MEAT: Overview

1. MEAT: Overview • Most prized food substance in most cultures. • Meat eating probably started as scavenging in our hominid ancestors ~3mya. • Animal flesh and bone marrow are more concentrated sources of nutrition and protein than almost any plant material. • Mobile food source that can be accessed year round (many plants are unavailable in winter, etc.)

2. Meat: Cultural Significance

3. Meat: Cultural Significance • ‘The Hunt’ has been an important cultural rite for ~100,000 years. • Evidenced by cave art/paintings, rock glyphs, songs, lore, etc. • Usually followed by feast, celebration; provides reinforcement of social connections and hierarchy. • Meat is still the centerpiece of many meals, particularly celebrations.

4. Meat: taboos against

5. Meat: taboos against • Meat is also widely reviled in certain cultural groups. • Unlike other foods meat requires the slaughter of sentient life. • How to condone slaughter while maintaining humaneness? • How to rectify our biology (we are omnivorous by design) with mental constructs/culture?

6. Meat: Changes over time • Meat of today (factory farmed) is produced from younger and leaner animals. • Quality has probably deteriorated over time • Meat of today, cooked with traditional methods, is likely to end up dry and flavorless. • Range of meats usually seen on plates is much reduced from antiquity. • Manner in which animals are raised has changed significantly over time.

7. Meat: What exactly are we eating • Meat includes body tissue of an animal. • Animals defined by ability to move (root of word means ‘to breathe’). • We usually distinguish between: • ‘Meat proper’ – muscle tissue (originally used by the animal for locomotion) • Offal – organ tissue (liver, kidney, heart, stomach, etc.)

8. Muscle structure • Muscle divided into 3 categories: • Smooth – blood vessels, stomach, intestine • Cardiac – heart • Skeletal – voluntary muscles (bulk of consumed meat) • A piece of meat is composed of one of more muscles  muscle fibers  myofibrils  myofilaments of actin & myosin.

10. Meat: Muscle fibers and other • A piece of meat for human consumption will include: • ~75% water (explains shrinking of meat during cooking) • ~20% protein (usually skeletal muscle) • ~3% fat (varies quite a bit based on cut of meat) • Connective tissue: • Binds muscle fibers into bundles and muscle to bone • Elastin – stretchy, cannot be broken down by heat • Collagen – ‘melts’ under heat into gelatin  unctuous

11. Meat: Light vs. Dark • Muscle types based on movement: • Fast explosive movement uses white muscle fibers – fueled by glycogen, tire quickly. • Slower sustained movement uses red muscle fibers – high in myoglobin. • Most muscles are a mix of the two • Examples:

12. Meat: Animals and Birds • Commonly eaten animals include: • Cattle – descended from wild Ox/Auroch Bos primigenius, take ~2 years to reach maturity • European style – cows are older (2-4 years at slaughter). • American style – moved from well-marbled to leaner meat, slaughtered at 15-24 months. • Japanese style – ‘kobe or wagyu beef’, 24-30 months old, pampered cows, up to 40% marbling fat. • Veal – meat of young male cows (usually 5-16 wks old)

13. Meat: Animals and Birds • Sheep - lamb (1-12 months) and mutton (older and aged for a week after slaughter) • Pigs – descendant of wild boar, grows fast, large litters, omnivorous, carries a fair number of parasites. • Pork – from animals ~6 months old, less than ½ the fat of a century ago. • Meat is whiter because pigs use muscles intermittently.

14. Meat: Animals and Birds • Chicken – multiple ages used for differnet purposes/markets. Range from 6 wks to over 40 wks old. • Turkeys – breast muscle is little used, legs are well exercised and flavorful. Bred for large size (at 12-24 weeks, French Bresse 32 wks old). • Ducks – dark flavorful breast meat (why?) • Squab – noble name for Rock Dove (pigeon)

15. Cuts of meat: Sheep

16. Cuts of Meat: Cow