According to a Munchies Vice article, a series of studies by the University of Oslo found that “people are more willing to eat meat when it’s processed and presented in a way that distances the product from its animal origins.
The studies published in the journal Appetite included researchers showing participants a whole chicken, drumsticks, and chopped chicken filets and asking them how much empathy they felt for the animals. They also showed them two roasted pigs, one with a head and one without. Unsurprisingly, the participants reported feeling less empathy for the chopped chicken and headless pork.
According to Jonas R. Kunst, one of the study’s authors:
The presentation of meat by the industry influences our willingness to eat it. Highly processed meat makes it easier to distance oneself from the idea that it comes from an animal.
This is exactly why people prefer words like “pork or “beef, which further disassociate meat from the animal it came from. It’s also why meat industry packaging doesn’t show any animals. The industry wants to separate consumers from the products they buy and where they came from.
A lot of people don’t want to be reminded that an animal suffered and was killed for the food on their plates. Factory farms are terrible, filthy, miserable places. Animals raised on them suffer immensely, subjected to neglect, extreme confinement, and horrific abuse.
Thankfully, you can help reduce the number of animals who suffer by choosing a compassionate vegan diet. Click here to order your FREE Vegetarian Starter Guide today.