Culture of Unsustainability

Culture of Unsustainability. Animal industries and the exploitation of animals in Finland since 1850

Timetable: 01.09.2019- 31.08.2023

Project status: Finished

Principal Investigator

Syrjämaa, Taina

Unit

History and Archaelogy

Funders: Suomen Akatemia

Project budget: 650 000€ - 700 000€

Strategic research and education profiles: Luonnon monimuotoisuus ja kestävyys

Keywords

Summary: This project examinea the history of exploiting animals for human food and clothes in Finland from the perspective of unsustainability. The use of animals has increasingly been seen by environmental scientists as an obstacle to attaining sustainability goals. Since the late nineteenth century, the animal production, whether in form of milk, meat, fur or leather, have consumed vast quantities of arable land, exacerbated the climate change and polluted watercourses, while commercial fishing has emptied the sea from the fish. These calamitous environmental changes have been caused by human actions and thus requires historical and cultural analysis.