Cheap Meat: Flap Food Nations in the Pacific Islands

By: and

Synopsis
Cheap Meat follows the controversial trade in inexpensive fatty cuts of lamb or mutton, called "flaps," from the farms of New Zealand and Australia to their primary markets in the Pacific islands of Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Fiji. Deborah Gewertz and Frederick Errington address the evolution of the meat trade itself along with the changing practices of exchange in Papua New Guinea. They show that flaps--which are taken from the animals' bellies and are often 50 percent fat--are not mere market transactions but evidence of the social nature of nutrition policies, illustrating and reinforcing Pacific Islanders' presumed second-class status relative to the white populations of Australia and New Zealand.
Copyright:
2010

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:
9780520945975
Related ISBNs:
9780520260924
Publisher:
University of California Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
University of California Press
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food and Wine, Social Studies
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

Reviews

3 out of 5

By on

I'm still trying to figure out why anthropologists decided to publish this book. Probably wanted tax write-offs for trips to Fiji, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand! NZ sells flaps (cuts of fatty sheep bellies that most Westerners won't eat) to Pacific Island nations as a cheap source of protein and calories. Big deal. Poor people have always bought lesser cuts of meat. But I did enjoy learning about food systems outside the US- turns out we all have the same problems. Not recommended.