Meat

Meat (from OHG Meatba ) generally refers to the soft tissues of humans and animals. In particular, the term refers to components of mammals and birds, which are used for human nutrition. These include, in addition to muscle tissue with fat and connective tissue and tendons, and certain internal organs. In addition, meat is also used to refer to the land under food soft parts alternately warm animals such as fish, crabs, clams and snails; common are compound words such as crabmeat and mussel meat.

For thousands of animals are slaughtered or hunted by humans; thereby arise - possibly after processing (ie processing ) - meat products such as cured meat or sausages.

A distinction is made according to the meat ( animal species) and the types of meat, the various parts of a type of meat.

Definitions

The meat term is legally defined for the movement of goods in the European Union and Switzerland.

European law, the term meat pursuant to Council Regulation (EC ) No 853/2004 of all edible parts ( including blood) of ungulates ( domestic bovine, porcine, ovine and caprine animals, and domestic solipeds ), poultry, lagomorphs, and wild game.

According to the guidelines for meat and meat products in the German Food Code meat referred to in a general sense all parts of slaughtered or hunted warm-blooded animals that are intended for human consumption. According to this definition, for example, offal and rinds covered. In particular, the term for muscle meat, so only skeletal muscle with attached or fat, connective tissue and stored smaller animal ingredients. In the definitions of meat in the declaration of the ingredients of sausage or other meat products, the proportions of fat and connective tissue percentage are limited.

Meats

The art of cooking is different between red and white meat, but there is no mandatory classification. The color difference arises mainly from a different content of myoglobin. This is for the transport of oxygen within the muscle, especially to the muscle cells ( myofibrils ), responsible. Heat the myoglobin is denatured to the so-called metmyoglobin, which fried or cooked meat takes on a rather grayish to gray- brown hue.

The fibers of the meat can longitudinally, transversely or crossed, the "crossed the course ," makes most tender due to the low fiber distances, the meat. Longitudinal fibers instead make the meat tough.

Production, slaughter and consumption

For meat carcass is generated and maintained. Due to the animal pole, a strong meat growth is to be achieved in the shortest possible time with the animals. Since space is a cost factor that is set in the conventional animal production in intensive livestock farming, where the animals can be kept in the smallest possible space with high mechanical use. The modern industrialized meat production takes place in large firms, thereby fattening animals is carried out to save space and with a large number of animals ( livestock farming ).

In Germany, almost slaughtered exclusively in state-controlled abattoirs, so that the cattle must be transported normally from the mast site there. A distinction is hot slaughter ( the meat of the animal is processed the same immediately after the killing, without letting it cool down before) and cold slaughter.

After the death of the animal is subject to meat after a few hours of rigor mortis and is not in this state to prepare. The bacterial and biochemical process that makes the meat then edible meat called ripening, or even hang out. Here the rigor mortis is mainly achieved by meat 's enzymes. The effect desired and usually existing microorganisms such as bacteria and optionally yeast is responsible for the development of the characteristic flavor.

Unprocessed meat sticks at room temperature is very limited, so an unbroken cold chain is required, especially in strong division of labor, economies such as the industrial nations to prevent bacterial spoilage. However, a shelf life of several weeks to months at room temperature can preservation methods such as boiling, curing, smoking, drying or fermenting ( Ahle sausages, salami ) achieve the flesh, or a combination thereof. A longer preservation of various packaging methods is possible, for example by vacuum packaging.

Consumption

The average global per capita consumption was 47.7 kg in 2009.

Before the Neolithic Revolution were in the human diet animal foods such as meat and fish in the foreground. The advent of agriculture enabled the people better access to food of plant origin. However, the sedentary lifestyles and the increase in population limited meat consumption to occasional consumption of domestic animals and only small amounts of wildlife. Only the extermination of predators from the settlements of the people at the beginning of the 20th century enabled again an increasing consumption of meat from wild and domestic animals.

Meat consumption varies widely in the different countries of the world. This is partly culturally and religiously related. Meat consumption increases with the gross national income. After an extrapolation of the FAO of the per capita consumption was around the earth in at 42.5 kilograms per year When?.

A move away from meat consumption make movements such as vegetarianism or veganism dar.

Advanced Topics

• Of meat - names of the pieces of meat of various body parts
• List of ingredients of meat - Nutritional various meats
• Meat dish and Category: Meat Dish - Traditional preparations
• Slaughterhouse, butcher, free banking - meat production and trade
• In vitro meat, meat substitutes - alternatives