There's more than one way to peel a potato: how speciesism is reinforced in plant-based meat alternative marketing through the ‘overt referent’

Abstract

Environmental, ethical, and animal defense reasons have led to a rise in the consumption of plant-based meat alternatives. The marketing of these products, however, can reinforce speciesist tropes. While attempts to sell animal products are often oriented at hiding the origin of the meal from the consumer through the ‘absent referent’, I explore what I call the ‘overt referent’: the commodification of the consumption, characteristics, and consent of nonhuman animals to sell plant-based meat alternatives. The paper attempts to lay the theoretical basis of speciesism and expand on the theory of the overt referent through a case study of plant-based meat producer The Vegetarian Butcher. Conclusions include strong evidence for the existence of the overt referent and feedback on the theory is given by the coiner of the ‘absent referent’ theory Carol J. Adams.