Meat Trade in Britain, 1840-1914

Notes:

Scholarly, early account. A wide ranging history of the domestic industry and of meat imports from Europe and North America and, latterly, Argentina and Australia. Deals with dead meat, livestock and frozen meat trades and covers production and distribution aspects. Organised in 10 chapters, viz: 1] 'Importance of the meat trade, 1840-1914' - consumption / importance to agriculture / employment / expenditure on meat; 2] 'Changes in the domestic livestock trade, 1840-64' - steam navigation / railways / regional differences in demand / provincial markets; 3] 'Changes in town markets, 1840-64' - London and Smithfield / obstacles to reform in London / dead meat trade with London / provincial towns; 4] 'Trade in diseased meat' - Gamgee family / meat and public health / regional extent of the trade / extent of the disease / obstacles to reform; 5] 'Foreign imports and the domestic supply, 1840-62' - meat imports / livestock imports / domestic livestock supply; 6] 'The domestic trade, 1865-89' - official intervention / livestock trade / dead meat trade; 7] 'Imports from Europe and North America, 1865-89' - government control of livestock imports / transatlantic cattle trade / changes in European livestock imports / dead meat; 8] 'The domestic meat trade, 1890-1914' - official regulation / fatstock marketing / transport of domestic meat by rail / purchases of livestock by retail trade; 9] 'Imports from Europe and North America, 1890-1914' - livestock from North America / North American chilled beef / European trade; 10 'Frozen meat' - cold stores / differences in methods employed / marketing methods in UK / decentralised distribution / forward trade / development of Argentine meat industry after 1900