BEEF IN THE WORLD

BEEF IN EUROPE

Following the influence of the Roman conquest – and subsequent fall of the Roman Empire – beef gained an incremental favour among many European populations. Cattle were raised throughout the continent, both as livestock for meat and dairy products, and as draft animals. The popularity of cattle in Europe had a great impact on rural and urban practices in several countries. Germanic peoples were particularly fond of beef. Viking tribes – flourishing between AD 700 and 900 – were known to exploit all parts of the cow from using its skin to make leather goods to consuming the flesh of the animal in the form of roasts and stews.

Within the British Isles, the Anglo-Saxons had a distinct predilection for beef, but their interest in the meat seems somewhat curious. Indeed, beef was often consumed for its therapeutic properties. In the "Bald’s Leechbook", a domestic manual dating from around AD 95, several ‘recipes’ are listed that include beef; these, however, must be interpreted more as curative remedies than delicious dishes to be consumed for their gastronomic value. The imagistic connection between cow and strength clearly made an impression on the way in which the Anglo-Saxons perceived beef, building a belief that meat deriving from cattle would bestow health upon those who ate it.

The Anglo-Saxons, however, were not the only ones to maintain a conviction that beef could cure disease. As Anglo-Saxon lands evolved into what would later become England, beef retained curative properties in the popular imagination. From the sixteenth century onwards, in particular, a large number of British domestic manuals list beef as a principal medical ingredient. The meat was prescribed to ‘feed a fever’ in the form of beef-based soups and teas. In the eighteenth century, patients suffering from various ailments were often advised to drink ‘beef tonics’. Undoubtedly encouraged by the fear of tuberculosis in the late nineteenth century, popular belief in the invigorating power of beef-based concoctions continued until the early twentieth century, when beef tonics became widely advertised as an essential way to enrich and revitalize the blood.

Beef, however, was not simply enjoyed as a medical marvel. Numerous examples of beef recipes (to be consumed for their gastronomic value) can be found in famous historical cookbooks, such as the French "Le Viandier" – dating from around 1300 – and the English "Forme of Cury", compiled by the Master-Cooks of Richard II in 1390. Although beef had an undeniable presence in late medieval life, it was by no means the favourite meat. Historical records show that beef took a secondary position to fish, chicken and pork, the latter being the most popular ‘meat’ as such. In the Iberian Peninsula, numerous Catalan cookbooks dating from around 1450 show that mutton was definitely the meat of choice for the local population, both common and aristocratic.

In the early decades of the Renaissance, and following the Black Death’s devastating impact on farming and agriculture, meat derived from cattle was subjected to a distinct revival in favour. In fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Italy, veal was particularly appreciated as a ‘summer meat’, its lighter texture and flavour making it a more delectable option than beef’s earthy and wintery appeal. Overall, beef was regarded as too coarse for the refined upper classes, which preferred to consume delicate and visually pleasing meats such as heron and swan. The extravagant tastes of the aristocracy grew exponentially after the discovery of America in 1492, when exotic ingredients such as vanilla, peanuts and novel breeds of fowl began to attract the attention of many noble gourmands.

The role of beef as a ‘peasant meat’ survived until the nineteenth century. British cookbooks prove that ever since the Middle Ages beef has been used as a filling for pies. In eighteenth-century England, the meat even evolved into a popular food for the masses within cities. Beef pies were known to have been sold in the streets of London as a quick and affordable meal. Beef – cheaply purchased in large quantities – was often the vendors’ favourite ingredient because their customers were numerous enough to consume the product of a slaughtered cow in a matter of days. Street-sold pies were extremely popular and, in a way, functioned as the beginning of beef’s longstanding relationship with ‘fast food’.

BEEF IN AMERICA

"Being American is to eat a lot of beef steak, and boy, we’ve got a lot more beef steak than any other country, and that’s why you ought to be glad you are an American". (Kurt Vonnegut)

As difficult as it might be to imagine today, beef is a relatively recent addition to the American diet. Cattle were not indigenous to the American continent, and while herds of wild bison roamed the prairies and were consumed by Native American tribes for centuries, domesticated cattle did not actually reach the shores of the New World until the Spanish conquistadors introduced them in 1540. In 1623, two Devon heifers and a Devon bull were imported to the Plymouth Colony from Britain. Although mainly used for dairy produce and fieldwork, Devon cattle were highly valued in the American colonies. One has to wait until the early eighteenth century in order to witness cattle systematically raised in farms by the colonists – likely of Spanish, French and British origin – for consumption purposes. As the new American country grew, so did its infrastructure, allowing early American examples of the cattle industry to blossom, develop and fortify. By 1871, new refrigeration methods allowed the transportation of meat to be an easy enough task and, as a result, the cattle industry was radically transformed.

