Meat products and consumption culture in the West

Meat products and consumption culture in the West may be traced back for at least 2,500 years. The dominant cultural source was Greco-Roman, with evidence from archeology, surviving documents and the names of meat cuts. The initial uniformity of meat technology and language in the Roman Empire was lost as national boundaries and languages fragmented. More recently, however, there has been a strong trend back to uniformity in meat cutting and grading. This started in the USA to solve logistical problems associated with long-distance commerce and similar changes occurred with the formation of the EU. Issues such as meat inspection and animal transport have been strongly influenced by the effect of literature on public opinion, which then led to legislated improvements. Innovations in other areas such as meat distribution and preservation had military origins. Meat consumption culture was involved in the early development of language, social grouping and religions.