Reimagining Pigs–A Multispecies, Ecofeminist Research Method

Abstract

Food production is an example of inter- and intra-action between different species and abiotic actors. Yet, capitalism-driven food system is increasingly wreaking havoc on natural ecosystems and the species inhabiting them, including humans. Industrial farming is one such example. This article is inspired by ecofeminist thinking and views industrial pig farming through a multispecies lens using design and visual art methodologies. We believe that ecofeminism is prefigurative, shining brightly towards ‘a future of multispecies flourishing and the ultimate goal of planetary survival’ (Power 2020, viii). In such a future, human and more-than-human entanglements are not grounded in exploitation and extraction but instead are predicated on kinship and response-ability (Haraway 2016). Presented as a visual essay, the article draws on our interdisciplinary research project Re: Pig and the zine made as part of it. We consider how Re: Pig as an ecofeminist, interdisciplinary method may offer the opportunities for the emergence of more hopeful narratives. In these narratives, human and more-than-human might find alternative ways to thrive together in what seems to be a time of decline, undoing the relations of domination that subordinate more-than-human lives to human interests. This resonates with the idea of creating care-centred and justice-oriented feminist futures.