Are Carcasses Political? German Veterinarians and the Modernization of Rendering Technology, 1864–1940

The regulations dealing with animal death have undergirded the autarkic aspirations of governments as diverse as revolutionary France, Nazi Germany, and the German Democratic Republic. Three recent works on "fascist," "communist," and "capitalist" pigs reveal parallels...

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Published in:Technology and culture 2023, Vol.64 (1), p.90-123
Main Author: Denton, Chad B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
20th century
Animals
Aspiration
By products
Carcasses
Communism
Culture
Fascism
Feeds
Fertilizers
Handbooks
Historians
Industrial development
Knowledge
Legislation
Meat
Modernization
Nazism
Organizational culture
Political ideologies
Politics
Power
Professionalization
Raw materials
Recycling
Regulation
Technological change
Veterinarians
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary surgeons
Welfare
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description The regulations dealing with animal death have undergirded the autarkic aspirations of governments as diverse as revolutionary France, Nazi Germany, and the German Democratic Republic. Three recent works on "fascist," "communist," and "capitalist" pigs reveal parallels between the industrialized slaughter of animals in Germany's twentieth-century authoritarian regimes and the capitalist slaughter system in nineteenth-century America's "red meat republic." In their focus on political ideology, however, these works overlook the politics of professionalization. A late nineteenth-century relationship between state, economy, and national welfare in Germany allowed veterinarians to create a unique "slaughter culture" based on the technological, hygienic disposal of animal carcasses. This article traces the development of that professional culture through one veterinarian, Robert von Ostertag (1864-1940). He and his well-placed protégés weaponized the idea of carcasses as untapped reservoirs of raw materials to impact legislation and veterinary education, making German veterinarians the arbiters of animal remains.
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subjects 19th century
20th century
Animals
Aspiration
By products
Carcasses
Communism
Culture
Fascism
Feeds
Fertilizers
Handbooks
Historians
Industrial development
Knowledge
Legislation
Meat
Modernization
Nazism
Organizational culture
Political ideologies
Politics
Power
Professionalization
Raw materials
Recycling
Regulation
Technological change
Veterinarians
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary surgeons
Welfare
title Are Carcasses Political? German Veterinarians and the Modernization of Rendering Technology, 1864–1940
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