The Meat We Eat

This course takes a global perspective on the human facets driving meat consumption. Using historical, ecological, and anthropological material, we look at the ways meat eating has fundamentally shaped our environment, our health, and our culture. We will draw on examples from Europe, Asia, and North Africa, where systems of social division have been in place for centuries based on the professional relationships of individuals and communities with animal slaughter and butchery. We consider how a range of factors, from religious norms to colonial laws have regulated how meat and animals fit into society often with unexpected results. For instance, attitudes to waste from animal slaughter led to the development of the abattoir, and ultimately facilitated industrialized meat production. The course will ask students to consider their own consumption or abstinence from meat in light of global systems of ecology and structural inequity.