Melanie Joy (born 1966) is an American social psychologist and author. She is best known for her work on the psychology of eating meat and other animal products. The question underlining her work is the paradox of people showing affection towards some animals but eating others. The term speciesism is the belief that members of one species are morally more important than members of other species. The term was introduced by English philosopher Richard Ryder.

Group Activity

These activities are great starting points for discussions and classes. You can use them all or choose one option.

1. Give each person the same incomplete quote.
   • Ask group members to think about what word is missing from the quote. They could also use their imagination to come up with funny or nonsensical words that makes the completed quote strange or humorous.
   • When all group members have discussed their words, reveal what the correct word is.
   • Ask group members if they agree with the statement in the quote.
2. Divide the group into several teams and give each team the same incomplete quote.
   • Each team should discuss and agree on what they believe the missing word is.
   • Then, each team should present their complete quote, and if the teams have different versions, each team should explain their reasoning and defend their choice of words.
   • After the debate, reveal what the correct word is.
   • Ask group members if they agree with the statement in the quote.
3. Ask the group: Read the Wordbook definition for “Speciesism“. What do you think about it?
4. Ask the group: Humans domesticated many animals over the course of history. Why did certain animals become pets while others are used for their meat and muscle power?
5. Use this Knowledge Nugget to facilitate further discussion on human-animal relationship.
6. Assign each person a different quote from the list on Quote Quest.
   • Ask group members to think about what word is missing from their quote. They could also use their imagination to come up with a funny or nonsensical word that makes the completed quote strange or humorous.
   • Ask each person to read the quote with their choice of word.
   • Give each person the complete quote with the correct word and ask them to read it again and say whether they agree with the statement in the quote.
7. Ask group members if they can think of a current event or an event from their own lives that corresponds with the quote. You could also ask them if the quote relates to a tv show, movie, game or book that they know.
8. Ask group members to make up their own quote or saying. If they had one message to convey to the world, what would it be?