A number of slaughterhouses were quickly established across the Midwest and shipments of meat to all corners of the country regularly took place. As the demand for cattle meat quickly replaced the existing (and by no means erased) preference for chicken and pork, beef was given a prominent position on American tables, from San Antonio to New Orleans, from Detroit to New York. During and after the Second World War, the cattle industry reached its apogee and beef became a ready symbol for American affluence. Beef’s aesthetic qualities allowed it to become a metaphorical representation of American sanguinity and American science was only too obliging in confirming the meat’s nutritional qualities, including its high content of essential protein. It was estimated that by 1952, the average American consumed 28 kg (62 lb) of beef a year. Finding its most American of incarnations in the hamburger patty, beef became incorporated into the American diet to such an extent that the historian Josh Ozersky defines the beefburger as the American ‘meal par excellence’.

By the time the 1960s were in full swing, beef had taken on a role that pushed its boundaries beyond its gastronomic merits. In the midst of the Cold War, beef became a powerful symbol in propaganda. In 1960, a famous promotional movie entitled Beef Rings the Bell proclaimed that beef steaks and burgers were an ‘American institution’. Running on the assumption that the audience adored beef – as was probably the case – "Beef Rings the Bell" encouraged consumers to support the American cattle industry by eating beef on a regular basis, an act that, aside from bringing economic prosperity to the country, was levelled as a signifier of expected patriotism. The propagandist intentions of the beef campaigns in the 1960s clearly had the desired effect on the population and, while the cattle industry continued to boom, by 1970 the average American was eating 50 kg (110 lb) of beef a year, almost twice the amount that had been consumed only twenty years before.

Today, the U.S. produces about 25 per cent of the world’s beef supply with – somewhat surprisingly – less than 10 per cent of the world’s cattle population. Across the land, Texas remains the top beef-producing state.

ARGENTINE BEEF

The cattle industry in Argentina has a long and established history. Indeed, beef is such an integral part of the culture of Argentina, both materially and metaphorically, that one might venture to say that consuming the meat is part of being Argentinian. As was the case with North America, cattle were not indigenous to South America. Cattle were introduced to what is now Argentina in the early sixteenth century by – unsurprisingly – Spanish conquistadors, who obviously had a penchant for taking their cows and oxen with them wherever they went. The Argentine pampas proved an excellent geographical set-up for the herds of cattle that were left to roam and, as a result of underdeveloped infrastructures, the cow population grew quickly.

With time, however, local landowners capitalized on the production of beef and, over a relatively short period, the cattle industry flourished. By the eighteenth century, Argentina had established itself as the biggest producer and consumer of beef in Latin America. Once the nineteenth century arrived, technology once again proved the most important factor in the part beef played in the country’s economy. Railway construction aided the establishment of commercial infrastructures and, thanks to the newly arrived refrigeration cars, beef could be transported over large geographical areas, causing the Argentinian beef industry to thrive on an international scale. By 1886, Argentinian beef was in high demand and the geographical position of the country – located in the Southern hemisphere – allowed the meat to be available at times when European and American beef was ‘out of season’.

With such an imposing presence in the economic fabric of the country, beef inevitably also played an essential part in the historical development of local customs, traditions and, at times, even folklore. Culturally speaking, eating habits and festivities in Argentina developed in connection with beef. The ever-local asado – the term used for a range of barbecuing techniques in Argentina, also giving its name to a popular social event – emerged concomitantly with the development of the beef industry. While the meats cooked as part of an asado festivity also included a wide range of pork and chicken cuts, beef towered uncontested as the favourite, therefore creating a cultural association between its consumption and a much-beloved, perhaps romanticized, vision of community and family life. And the romanticization of beef in Argentina does not stop at eating. The prominent figure of the gaucho – a pampas-dwelling, brooding, poncho-wearing Argentinean who is a loose equivalent of the American cowboy – is surrounded by an ever-growing number of stories about courage and bravado, associating all elements of the beef industry with a sense of Argentinian pride, patriotism and almost melancholy attachment to the past.

