenty of snacks!). On a personal level, hearing about the difficulties faced by colleagues in other European contexts made me aware of how things have changed in the UK in recent years, and how important it is to offer support to colleagues working in different contexts. Kadri Aavik, a member of the Estonian Vegan Society, for instance, outlined the moral panic that had emerged surrounding veganism – and vegan children in particular – in the Estonian media over the past few years. Some of the misleading claims made by these newspapers were, quite frankly, terrifying and enough to put anyone off vegetarianism, let alone veganism. These findings highlight the work that needs to be done to overcome negative representations of veganism, and show solidarity to colleagues working in contexts where this is a particular problem. Thankfully, a more positive narrative was evident in Sari Irni’s analysis of survey results from those who had attempted Veganuary in Finland. Irni’s paper made an important theoretical intervention, in weaving together research (such as Richard Twine’s work) that has argued for the need to offer a community of emotional support for those transitioning to veganism, in relation to the opportunities and tensions posed by the popularisation of veganism (and vegan junk food!).
I also presented my own research, the first stage of a collaborative project with Tobias Linné (one of the conference organisers), which contrasts ‘greenwashing’ campaigns by marketers, with attempts by activists to contest this greenwash. Linné’s previous work has looked in depth at the strategies used by dairy companies in Sweden to portray milk production in line with particular, nationalistic, rural ideals. We contrasted this with my exploration of tactics developed by UK-based activists to combat similar greenwashing campaigns in the UK, including a series of food giveaways that I facilitated during my PhD with members of Veggies Catering Campaign and Nottingham Animal Rights (which The Vegan Society granted us a bursary to support).
Other research pointed to the importance of sensitively thinking through relationships between human and animal labour. Vegan Society Research Advisory Committee (RAC) member Abi Masefield’s paper was a particularly excellent example of this, offering a complex analysis of food poverty that avoided simplistic assertions about veganism’s capacity to overcome problems of hunger. As she points out, having enough food isn’t always the problem, and more attention needs to be paid to how this food is distributed. A deeper engagement with vegan ethics, however, could draw attention to the way that particular forms of food production and distribution are damaging to both humans and animals.
This theme of thinking through the relationships between humans and animals was extended and advanced by RAC members Erika Cudworth and Matthew Cole’s work. Their keynote talk set out their forthcoming book project, which will explore the potential to ‘animalise’ Sociology. Focusing on key social theorists, the book will turn to ‘classic’ social theorists and examine how their work already addresses issues related to animals, as well as how these thinkers can be used to re-think present-day relationships between humans and animals. In addition to sounding like a really lovely project, on the evidence of the keynote it should also be a very useful one for anyone interested in the sociological importance of animals.
Overall, the conference was an incredibly lively and intellectually engaging three days. It was hosted by the Lund University Critical Animal Studies Network, who have been a pioneering force in supporting the consolidation of critical animal studies as an academic discipline in Europe. Academics at Lund, for instance, were one of the first institutions to run an entire module focused on Critical Animal Studies, which not only attracts students internally but is open to those from other institutions (which makes me wish UK academia had more flexibility for students to take specialised modules at other institutions!). I’ve been lucky to teach a session on the module in 2016 and 2017, and was delighted to hear that the group were hosting EACAS, so would like to say a big thank you to the organisers, both for putting on the event and for their important contribution to animal studies more broadly.
For more information go to EACAS website.
Conference review by RAC member, Dr Eva Giraud.
The views expressed by our Research News contributors are not necessarily the views of The Vegan Society.
The views expressed by our Research News contributors are not necessarily the views of The Vegan Society.
