Beef Around the World –: Die Globalisierung des Rindfleischhandels bis 1914

Abstract

Beef around the World. The Globalization of Beef Markets before 1914

Between 1870 and 1914, beef became part of an international trade network between Argentina, Great Britain and the United States. The driving forces behind market integration were the transport revolution, a growing demand for high quality food and a reorganization of trade policies in the transatlantic world. The transport revolution led to a substantial decrease in freight rates and linked distant markets. After the invention of mechanical refrigeration (ca. 1880) not only grain but also ‘dead meat’ could now be shipped at competitive prices. Based on a growing population and increasing incomes the British and North-American consumers developed a higher demand for this high value food. Mass-production and economies of scale in the United States and Argentina created new forms of vertically integrated production, enforced further economic expansion and compelled a novel system of finance and distribution.