20% Project. Beef Through Time.

Beef Through Time
Nathan Chambers
10/29/09

Beef is a big part of the American diet these days. The most heard of meal for beef in my house is Rib Eye steak. In some countries beef is considered forbidden. One religion in particular is Hinduism. Also some countries have a hard time getting beef into there country. When they get it, it is expensive because of the shortage. Our country however, is one of the largest consumers of beef in the world. Brazil, Japan, and The Peoples Republic of China are also very large consumers. The largest exporters in the world are Brazil, Australia, Argentina, and Canada.
Beef is the muscle of the animal. It can be cut into steak, roasts, or short ribs. Some other cuts are processed, like corn beef or beef jerky. It can also be ground, minced or used in sausages. Many parts are used as human food. Some of the parts are oxtail, tongue, and tripe. People also eat the heart, the brain, the liver, the kidneys, and the testicles. The intestines can be used for a natural sausage casing. The lung and udder are forbidden for eating in the U.S.. Older animals are used for beef once they are past their reproductive time. Their meat is usually tougher then younger animals so they are usually ground beef.
Beef was not a an important part of the American diet before the civil war. Cattle were not in the Americas when people came to America. The Spaniards were the first ones to introduce cattle to Mexico in 1540. The Spanish and French started to raise cattle, when the railroads started to mature they transferred herds from San Antonio to New Orleans. That winter was a harsh winter though. The system turned belly up because 90 percent of the population of the herd was wiped out. G.H. Hanharmand started to change the industry with the uprising of refrigerated railway cars. Slaughter houses were set up in the Mid-west to use the railway cars to send the meat back to the east.
The way we treat beef now from a long time ago is very different. Beef now is just a meal that we take for granted a lot of the time. A long time ago when we had a meal with beef in it it was expensive, if you had it you probably had some money. Most likely you were looked up to by other people that could only eat bread and rice. Overall everyone should be glad that beef is cheaper now then it was because beef is one of the best meals you can have.