Unsurprisingly, as undeniable economic advantages and passionate tales of pampas heroism interweave in the history of the country’s cattle industry, beef still maintains its hold on Argentina’s way of life today. In 2006, it was estimated that Argentinians were the world’s second-largest consumers of beef per capita, with the average Argentinian eating 55 kg (121 lb) of beef per year. The Argentinian cattle industry maintains a reputation for producing very high-quality beef. As a result, Argentina is the third-largest exporter of beef in the world, after Brazil and Australia. The dream of the gaucho roaming the pampas, guarding the cattle and gazing at the stars lives on, it would seem. I wonder if the cows are just as starstruck. Probably not.

JAPANESE BEEF

I know what you are thinking. You know your cows. Japanese beef is highly prized, a special category of meat that is coveted and expensive and served only in the best and most fashionable restaurants around the world. You are imagining television chefs singing the praises of Kobe beef and proclaiming its superior qualities. And you are probably assuming, just as I did, that the Japanese might have been perfecting ‘the art of beef’ for centuries, perhaps even millennia. As it turns out, the history of beef in Japan is not longstanding; it is, without a doubt, a modern development.

Prior to the year 1868, eating the flesh of four-legged animals was prohibited in Japan. Since the country showcases strong Buddhist influences, the prohibition does not come as a surprise. The ban over eating large farm animals became particularly strict during what is known as the Edo period (1603–1867) in order to support the development of agriculture. Over time, the religious influence on food prohibitions became en tangled with cultural parameters and the consumption of beef was perceived as a national taboo. Nonetheless, things changed radically in 1867 with the ascent to the throne of Emperor Meiji. The new emperor had a desire to build strong relations – particularly of an economic nature – with the West and regarded the consumption of beef as an essential part of his political strategy. Wanting to reduce the traditional social and cultural barriers that separated Japan from countries such as the U.S., Emperor Meiji lifted the ban on beef and encouraged its consumption among the population. While pork remained the meat of choice across the country, beef-eating slowly became more prevalent in the early twentieth century. Specifically, the inhabitants of the Kinki Region – which included Kyoto, Kobe and Osaka – were known to be, and still are today, the heaviest beef eaters in the country. Japanese folklore has it that the consumption of beef was carried out in the Kobe region as a secret ritual even during the times of the beef ban, with famous shoguns showing a predilection for the prized meat. While little historical evidence exists in support of this claim, the preference for Kobe beef throughout Japan after the Meiji culinary revolution is difficult to argue.

Kobe beef traditionally comes from wagyu cattle. The appellative of ‘Kobe’ refers to the geographical region where this type of herd was first reared. ‘Wa’ is an ancient Japanese term for Japan, and one of the meanings of ‘gyu’ is beef, with a specific ‘on the hoof’ connotation. Currently, there are five principal breeds of wagyu cattle in Japan: Japanese Blacks, Japanese Browns, Japanese Polls, Japanese Long-horns and Kumamoto Reds. These breeds are not strictly native to the country and are the result of a substantial infusion of European blood during the Meiji era. After 1910, however, the importing of European breeds ceased and it was not until the Second World War that the Japanese government began to encourage the registration of cattle exhibiting superior traits from both foreign and native types. In 1948, the National Wagyu Cattle Registration Association was established and the production of beef became the focus of careful screening programmes aimed at producing the best-quality meat in Japan.

Genetically speaking, wagyu cattle have a disposition to hold a higher percentage of omega 3 fatty acids. This fact is responsible for the marbled appearance of the meat, which not only functions as the trademark of Kobe beef but also bestows upon the meat its distinctive taste. The natural softness of Kobe beef is encouraged in the industry by adding a small amount of sake to the cattle’s feed and massaging their muscles to support the iconic marbling. The latter fact has given birth to the conception that wagyu cattle are the most pampered cows in the industry, enjoying the many benefits of true Japanese hospitality.

