These topics are addressed by drawing on recent theoretical work on gender studies and ecofeminism, reflecting on the link between the commodification of women as meat, as well as considering the strategies that might enable the protagonists to escape this persistent trope. Meat-eating and animal farming, as well as the ways in which they intersect problematically with the sexual objectification of women as meat to be consumed, a longstanding, vexed trope, are the main thematic concerns in the three novels, which can be seen as engaged in a critical dialogue. In addition, they develop an overpowering empathy with plants, which eventually leads them to avoid eating even the latter. The protagonists of these books are young women who feel trapped and constricted by society’s strong patriarchal conventions, attempting to escape them by eschewing meat, equated with the exploitation of women, animals and the environment. This essay reflects on the politics of meat as they intersect with gender politics, using three novels that powerfully dramatize these issues as case studies: Han Kang’s The Vegetarian (2007), Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman (1990) and Ruth Ozeki’s My Year of Meats (1998). It will ask, is there a middle ground between corrupt technocracy and a return to (unsustainable) agrarian ideals? What would an ethical version of Dougherty’s society look like? This paper sympathizes with such a conclusion, but argues that the novel conflates anti-GMO with anti-Big Pharma/Agro. Ultimately, the novel reveals the corruption of the corporate technocracy, siding with underground ‘Foodies’ who advocate for a return to real food. In the novel, hyper- personalized nutrition (at the expense of gastronomic pleasure) is mandated by the government real food still exists but is illegal. This paper will examine these issues inherent in a “gastro-techno-utopia” through a reading of Elizabeth Dougherty’s speculative fiction novel, The Blind Pig. Furthermore, technological solutions often overlook the cultural significance of food. Focus on such solutions, however, can obscure ethical issues of uneven and unequal access.
Techno-optimists believe that technological innovations are the answer to future food crises.
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