About

About CAAN

CAAN is a charitable organization dedicated to raising awareness of and transforming carnism, the invisible belief system that conditions people to eat certain animals.

The animal agriculture industry is responsible for the unnecessary slaughter of 65 billion animals worldwide per year, making it the most exploitative and violent industry on the planet. However, the vast majority of consumers of animal products are unaware that they are contributing to such animal cruelty—or that eating animals is a choice, rather than a given, in much of the world today. Humane people unintentionally enable animal agriculture because carnism, the dominant social system which runs counter to core human values, is structured to distort our perceptions and block our awareness when it comes to eating animals, so that we act against our own interests and the interests of others without realizing what we are doing.

At CAAN, we believe that people need and deserve to know the truth about carnism, so they can make their food choices freely—because without awareness, there is no free choice. We also believe that, because contemporary animal agriculture is enabled by an oppressive ideology, eating animals is a social justice issue. CAAN seeks to empower concerned citizens and vegan advocates through education and activism, to help create a more just world for all beings, humans and nonhumans alike.

CAAN is the first and only organization to focus exclusively on carnism, making it a pioneering and landmark institution.

Mission

CAAN’s mission is to expose and transform carnism, the invisible belief system that conditions people to eat certain animals. Central to CAAN’s mission is raising awareness about the fact that contemporary animal agriculture is enabled by an oppressive ideology, and that eating animals is therefore a social justice issue. CAAN empowers concerned citizens and vegan advocates through education and activism.

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Accordingly, CAAN espouses the following beliefs and principles:

The production and consumption of animal products is the leading cause of animal exploitation and environmental degradation and a major contributor to human disease, human rights violations, and unjust taxation via animal agriculture subsidies. We therefore believe that carnism poses a direct threat to both animal and public welfare and must be addressed with urgency.
We believe that most people care about animals and do not want to cause them unnecessary harm. Therefore, when people eat animals they act against their own interests, as they must violate their core values.
Because it is impossible to objectively discuss the issue of eating animals as long as we are operating from within the system—unaware of the structure and effects of carnism—we believe that it is necessary to expose carnism in order to have a valid public dialogue about the legitimacy of animal agriculture.
Because carnism is organized around violence and deception, we believe that transforming the system is essential for creating a just, sustainable, and democratic society.
Carnism is a system of victimization that exploits non-vegans and vegans alike, and pits us against one another. We believe that non-vegans and vegans must unite in order to transform the system.
We recognize that many people, such as those who are economically disadvantaged or geographically dependent on eating animals, do not have the luxury of reflecting on their food choices.
We acknowledge that carnism is one of many systems of interlocking oppressions and that social transformation requires a broad social analysis.
We are committed to nonviolence in action and attitude. CAAN does not endorse physical violence or degrading language.
We believe that the time is ripe to challenge carnism and that with enough public support we can, and will, transform the system.

Who We Are

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Dr. Melanie Joy

Founder and President

Melanie Joy, Ph.D., Ed.M. is the founder and president of CAAN. Dr. Joy is a Harvard-educated psychologist, professor of psychology and sociology at the University of Massachusetts, ...

Michelle Garbato

Executive Director

Michelle Garbato, M.A., is the executive director of CAAN. She is an industrial/organizational psychologist and has conducted a variety of studies on psychology, healthful living, animal p...

Jessi VanPelt

Presentations Coordinator

Jessi VanPelt is the presentation coordinator for CAAN. She works as a graphic designer and is also studying organizational communication at Rollins College in Orange County, Florida. Jes...

Jennifer Greene

Task Force Coordinator

Jennifer Greene is the task force coordinator for CAAN. Jennifer has worked for the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food, served on the board of the Unitarian Universa...

Jeff Mannes

CAAN Europe Coordinator

Jeff Mannes is the coordinator of CAAN Euorope. Jeff studies studies sociology, education, and gender at the University of Trier in Germany, and his focus is on the intersection of...

Mary Harris

Director of Social Media

Mary Harris, M.A., C.H.C., is the social media coordinator for CAAN. She is a professor of public relations and communication at Monmouth University in New Jersey and is c...

Abigail Mahnke

Administrative Assistant

Abigail Mahnke serves as CAAN’s administrative assistant. She is a graduate of Columbia University and is the owner of The Outsource Resource, a staffing agency providing administrative an...

Rob Silva

Webmaster

Rob Silva is CAAN’s webmaster. He is also the co-founder and president of Vectra Creative, a cutting-edge website design and development compan...

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