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Carnism
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Carnism is the belief system, or ideology, in which it's considered an ethical choice to consume flesh of non-human animals. Carnism relies on the belief that humans are dominant to the animals to be eaten, and that violence against animals with the intent of eating them is morally acceptable, which makes it diametrical to vegetarianism or veganism. The term carnism was coined by social psychologist Melanie Joy in 2001. The term was coined to address the absence of a word to describe one’s decision to consume meat. This serves to associate the act of eating meat with a personal belief system in cases that eating meat is not a necessity for survival. Melanie Joy claims that the term for this ideology was not previously coined because the ideology had become 'entrenched in our society'. Carnism is distinguished from the concept of carnivore and omnivore. The terms "carnivore" and "omnivore" refer to the obligatory diet of an animal, while "carnism" describes a particular ideological choice. Carnivores are animals that can only fulfill their nutritional needs through a diet predominantly or exclusively of animal tissues. Omnivores are animals that eat both plant and animal matter in order to satisfy their nutritional needs. Carnists, on the other hand, have a made the decision to consume meat despite being capable of meeting all their nutritional needs through a meat-free diet. The term "meat eater" is inaccurate in that it presents the behavior as though it were divorced from a belief system—-which is why, for example, vegans are not correctly referred to as "plant eaters" or "herbivores".<ref name="fromctoc" /> Carnism versus Speciesism Speciesism is the assigning of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species membership. Carnism is the ideology in which it is considered an ethical option to eat the flesh of animals. 
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