Kill and chill

Ian MacLachlan, a geographer, first became interested in the meat trade after taking his students on a field trip to the Canada Packers plant in Lethbridge, an experience that left him both repelled and captivated. Unable to find a book that explained how Canada's meat-packing business actually operated, he wrote one that combines economic geography with the industry's history.

The book looks at the whole system around the industry rather than only the slaughterhouse. It starts with calf breeding and cattle feeding on farms and feedlots, then traces how cattle are sold, how meat packing developed, and how the country's three largest packing companies came to dominate. It also covers the growth of labour unions within the industry.

The account runs to the close of the twentieth century and includes the purchase of Maple Leaf Foods by the McCain family. MacLachlan finishes with an analysis of how beef is marketed to consumers at retail today.