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The vital city: public analysis, dairies and slaughterhouses in nineteenth-century Britain

The vital city: public analysis, dairies and slaughterhouses in nineteenth-century Britain Despite the premises of classical political economy, which urged limited interventionin the production and circulation of vital commodities, nineteenth-century Britishgovernment became heavily involved in the urban food supply. This paper exploresthree areas where such governmental intervention was evident: the constitution of anetwork of public analysts devoted to the chemical sampling of foodstuffs, theincreasing regulation of the dairy industry, and the construction of publicabattoirs. Although these regulatory systems suggest an active, interventionary formof government, they can still be seen as broadly liberal in nature: they usuallyinvolved a substantial degree of delegation, pragmatism and negotiation, and theirimplementation was slow and geographically patchy. Nonetheless, substantial changesin urban nutritional practices can be discerned by 1900. By this time, little foodwas produced within British cities: much came from remote parts of Britain oroverseas, and the supply was far more technologically-mediated than in earliercenturies. In the milk and meat trades, we can see the first moves towardsindustrialisation. Securing the vitality of the city, therefore, had entailed thedevelopment of distinct regulatory strategies and the emergence of new nutritionalgeographies, both of which would significantly shape the dietary history of thetwentieth century. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Cultural Geographies SAGE

The vital city: public analysis, dairies and slaughterhouses in nineteenth-century Britain

Otter, Chris
Cultural Geographies , Volume 13 (4): 21 – Oct 1, 2006
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References (73)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
Copyright © by SAGE Publications
ISSN
1474-4740
eISSN
1477-0881
DOI
10.1191/1474474006cgj373oa
Publisher site
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Abstract

Despite the premises of classical political economy, which urged limited interventionin the production and circulation of vital commodities, nineteenth-century Britishgovernment became heavily involved in the urban food supply. This paper exploresthree areas where such governmental intervention was evident: the constitution of anetwork of public analysts devoted to the chemical sampling of foodstuffs, theincreasing regulation of the dairy industry, and the construction of publicabattoirs. Although these regulatory systems suggest an active, interventionary formof government, they can still be seen as broadly liberal in nature: they usuallyinvolved a substantial degree of delegation, pragmatism and negotiation, and theirimplementation was slow and geographically patchy. Nonetheless, substantial changesin urban nutritional practices can be discerned by 1900. By this time, little foodwas produced within British cities: much came from remote parts of Britain oroverseas, and the supply was far more technologically-mediated than in earliercenturies. In the milk and meat trades, we can see the first moves towardsindustrialisation. Securing the vitality of the city, therefore, had entailed thedevelopment of distinct regulatory strategies and the emergence of new nutritionalgeographies, both of which would significantly shape the dietary history of thetwentieth century.

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Cultural Geographies – SAGE

Published: Oct 1, 2006

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