Meat was a neatly wrapped package one
bought at the market. Nature did not have
much to do with it.
— William Cronon, Nature’s
Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West,
1991Hormones
The manipulation of animal hormones is an
ancient technology. Farmers have castrated
male animals for thousands of years to make
them more docile. Testicle removal not only
prevents the production of sex hormones that
stimulate aggressive behavior, but also turns
out to favor the production of fat tissue over
muscle. This is why steers and capons have
long been preferred as meat animals over
bulls and cocks. The modern preference for
lean meat has led some producers to raise
uncastrated animals, or to replace certain
hormones in castrates. Several natural and