Putting Meat on the American Table

An intriguing overview of the culture and processes of producing and consuming meat in America. The author addresses the rituals, technology, business, labor, selling, and innovations that have enabled Americans to enjoy their chickens, steaks, and hot dogs. An interesting course book for foodways scholars, business and labor historians, historians of technology, and students of material culture. -- Susan R. Williams, Fitchburg State College Horowitz has provided an important, unique, and splendidly written introduction to the history of meat production, distribution, and consumption in America. Scholars and students alike will benefit from the book's valuable background information, and from its skillful illustration of how industries evolve. -- Warren Belasco, author of Appetite for Change

Putting Meat on the American Table will captivate general readers and interest all students of the history of food, technology, business, and American culture.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 surveys that shed new light on America's eating preferences-especially differences associated with income, rural versus urban areas, and race and ethnicity. Putting Meat on the American Table will captivate general readers and interest all students of the history of food, technology, business, and American culture.