Vegan sociology: An introduction and review

Veganism is a political movement, philosophy, and critical theory that problematizes humanity’s oppression of other animals and, by extension, the strained relationship between animal-based food systems, climate change, and public health. These areas (food, health, justice, power, and inequality) fit securely within the jurisdiction of sociology, but the discipline has remained conspicuously silent on veganism until only recently. Over the past decade, the subfield of vegan sociology has emerged to address this gap, but in doing so, it has had to contend with entrenched structures of professionalization that continue to devalue and stigmatize more-than-human sociological analyses. This article introduces vegan sociology through a thematic literature review as a more species equitable practice, outlining its principles, goals, key research, and debates. Vegan sociology can be understood as a scholar-activist project that, in serving other animals, envisions that a fairer multispecies society is possible. It is delineated from neighboring disciplines with its emphasis on nonhuman liberation and intersectional justice, its structural consciousness (including a robust criticism of capitalism), and the methodological inclusion of other animals as relevant and protected subjects.