While the “normality” of meat consumption spreads further around the globe and is no longer exclusive to the Global North, in Western societies problems related to meat increasingly become the subject of public debates and social struggles.ĭespite the diverse and far-reaching implications and consequences of meat production and consumption, the sociological debate on meat is rather new. Moreover, both the consumption and production of meat are linked to various dynamics of transformation and conflict: Technical and scientific innovations as well as political and economic decisions transform agriculture and meat production, leading to an unparalleled productivity but also to unprecedented environmental consequences. The production of meat is connected to numerous ecological problems, the breeding and killing of billions of animals, precarious working conditions and issues of public health (as, for example, the current pandemic demonstrates). Rather, the preparation and consumption of meat dishes is linked to cultural traditions and norms, collective and individual identities, as well as to gender relations and conceptions of health, purity, or naturalness.
The importance of meat is not, however, limited to its nutritional value. The consumption of meat plays a significant role in the food supply of modern societies. * This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.Meat is a crucial object of sociological research. Réponses pour une anthropologie réflexive.
Distinction: a Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, trans. Kritik der gesellschaftlichen Urteilskraft. His book, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, published in 1984, is considered to be the sixth most important twentieth century social scientific work. He was a prolific author and highly regarded social scientific researcher in his own right.
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