‘ What’s Left for the Animals? ’
That is the question a group of academics and artists will ponder over at an upcoming debate at the City University of New York on commercial pet farming.
The researchers argue the problem is it ’s often criticized in left-leaning political discussions— but should be.
“Industrial dog agriculture is one of the most destructive fields of business and a key driver of climate change, deforestation, forced migration, climate violence, loss of biodiversity, and violence against another animals, ” its website description states.
“Despite this, serious critique of industrial animal agriculture and the role of nonhuman animals in capitalist economy remains marginal in left political discourse. ”
The panel discussion will center “on animal liberation and multispecies politics in the framework of anticapitalist resistance, ” it adds.
“Questions that emerge in this discussion include: why animals matter for left politics? Are nonhuman animals part of the working class? Is socialism good for other animals? How do we build a multispecies left politics? ”
One scholar who flagged the event for College Fix editors quipped: “You can seek comments from German Shepherds, whom I believe Gallup polls show lean conservative. ”
Panelists at the event, slated for April 29 and hosted by the CUNY Humanities Graduate Center, will include Terike Haapoja, a “Berlin-based visual artist ” concerned with “recognizing animal labor as a central arena of capitalist exploitation is necessary for anticapitalist struggle, ” according to her online bio.
City University of New York Professor Ashley Dawson will also participate. He teaches on “postcolonial ecocriticism and environmental humanities, ” his bio states.
The topic for the upcoming event is nothing new within academic circles. For decades, progressive professors have pushed to consider animals equal to humans.
More recently, The College Fix reported on how professors in Europe and the United States are recommending governments create a tax on meat to address what they describe as “critical” environmental problems.
Some scholars have taken it even further than that, arguing non-living entities such as trees, rocks, and nature itself, should have rights.
MORE: Are elephants ‘queer’? Feminist scholars say science is too ‘hetero’ and ‘feto-centric’
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A flier for an upcoming academic discussion at the CUNY Graduate Center / CUNY Center for the Humanities
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