Animal to Edible / Edition 1

by Noilie Vialles, J. A. Underwood

Overview

Why do we find it necessary to slaughter living animals in order to enjoy their flesh? And why does this act offend our sensibilities, without necessarily making us into vegetarians? In her study of abattoirs in southwest France, Noélie Vialles brings to light a complex system of avoidances. Her analysis reveals that beyond the specific denial of the work of the abattoirs lies a whole system of symbolic representations of blood, human beings and animals, a symbolic code that determines the way in which we prepare domestic animals for the table.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521466721
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/16/1994
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.39(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction; 1. A place that is no-place; 2. Flaying the animal: the disjunctions involved; 3. Flaying the animal: the patient metamorphosis; 4. The shedding of blood; 5. Men and animals; Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

"...a truly fascinating piece of history and ethnography....This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is an excellent work on a subject which has much more to it than meets the eye." Richard Lobban, Anthrozoös

From the Publisher