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From inhumane to enticing: reimagining scandalous meat

Kristie O’Neill (University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada)

British Food Journal

ISSN: 0007-070X

Article publication date: 30 July 2019

Issue publication date: 27 November 2019

147

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the meanings of veal change from 1989 to 2014 in the pages of two major newspapers.

Design/methodology/approach

Articles in The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph that use the word “veal” were selected (n=1,387). Articles were read for emergent themes and each use of the word veal was coded. Each newspaper had phases of popularity in the use of the word “veal,” and unique words for each of these phases were identified. The context of these unique words was examined in order to illustrate changes in what to eat and why, as well as how to access food and act toward it.

Findings

This paper illustrates how readers are meaningfully encouraged to engage in food politics in ways that may be incrementally transformative, but do not involve demanding food as a right.

Originality/value

This paper illustrates that normalizing scandalous food involves complexity and subtle changes. Shifts in messages are detected and analyzed using the related concepts of subsistence standards and practices of reciprocity.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This paper forms part of a special section “Controversy and sustainability for localised agrofood systems: thinking a dynamic link”.

Citation

O’Neill, K. (2019), "From inhumane to enticing: reimagining scandalous meat", British Food Journal, Vol. 121 No. 12, pp. 3135-3150. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-10-2018-0708

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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