Defending Animals, Disappointing People

An Ecofeminist Approach
An honest, thoughtful and ethically sensitive guide to managing the tension between deeply held ethical obligations to animals on one hand and beloved family or cultural traditions on the other.

Defending Animals, Disappointing People offers a ground-breaking exploration of what happens when caring deeply about animals places us in conflict with the people we love.

Drawing on care ethics and relational philosophy, Karen S. Emmerman develops relational vegan ecofeminism, a framework that takes animals’ moral standing seriously while also acknowledging the emotional, cultural, and familial stakes woven into human traditions. Rather than treating veganism as a simple matter of ethical prioritization, Emmerman shows that refusing a grandmother’s lovingly prepared chicken soup, or rejecting a family hunting tradition, carries profound relational weight. These moments produce “moral remainders” of lingering hurt, regret, or estrangement that persists even when we make the best ethical choice.

Through richly contextual analysis, Emmerman argues that ethical life requires more than clear principles: it requires relational moral attention, a practice of empathy, repair, curiosity, and mutual recognition. Balancing philosophical rigor with narrative warmth, the book illuminates the tensions, grief, and possibilities at the heart of living ethically in a speciesist world. Defending Animals, Disappointing People sets out a hopeful yet honest path for navigating both inter-animal and intra-cultural conflicts – one that neither abandons animals nor dismisses the humans with whom we form our deepest connections.

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