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Abstract
The system of oppression embedded in the industrial production and consumption of animal products is a social problem. The animal-industrial complex is a significant part of the food system, with numerous consequences for people?especially marginalized groups?along with animals and the environment. Knowing there is more to addressing this social problem than simply encouraging individuals to avoid the consumption of animal products, I explore vegan discourse for how it addresses and frames oppression, specific to the food system and more broadly. My overall research question asks, how do vegan discourses that address oppression frame the consequences, causes and potential cures for social injustice embedded in industrial meat production and consumption? To establish my research problem, I use conceptual frameworks of veganism, ideology, culture, discourse theory, and violence. My conceptual framework of violence becomes an analytical framework to interpret my results and answer my research questions. I discover that vegan discourse makes connections between animal oppression and different forms of human oppression, meaning that racism, ableism, sexism, and other isms are based in ideologies that justify the oppression of both humans and animals. Therefore, the oppression of animals is relevant to all social justice movements.