The Chinese Meat Fetish: a Socio-Cultural Enquiry
Fiona Fang
996623872
EAS 344 H1 S
Prof. Meng Yue
The Chinese Meat Fetish: A socio-cultural enquiry
Meat consumption patterns in China have risen dramatically in the past 30 years, which various implications for different groups worldwide. I propose that the current emphasis on meat consumption in China is weakly justified, thus I call a “meat fetish”. This essay focuses on the sociological and cultural factors in China that contribute to this underlying attitudinal change. Moreover, I propose this fetish has negatively affected all interests globally and is paradoxical because it ultimately harms those who fetishize it. As such, increased meat consumption is an overall costly burden rather than an enrichment of lifestyle or liberation for the Chinese society.
A commodity fetish occurs when humans ascribe subjective positive values to an object which by itself is devoid of meaning. The underlying cause to the marked rise in Chinese meat consumption is the general Chinese attitude towards meat as a food source. It is indeed a fetish because values and meaning are overemphasized on its necessity in the human diet, where unwarranted assumptions are made. Naturalization, a process of fetishization, occurs as these beliefs remain unchallenged and simply accepted. As a result, the current meat consumption has shifted the Chinese diet completely. Not long ago in 1950s, non-animal foods made up 97% of the Chinese diet. An average Chinese today eats 5 kg more pork than an American annually (Brown). While meat consumption increased across all groups, food choices are still limited by income. As purchasing power increased, meat has replaced vegetarian foods (Harris).
Chinese food culture as the root of fetishization
Food is arguably the fundamental root of Chinese culture with different cultural roles. There are several general assumptions to justify meat consumption in China, which is intertwined with these values towards food. First, food is central to many social
996623872
EAS 344 H1 S
Prof. Meng Yue
The Chinese Meat Fetish: A socio-cultural enquiry
Meat consumption patterns in China have risen dramatically in the past 30 years, which various implications for different groups worldwide. I propose that the current emphasis on meat consumption in China is weakly justified, thus I call a “meat fetish”. This essay focuses on the sociological and cultural factors in China that contribute to this underlying attitudinal change. Moreover, I propose this fetish has negatively affected all interests globally and is paradoxical because it ultimately harms those who fetishize it. As such, increased meat consumption is an overall costly burden rather than an enrichment of lifestyle or liberation for the Chinese society.
A commodity fetish occurs when humans ascribe subjective positive values to an object which by itself is devoid of meaning. The underlying cause to the marked rise in Chinese meat consumption is the general Chinese attitude towards meat as a food source. It is indeed a fetish because values and meaning are overemphasized on its necessity in the human diet, where unwarranted assumptions are made. Naturalization, a process of fetishization, occurs as these beliefs remain unchallenged and simply accepted. As a result, the current meat consumption has shifted the Chinese diet completely. Not long ago in 1950s, non-animal foods made up 97% of the Chinese diet. An average Chinese today eats 5 kg more pork than an American annually (Brown). While meat consumption increased across all groups, food choices are still limited by income. As purchasing power increased, meat has replaced vegetarian foods (Harris).
Chinese food culture as the root of fetishization
Food is arguably the fundamental root of Chinese culture with different cultural roles. There are several general assumptions to justify meat consumption in China, which is intertwined with these values towards food. First, food is central to many social