The Politics of Meat

Divergent values on who eats meat, and which animals are deemed acceptable to eat, can drive deep political and cultural wedges whilst livestock industries continue to expand unabated. Research into the politics of meat production explores the twin forces of Hindu nationalism and neoliberalism unfold in India’s bovine economy, revealing their often-devastating material and economic impact on the country’s poor. Paradoxically, entrenched Hindu nationalist and populist aggression and violent disciplinary action against eating cows, occurs alongside one of the world’s largest export-oriented and corporately owned beef meat industries. This online workshop will chart the historical and political forces driving these twinned processes and consider opportunities for progressive counter-mobilisation. Presentations from Jostein Jakobsen and Kenneth Bo Nielsen (University of Oslo) on their latest book (Authoritarian Populism and Bovine Political Economy in Modi’s India) and Sagari Ramdas (Food Sovereignty Alliance, India). Facilitated by Mehroosh Tak (RVC).