When did animals become things? What is the historical logic behind meat production and meat consumption?
Answers can be found in the anthology Fleischwissen. Zur Verdinglichung des Lebendigen in globalisierten M?rkten, recently published by Professor Dr Gunther Hirschfelder, Professor of Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Regensburg (UR), and a team of researchers from Regensburg, Dortmund, Fulda, Bonn and Berlin. The publication, with 24 contributions from leading experts from Europe and the USA, brings together the complex knowledge about meat and makes this knowledge available for current social negotiation processes.
The publication marks the conclusion of the joint project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and led by Hirschfelder entitled "Verdinglichung des Lebendigen: Meat as a Cultural Asset", which was initiated as part of the BMBF call "The Language of Objects - Material Culture in the Context of Social Developments". The editorial team asked.
Do you still eat meat, Mr Hirschfelder?
Yes, even with pleasure. Meat is a food with a long and successful history that is firmly anchored in European food culture. Moreover, it is not necessarily the job of science to take a position. Rather, we should analyse data with an open mind; and my personal behaviour is not important here.
Are slaughterhouses the epitome of social ruthlessness?
In the 19th century, meat production underwent gradual industrialisation and was democratised. Until then, especially during early industrialisation, meat was eaten more by the wealthy, more by men and more by younger people. Now the coveted meat was available to everyone. The focus was soon less on the animal and more on its usability and the products it provided. Animals were transformed from living beings into things. In the course of this reification, we became alienated from meat.
Why do we prefer to eat a veggie "schnitzel" rather than a vegetable patty?
A look into the past shows that animal products have been an integral part of the diet since the beginning of mankind: They were held in high esteem. Meat was a symbol of prosperity and health right through to the 20th century.
How did meat become a crisis metaphor?
Although there had been initial and quiet criticism of the consumption of animals at the end of the 19th century, it was the increased industrialisation of agriculture from the 1950s onwards that caused criticism to flare up again and become louder. The television programme "A Place for Animals", which enjoyed great success from 1956 onwards, fuelled this trend, as did the bestseller "Silent Spring", published by biologist Rachel Carson in 1962. The negative environmental consequences of industrialisation and overconsumption were subsequently increasingly linked to meat consumption. The consumption of animals gradually came to symbolise the destruction of the world.
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Original publication:
Carnal knowledge. Zur Verdinglichung des Lebendigen in globalisierten M?rkten (Umwelt und Gesellschaft, vol. 29), ed. by Gunther Hirschfelder, Lars Winterberg, René John, Jana Rückert-John and Corinna Schirmer. G?ttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2024, 519 pages, 69 illustrations, hardcover, 70,00 � (D) / 72,00 � (A), ISBN: 978-3-525-30253-8.
Information/Contact
About Professor Dr Gunther Hirschfelder, Comparative Cultural Studies (external link, opens in a new window)
Foto ? Julia Dragan / Universit?t Regensburg