ABSTRACT
The introduction contends that the geographical study of veganism pushes more-than-human geographies and critical animal studies to take seriously alternative interspecies relationships in the face of uncertain worldly futures. Beginning with a brief history of the author's interest in vegan geographies, the introduction also moves to provide an overview of the 20th-century veganism in Britain, and the entanglement of veganism with Britain as a ‘nation of animal lovers.’ The chapter then establishes the assumptions and knowledges upon which the book rests. First, there is an overview of contemporary debates in animal geographies, critical animal geographies, and vegan geographies which guide the work in this book. Second, the definition of veganism and its relation to other forms of animal activism that are introduced. Third, the three key guiding themes of the book that loosely align with the empirical work which the majority of the book is dedicated to. These are friendship, vegan constructions of ‘truth,’ and temporality. Finally, there is a methodological summary of the book's empirical work in the archives of activist Richard D Ryder at The British Library, interviewing vegans, and living with chickens. The introduction also offers a brief summary of each of the chapters.
