Beef: The Untold Story of How Milk, Meat, and Muscle Shaped the World

Andrew Rimas and Evan D.G. Fraser have joined together to tell the remarkable story of the noble cow in Beef: The Untold Story of How Milk, Meat, and Muscle Shaped the World. In the bestselling tradition of Cod and Salt comes a lively history of our ongoing relationship with an animal that we have worked alongside, consumed, and even worshipped for thousands of years. The history of the cow is both surprising and fascinating, and Beef offers a unique overview of cattle yesterday, today, and tomorrow—from adoration to breeding to braising; from ancient Mediterranean bullfight rings to African villages to American stockyards—complete with amazing facts and trivia, wonderful recipes, and an important warning for the future of beef production.

The cow. The most industrious animal in the world. A beast central to human existence since time began, it has played a vital role in our history not only as a source of food, but also as a means of labor, an economic resource, an inspiration for art, and even as a religious icon. Prehistoric people painted it on cave walls; explorers, merchants, and landowners traded it as currency; many cultures worshipped it as a god. So how did it come to occupy the sorry state it does today—more factory product than animal?

In Beef, Andrew Rimas and Evan D. G. Fraser answer that question, telling the story of cattle in its entirety. From the powerful auroch, a now extinct beast once revered as a mystical totem, to the dairy cows of seventeenth-century Holland to the frozen meat patties and growth hormones of today, the authors deliver an engaging panoramic view of the cow's long and colorful history.

Peppered with lively anecdotes, recipes, and culinary tidbits, Beef tells a story that spans the globe, from ancient Mediterranean bullfighting rings to the rugged grazing grounds of eighteenth-century England, from the quiet farms of Japan's Kobe beef cows to crowded American stockyards to remote villages in East Africa, home of the Masai, a society to which cattle mean everything. Leaving no stone unturned in its exploration of the cow's legacy, the narrative serves not only as a compelling story but as a call to arms, offering practical solutions for confronting the current condition of the wasteful beef and dairy industries.

Beef is a captivating history of an animal whose relationship with humanity has shaped the world as we know it, and readers will never look at steak the same way again.

“Beef....is like the perfectly cooked steak, a rare thing. Combining intelligence with accessibility and superb research with genuine enthusiasm. It will make you think twice about what beef you buy and where you buy it. Most of all, however, it will make you want to go and eat a large steak, Ribeye, of course, and there can be no higher compliment.” - Simon Majumdar, author of EAT MY GLOBE: ONE YEAR TO GO EVERYWHERE—AND EAT EVERYTHING

“Beef is a story that needed to be told…. A helpful book. Even an important one…. It makes the increasing number of us who really care about food—not just how it tastes, but the ethical and environmental implications of it as well—feel better.” - Search magazine

“[Rimas and Fraser] take an intellectual approach to the meat industry and seek to tell a story rather than promote vegetarianism... Beef is an eloquent, poignant and influential account of man’s historical relationship with the cow... [It] is an epic tale, and the authors’ flair for storytelling is such that individuals of any literary persuasion may enjoy it..” - Eats.com

“[A] lively and unsettling history-cum-polemic. Rimas and Fraser preface their sobering assessment with a panoramic history; they write vividly... The authors lament that cows ‘ceased to be animals and they became commodities,’ and they certainly aren’t antimeat; their colorful account is well-seasoned with a series of ‘culinary interludes.’” - Publishers Weekly

“[Beef] deliver[s] in broad strokes the history of the cow from its evolutionary and ecological origins to present-day environmental issues... It’s full of anecdotes, snippets [and] culinary tidbits... A thoughtful and engaging narrative.” - Library Journal

“Distinctive among the many titles currently assessing the role of carnivorism in modern life, Rimas and Fraser’s spirited approach examines the evolution of the role of beef consumption and its varying effects on diverse cultures.” - Booklist

“BEEF tells the remarkable story of the cow and the effect it has had on culture—be it religion, food, war or economy. This wonderful book gives us a greater understanding of the history—and importance—of cattle.” - Todd English, Chef and Restaurateur

“If I were to make a list of the most notable nonfiction books of 2008, “Beef” would be at or near the top. It is an incisive, well-researched and highly readable overview of the history of cattle—and the individuals who shaped their roles over eons.” - Albuquerque Journal

“Even as a beef lover, I was skeptical that hundreds of pages on the subject of beef could be so riveting. Bravo on giving us a great read punctuated with serious scholarship, passion, and good humor. I am sated.” - Annie B. Copps, Yankee Magazine

“Their recounting of bovine evolution is riveting stuff. So, too, their discussion of the traumatic break between farmers and herdsmen, which finds its most pointed expression in the biblical story of Cain and Abel. And they do a terrific job of explicating how economics has contributed to our cultural passion for cattle, at one point describing cow ownership as ‘a sort of Dark Ages mutual fund.’” - Boston Globe

“Cattle, it seems, have always been among us, and Rimas and Fraser explore how over the millenniums they have served not only as food but as objects of wealth, myth and cultural self-definition. But our coexistence is nearing a crisis. Rimas and Fraser assert...that the beef industry as it now exists is unsustainable; and they counsel consumers to learn “restraint” - which they admit has never been much in evidence where beef is concerned.” - New York Times Book Review

“Fascinating.” - Time magazine