Food Hierarchies
Hierarchies
A familiar theme throughout human history is that things which are highly prized by some individuals are thought to be highly defiling by others. This applies in the case of the different meats we eat. Red meats, and in particular beef, have the highest status for meat eaters, and yet they are the ones which are first avoided by some semivegetarians. There is, in fact, a theoretical hierarchy for meats and meat products which starts with beef and ends with fish, and this is shown in the broader context of other foods in Table 2. The reduced meat eater would typically progress towards vegetarianism by first giving up beef, then lamb, pork, poultry and finally fish. The species of origin, the appearance of blood and the redness of the meat are thought to be key features which create this hierarchy (Twigg, 1979).
Table 2 - Hierarchy of Foods
| Taboo in most societies | Cannibalism; Meat from carnivores; Raw meat and blood |
| Accepted by meat eating societies, or, approximate order of avoidance by reduced meat eaters | Red meat (beef, lamb, pork); Poultry; Processed meats; Fish |
| Accepted by vegetarians, or, approximate order of avoidance in macrobiotic diets | Eggs; Cheese and milk; Root vegetables; Leaf vegetables; Fruit and nuts; Cereals |
However, Worsley & Skrzypiec (1996a) found that beef sausages were the foremost item which is avoided on conversion to semivegetarianism (Table 3). Hamburger consumption on the other hand, persisted amongst a number of semivegetarians. In general, cooking and processing a meat before it is purchased by the consumer helps to take the meat one step away from its original image. Through cooking it loses its redness and it is less likely to be linked with the live animal. This may explain the position of many of the other processed and cold meats in Table 3. Superimposed on this there may be other images that are strengthened by advertising, and these all complicate the forementioned generalisations.
It is often claimed that fish and chicken are chosen by semivegetarians because they are white meats, and so they are less likely to be linked with blood, and, because the image of the animal is less likely to provoke empathy. This would not necessarily apply when the carcass (fish or chicken) is sold with its head on and in particular when its eyes can be clearly seen.
Table 3 Hierarchy of meats amongst 16 year old Australian semi-vegetarians
| Number of semi-vegetarians who eat the respective meat for every meat-eater who consumes the same meat | |
| Beef sausages | 0.41 |
| Pork | 0.43 |
| Crumbed veal | 0.46 |
| Lamb | 0.46 |
| Steak | 0.47 |
| Bacon | 0.47 |
| Roast beef/veal | 0.51 |
| Casserole (not chicken) | 0.55 |
| Mince meat | 0.56 |
| Cold meats | 0.65 |
| Processed meats* | 0.67 |
| Chicken | 0.82 |
| Fish | 1.05 |
* sausage rolls, pies, hamburgers (Adapted from Worsley & Skrzypiec, 1996)
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