{"product_id":"red-meat-republic-joshua-specht-9780691182315","title":"Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-To-Table History of How Beef Changed America","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow beef conquered America and gave rise to the modern industrial food complex\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy the late nineteenth century, Americans rich and poor had come to expect high-quality fresh beef with almost every meal. Beef production in the United States had gone from small-scale, localized operations to a highly centralized industry spanning the country, with cattle bred on ranches in the rural West, slaughtered in Chicago, and consumed in the nation's rapidly growing cities. \u003ci\u003eRed Meat Republic\u003c\/i\u003e tells the remarkable story of the violent conflict over who would reap the benefits of this new industry and who would bear its heavy costs. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJoshua Specht puts people at the heart of his story--the big cattle ranchers who helped to drive the nation's westward expansion, the meatpackers who created a radically new kind of industrialized slaughterhouse, and the stockyard workers who were subjected to the shocking and unsanitary conditions described by Upton Sinclair in his novel \u003ci\u003eThe Jungle\u003c\/i\u003e. Specht brings to life a turbulent era marked by Indian wars, Chicago labor unrest, and food riots in the streets of New York. He shows how the enduring success of the cattle-beef complex--centralized, low cost, and meatpacker dominated--was a consequence of the meatpackers' ability to make their interests overlap with those of a hungry public, while the interests of struggling ranchers, desperate workers, and bankrupt butchers took a backseat. America--and the American table--would never be the same again. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA compelling and unfailingly enjoyable read, \u003ci\u003eRed Meat Republic\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the complex history of exploitation and innovation behind the food we consume today.","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50268914483393,"sku":"9780691182315","price":33.54,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0781\/5512\/0833\/files\/9780691182315.jpg?v=1779994750","url":"https:\/\/www.porchlightbooks.com\/products\/red-meat-republic-joshua-specht-9780691182315","provider":"Porchlight Book Company","version":"1.0","type":"link"}