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Why is meat so important in Western history and culture? A genealogical critique of biophysical and political-economic explanations

Author

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  • Robert M. Chiles

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Amy J. Fitzgerald

    (University of Windsor)

Abstract

How did meat emerge to become such an important feature in Western society? In both popular and academic literatures, biophysical and political-economic factors are often cited as the reason for meat’s preeminent status. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive investigation of these claims by reviewing the available evidence on the political-economic and biophysical features of meat over the long arc of Western history. We specifically focus on nine critical epochs: the Paleolithic (200,000 YA—10,000 YA), early to late Neolithic (10,000 YA—2500 BCE), antiquity (2500 BCE—550 CE), ancient Israel and early Christian societies (1550 BCE—379 CE), medieval Europe (476 CE—1400 CE), early modern Europe (1400–1800), colonial America (1607–1776), the American frontier (1776–1890), and the modern industrial era (1890—present). We find that except under conditions of environmental scarcity, the meaning and value of meat cannot be attributed to intrinsic biophysical value or to the political-economic actors who materially benefit from it. Rather, meat’s status reflects the myriad cultural contexts in which it is socially constructed in people’s everyday lives, particularly with respect to religious, gender, communal, racial, national, and class identity. By deconstructing the normalized/naturalized materialist assumptions circling around meat consumption, this paper clears a space for a more nuanced appreciation of the role that culture has played in the legitimation of meat, and by extension, the possibility of change.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert M. Chiles & Amy J. Fitzgerald, 2018. "Why is meat so important in Western history and culture? A genealogical critique of biophysical and political-economic explanations," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(1), pages 1-17, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:35:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-017-9787-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-017-9787-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Smith, Vernon L, 1975. "The Primitive Hunter Culture, Pleistocene Extinction, and the Rise of Agriculture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(4), pages 727-755, August.
    2. Jared Diamond, 2002. "Evolution, consequences and future of plant and animal domestication," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 700-707, August.
    3. Katherine D. Zink & Daniel E. Lieberman, 2016. "Impact of meat and Lower Palaeolithic food processing techniques on chewing in humans," Nature, Nature, vol. 531(7595), pages 500-503, March.
    4. Peter Dauvergne, 2008. "The Shadows of Consumption: Consequences for the Global Environment," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262042460, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Samson Yaekob Assele & Michel Meulders & Helena Michiels & Nanou Flamant & Martina Vandebroek, 2023. "The Effect of Information Provision and Color Coding in Product Labeling on the Preference for Meat Substitutes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-20, November.
    2. Kajsa Resare Sahlin & Line J. Gordon & Regina Lindborg & Johannes Piipponen & Pierre Rysselberge & Julia Rouet-Leduc & Elin Röös, 2024. "An exploration of biodiversity limits to grazing ruminant milk and meat production," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 7(9), pages 1160-1170, September.
    3. Paul B. Thompson, 2023. "Richard Haynes and the early years of Agriculture and Human Values," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 45-48, March.
    4. Markus Lundström, 2019. "“We do this because the market demands it”: alternative meat production and the speciesist logic," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 36(1), pages 127-136, March.

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