Meat, Migration, and Modernity

This chapter explores the historical evolution of meat processing in Chicago in the 1800s, emphasizing how innovations like refrigerated rail cars transformed meat distribution. It connects the rise of the Union Stockyards with the exploitation of immigrant labor and its impact on American culinary traditions, while also reflecting on the environmental and cultural consequences of the meat industry. Through muckraking journalism and discussions of the industry's unsustainable practices, the chapter highlights the erosion of meaningful connections to food and the land, calling for a re-examination of contemporary meat consumption.