Prime Cut: Livestock Raising and Meatpacking in the United States, 1607-1983

by Jimmy M. Skaggs

Red meat—it’s as American as apple pie. In a world where most hunger is alleviated with an occasional handful of grain, red meat’s daily appearance on most American tables is a vivid symbol of national prosperity. The red-meat industry is also a powerful symbol. Undulating with the waves made by entrepreneurs and monopolies, shortages and gluts, scandal and government regulations, the industry mirrors the nation’s turbulent economic history.

Author Jimmy M. Skaggs traces the development of the red-meat industry from forest-foraging razorbacks in colonial days to genetic engineering of tender, disease-resistant beef cattle.

Scholars and persons interested in livestock raising, agriculture, and America’s marketplace will find Prime Cut to be an unflinching account of one of our nation’s most volatile, most quintessentially American industries. With the extensive bibliography accompanying this work, the only modern comprehensive study of American livestock raising and meatpacking, readers will have access to countless details of the meat industry.

280 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 1986