Convenient meat and meat products. Societal and technological issues.

In past and contemporary foodscapes, meat and meat products have not only been following convenience trends, they have been at the heart of them. Historically, the first substantial demands for meat convenience must have been for the outsourcing of hunting or domestication, as well as slaughtering activities. In its turn, this prompted concerns for shelf-life stabilisation and the development of preservation strategies, such as meat fermentation. Demands for ease of preparation and consumption can be traced back to Antiquity but have gained in importance over the centuries, especially with the emergence of novel socio-cultural expectations and (perceived) time scarcity. Amongst other trends, this has led to the creation of ready meals and meat snacks and the expansion of urban fast food cultures. Additionally, contemporary requirements focus on the reduction of mental investments, via the "convenient" concealment of slaughtering, the optimisation of nutritional qualities, and the instant incorporation of more intangible matters, such as variety, hedonistic qualities, reassurance, and identity. An overview is given of the technological issues related to the creation of meat convenience, in its broadest sense, along with their societal implications.

Prospects for new technology of meat processing in Japan.

This review starts by introducing the history and underlying culture of meat production and consumption in Japan since early times, and the effects of social change on these parameters. Meat processing in Japan is described, and certain other related papers are also introduced. Automatic machines for meat cutting have been developed by the Japanese food industry and are currently being used throughout the world, particularly in Europe. Soft meat products specially produced for the elderly, along with diet meat products low in salt and calorie content for middle aged persons have recently gone into production. The intensification of color formation of meat using naturally occurring materials, and tenderization of sausage casing are discussed.

Meat products and consumption culture in the West.

Meat products and consumption culture in the West may be traced back for at least 2,500 years. The dominant cultural source was Greco-Roman, with evidence from archeology, surviving documents and the names of meat cuts. The initial uniformity of meat technology and language in the Roman Empire was lost as national boundaries and languages fragmented. More recently, however, there has been a strong trend back to uniformity in meat cutting and grading. This started in the USA to solve logistical problems associated with long-distance commerce and similar changes occurred with the formation of the EU. Issues such as meat inspection and animal transport have been strongly influenced by the effect of literature on public opinion, which then led to legislated improvements. Innovations in other areas such as meat distribution and preservation had military origins. Meat consumption culture was involved in the early development of language, social grouping and religions.

"Hop to the top with the Iowa Chop": the Iowa Porkettes and cultivating agrarian feminisms in the Midwest, 1964-1992.

Over the course of twenty-eight years, between 1964 and 1991, members of the Iowa Porkettes, the women's auxiliary to the Iowa Pork Producer's Association (IPPA), promoted pork products in order to assert their roles as agricultural producers. For the members of the Porkettes, technological change and the growth of agribusiness provided new opportunities to challenge patriarchal hierarchies in agricultural organizations. Over time, as the overall number of hog farmers declined and the agricultural marketplace increasingly demanded professional expertise, the Porkettes transformed a women's auxiliary into a female-led commodity organization. Initially, members participated in appropriately "feminine" activities including Pork Queen contests, lard-baking contests, consultations with high school home economics instructors, and the distribution of promotional materials. By the late 1970s, however, members began to employ a new rhetoric shaped by their labor on the farm to claim an important stake in the production and marketing of commodities. They took responsibility for large-scale advertising campaigns, managed a growing budget, and became leaders within the IPPA. Their experiences offer insight into broader developments of second wave agrarian feminisms that enabled farm women's organizations to renegotiate gendered divisions of labor, claim new public spaces for women, and demand greater recognition from male agricultural leaders.

ASAS Centennial Paper: Development of a corn-based beef industry.

The development of a beef industry, heavily dependent on corn utilization, began to occur in the 1940s. Begun as a means to add value to the grain while improving consumer acceptance of beef, corn has become an integral part of beef production. Developments in the 21st century including unprecedented cattle prices, changes in beef demand, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, surge in energy costs, pricing differentiation of cattle prices based on quality, and industry consolidation have dramatically changed the price of corn and cost of beef production. The future of the beef industry will be dependent on our ability to continue producing high-quality beef for a global market through effective use of genetics, new technologies, and economic management strategies.