Putting Meat on the American Table: Taste, Technology, Transformation

by Roger Horowitz

Book Overview

Engagingly written and richly illustrated, Putting Meat on the American Table explains how America became a meat-eating nation--from the colonial period to the present. It examines the relationships between consumer preference and meat processing--looking closely at the production of beef, pork, chicken, and hot dogs.

Roger Horowitz argues that a series of new technologies have transformed American meat. He draws on detailed consumption...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801882419
• ISBN13: 9780801882418
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Combatting Chicken Fatigue

Great chapter on chicken. Horowitz tells the story of chicken's transformation from one of several types of poultry into a "meat" worthy of competing for American dinner table and lunch time space with beef and pork. By the early 1960's, the chicken war was making modest gains. Thanks to hybridization, the chicken was meatier, tastier, and cheaper. And through new processing protocols, (such as removing heads, feet, and entrails), it had become more attractive and convenient in grocery stores. Yet market researchers kept encountering a certain malaise as they surveyed consumers about why chicken remained in third place. They called this new disorder "chicken fatigue." You see, in the 1960s, chicken -- even the new, better, bigger chicken -- was always ... chicken. In 1962, more than 90% of chickens were sold whole: too much for a couple, marketers learned, but not enough for a large family. Pork and beef, on the other hand, came in many cuts as well as pre-cooked forms (bologna, dogs, pork rinds). Chicken got into first place thanks to the processing strategies of Tyson (who brought us nuggets) and the branding strategies of Perdue (who revolutionized cut up and boned chickens, processed, dated, and priced right in the plant). "Product differentiation" broke the monotony, and chicken became king on American menus. The book is both lively and learned. A great read for anyone interested in the social history and technology of food.

Using consumption surveys, chapters provide lively insights into evolving American eating habits

American wasn't born a meat-eating nation: it evolved from colonial to modern times and was as much influenced by technological developments and processing and production advancements as by consumer tastes or meat availability. PUTTING MEAT ON THE AMERICAN TABLE: TASTE, TECHNOLOGY, TRANSFORMATION is a lively study which will also earn a place on the college bookshelf for its scholarly side in examining how new technologies have advanced American meat. Using consumption surveys, chapters provide lively insights into evolving American eating habits. Diane C. Donovan, Editor California Bookwatch

not a book for a vegetarian

Gosh, I got very hungry reading this book. Horowitz gives an engaging guide to how meat consumption has intertwined with American culture throughout its history. He discusses many aspects. Like the social ritual of a traditional Sunday roast. Which is now perhaps mostly a folk memory. You should get some appreciation of how cheap meat really is these days. When most families can afford to have meat at least once a day. The Sunday roast harks back a century or more, when meat at a meal was indeed an occasion to savour. Horowitz explains how the increasing mechanisation of American agriculture has lead to ever cheaper meat. A huge amount of research and effort has gone into improving the yields of livestock. Especially chickens. The rise of the agribusinesses like Tyson's has been due in to small part to their success in optimising what are now factories for meat production. Perhaps this is not a book for the vegetarian.