Critical animal and media studies: Expanding the understanding of oppression in communication research

Critical and communication studies have traditionally neglected the oppression conducted by humans towards other animals. However, our (mis)treatment of other animals is the result of public consent supported by a morally speciesist-anthropocentric system of values. Speciesism or anthroparchy, as much as any other mainstream ideologies, feeds the media and at the same time is perpetuated by them. The goal of this article is to remedy this neglect by introducing the subdiscipline of Critical Animal and Media Studies. Critical Animal and Media Studies takes inspiration both from critical animal studies – which is so far the most consolidated critical field of research in the social sciences addressing our exploitation of other animals – and from the normative-moral stance rooted in the cornerstones of traditional critical media studies. The authors argue that the Critical Animal and Media Studies approach is an unavoidable step forward for critical media and communication studies to engage with the expanded circle of concerns of contemporary ethical thinking

Some food toxic for pets

According to world statistics, dogs and cats are the species that owners most frequently seek assistance with potential poisonings, accounting 95–98% of all reported animal cases. Exposures occur more commonly in the summer and in December that is associated with the holiday season. The majority (>90%) of animal poisonings are accidental and acute in nature and occur near or at the animal owner's home. Feeding human foodstuff to pets may also prove dangerous for their health

Application of xylitol in food formulations and benefits for health

Sugar substitution by any sweetener in the food industry is usually made taking into account the calories of the sweetener, the possibility of using it in diets for weight reduction or control, and the degree of similarity between its flavor and the traditional sugar. Among the existent alternative sweeteners, xylitol has attracted the attention of food manufacturers since it has sweetening power similar to sucrose but with lower caloric value, and can be consumed by diabetics. Nowadays, a variety of products containing xylitol in the formulation can be found in the market. Most of them are especially formulated for people with insulin-deficiency. Another important advantage of xylitol ingestion when compared to the traditional sugar is that it promotes several benefits for human health, acting both on the prevention and/or treatment of diseases. Due to these important properties, the use of xylitol in food products is a market in great expansion. The current applications of xylitol in food formulations are summarized in this chapter. The benefits to health promoted by its ingestion are also presented and discussed.(undefined

Slaughterhouses: The language of life, the discourse of death

This chapter explores condoned animal abuse in the slaughterhouse and food production processes. Through a consideration of extant ethnographic research with slaughterhouse workers, the authors assess the ways in which the killing of other animals for meat becomes normalised through various institutional and cultural practices which, in large part, work to ensure that this slaughter remains invisible. The authors argue that one key component in this is the constant and consistent separation of humans and animals into discrete categories: this ensures that animals are considered as objects rather than subjects, which neatly separates humans from animals and allows the latter to be seen as ‘walking larders’ rather than sentient individuals. Through an analysis of the mechanisms whereby animal slaughter and death are normalised, the chapter addresses the ways in which the cultural hegemony of meat and the normalisation of institutional animal abuse are interconnected