78 The Meaning of Food
“Meat is, to many, synonymous with ‘real’ food.” He also suggested that
even for vegetarians “the range of soya based meat analogues...testifies
to the centrality of the concept of meat” and that “many people wishing
to avoid meat feel that the gap left in their habitual food system needs to
be filled with a direct equivalent which mimics the form or the nutritional
content of meat itself ” (p. 16). He further stated, “Even when the form of
meat is entirely foregone, a substitute, such as cheese or eggs, is almost always
of animal origin” (p. 17). Meat is therefore a central part of what we eat
(or avoid eating). On this basis, Fiddes (1990) carried out an extensive anthro-
pological analysis of the meanings of meat and said that “meat is more than
just a meal; it also represents a way of life” (p. 45). Fiddes drew upon
statistical data concerning eating habits, health risks, and the benefits of
meat eating, and then integrated these data with quotes from farmers, butch-
ers, members of the general public, and vegetarian campaigners. Fiddes’
central argument contended that meat eating symbolizes the civilizing of
human beings. He argued that by separating ourselves from and gaining
power over the natural world, people have become civilized. He described
how studies on the development of human identity have emphasized the
extent to which human beings tame, kill, and eat nature. He described how
historians analyze how people have dominated nature and suggested that
eating meat represents the essence of being human and is central to the
separation between culture and nature. To illustrate and support his
analysis, he drew upon a range of literatures and behaviors as follows.
Hunting
Fiddes (1990) pointed to the literature on hunting, and quoted from a mod-
ern writer on deer hunting who “casually defines the birth of humanity by
the beginnings of skilled hunting and progress by the development of more
efficient technology” (p. 55). He reviewed the evidence and concluded that
“hunting...may have been even more significant in the evolution of
modern humanity than the later development of agriculture” (p. 56). He
also stated that “as civilised humans, we have long characterised ourselves
as predators and conquerors” as “it is thus more civilised – more human
- to hunt wild animals than to stoop to forage all bloody day for berries”
(p. 63). Hunting animals signifies the separation of humans from nature.
Blood
Fiddes also highlighted the symbolism of blood. He argued that “bloodshed
is central to meat’s value” and that “killing, cooking and eating other animals’