In spite of Japan’s cultural attachment to Kobe beef, however, most wagyu cattle are not actually raised in Japan. While for decades the Japanese government prohibited the export of any live wagyu cattle in an attempt to protect and safeguard the quality of Kobe beef, four wagyu animals were imported to the United States in 1976. By 1993, California had become the greatest producers of Kobe beef in the world. By 2001, Australia also claimed its place as a high-profile producer of Kobe beef. Today, both the U.S. and Australia have an accord with the Japanese Wagyu Association so that they can raise wagyu cattle and produce Kobe beef for world export and consumption under strict laws. One of these laws demands that wagyu cattle be raised within specific parameters and that the traditional methods for obtaining Kobe marbling be respected – with muscle massages as a strict priority. The pampering of wagyu cattle, whether taking place in Japan or any other corner of the world, clearly still has its desired effect and Kobe beef maintains its status as a highly coveted delicacy.

BEEF IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

In Australia, the beef cattle industry is one of the most profitable areas of the country’s economy, generating more than $3 billion a year. The beef industry has been prevalent in Australia since its colonial origins and beef has been intertwined with the country’s growth and development for centuries. Cattle were first brought to Australia on the First
Fleet, which came from Britain in 1788. The Fleet’s aim was to bring people to the newly ‘discovered’ Australian continent and establish the first settlements for British colonists. Cattle travel led with them and laid their claim to the Australian economy very early on. In the initial years of the colonies, however, the intended use of cattle was for fieldwork and transport. Australian rural folklore has it that in the early 1790s, a few specimens of cattle strayed and were found several years later, the numbers of their wild herd having grown to 60. There is no evidence to either discard or assure this claim; what is known, however, is that by 1820 there were already 54,000 cattle in Australia, their number having spectacularly risen to six times this figure by 1840. The demand for beef, and the idea of using cattle for consumption on a large industrial scale, did not appear until the 1850s, when the Gold Rushes hit Australia and groups of hungry miners invaded its lands. As the demand for beef grew quickly, Australian drovers moved their cattle herds away from urban areas – Sydney in particular – and settled them as far as Western Australia. The cattle were known to have travelled for weeks, often having to swim long distances to reach their destinations.

By the time the twentieth century hit, Australia had become a great beef producer, with its cattle industry booming as the country’s greatest economic force. Today, the state of Queensland is the greatest producer of beef, with the meat coming from popular Hereford, Shorthorn and Murray Grey cattle. Australia, as a result, is one of the largest and most successful exporters of beef in the world. It goes without saying that the Australians enjoy beef immensely as well, making a cultural virtue of their beloved summer barbecues – a true Australian institution.

On the other side of the Tasman Sea, New Zealand also prides itself on a developing history of beef. Cattle were imported to New Zealand from the UK in 1814, when Reverend Samuel Marsden set up a mission station on the northern shores of the newly formed colony. As time passed, more Europeans settled in New Zealand and, in the early 1840s, more cattle were imported from Australia. Most of these were what used to be referred to as Durham, a breed that later developed into what are now commonly known as Short horn cattle. Traditionally, however, beef cattle have often taken a secondary position in the New Zealand farming industry, falling behind dairy cattle – which allowed the country to become one of the principal exporters of dairy products in the world – and, of course, sheep. As early as 1851, the ratio of sheep to beef cattle in New Zealand was six to one. The higher ratio remained steady for more than a century, and it reached its peak in the early 1960s, with sheep outnumbering cattle in the country by fourteen to one. However, by the mid-1980s, and after the government restructured the subsidisation schemes for farming, the numbers of beef cattle inhabiting the rolling hills of New Zealand grew dramatically. Since the 1990s, the export market has been the focus of the New Zealand beef industry. Indeed, it is estimated that New Zealand exports more than 80 per cent of its beef, a very impressive percentage. Overall, New Zealand produces only 1 per cent of the world’s beef, but nevertheless supplies approximately 8 per cent of the global beef trade.

New Zealand cattle are mostly allowed to roam freely in green pastures that are mainly concentrated on the North Island of the country. Beef cattle are primarily grass-fed and not fattened on grain – the latter a health concern that has attracted the attention of animal welfare associations around the world and which, clearly, New Zealand as a beef-producing country is very keen to avoid. The general population of New Zealand has developed a distinct taste for beef over time; nonetheless, lamb still remains the meat of choice among Kiwis, who are very happy to supply beef of the highest standard and send it as an ambassador to promote the country’s excellence in farming around the world.

By Lorna Piatti-Farnell in "Beef - A Global History (Edible)", Reaktion Books, London,2013 excerpts pp.26-45. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.