Veal, the meat of young male calves who are slaughtered between eight and twelve months of age, is not as popular in the UK now as it was in Austen’s time. At the time, it was an expensive food, hence Mr. Bingley’s decision to offer White Soup, which was made with veal broth, at the Netherfield Ball. It is unsurprising that Bath residents like the Allens would be accustomed to finding this expensive meat in the market since, as Maggie Lane explains, Bath was second only to West London “in the range and luxury of its shops” ('Domestic economy' 14). Its geographic location put it at great advantage to receive variety and high quality in foods: meat from Wales; fruit and vegetables from the Cotswolds; dairy produce from Somerset and Devon; fish from the River Severn; and imported wines from Bristol (13). So, Mrs. Allen’s concern about a shortage of veal in the Bath market strikes Lane as somewhat odd. However, as Lane herself states in more recent work, “any mention of a specific food stuff in Austen is made by a character who is thereby condemned for being greedy, vulgar, selfish, or trivial” ('Food' 268). Austen’s letters confirm that she learned about the complex social meanings of food and eating from her own domestic duties. So, although this might seem like a passing remark on Mrs. Allen’s part, it brings attention to the triviality that characterizes both Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Thorpe.

Mrs. Allen’s remark highlights her selfishness as well as her inadequacy as a guardian. Catherine is walking in from spending more time with Isabella and Mr. Thorpe, and her intuition about his dishonesty, although not yet formulated as such, is conveyed through her thoughts about him. She realizes that he “did not excel in…making those things plain which he had before made ambiguous.” After being with him, she feels “extreme weariness” creeping over her. But Catherine’s intuition is not affirmed by her temporary guardian, Mrs. Allen, who rather than ensuring that the Thorpes are good company for Catherine, is much more concerned with the shortage of veal. The veracity of Mrs. Thorpe’s information itself must be questioned, given that her children characterize deceitfulness. Yet, in addition to underscoring character flaws, Mrs. Allen’s and Mrs. Thorpe’s reliance on the market to acquire their meat emphasizes their class. As Barbara K. Seeber points out, “[t]o be able to command food that others cannot inscribes social hierarchy” (94, 97). In this case, while Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Thorpe might be performing refinement and wealth in their preference for veal, their inability to access it emphasizes what they do not have—a large estate and cattle.

Today, veal is consumed globally. It is prized for its tenderness, which requires that calves be restricted from exercise to avoid building muscle. For long, the farming industry has used crates to confine calves and restrict their mobility, a practice that animal advocates deem inhumane. In January 2007, the European Union banned these crates. The UK has implemented this ban for calves destined to be slaughtered for food. Otherwise, since bulls don’t produce milk and adults are not deemed good for meat, male calves are often shot when they are born. Calf crates continue to be used in the US and other countries.

Veal production and consumption remind us of the power dynamic that justifies human dominance over nature. Seeber has argued that this dynamic was familiar to Austen, who was well aware of its intersection with male dominance over women (97-99). Indeed,these two power dynamics intersect in characters like John Thorpe, whose preference for hunting and mistreatment of horses signals his perception of Catherine Morland as prey to be caught and consumed.

Works Cited

Pauer, S., Rutjens, B., & Harreveld, F. van. (2022). Trust is good, control is better: The role of trust and personal control in response to risk. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/dvb5x

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/bat-out-hell-singer-meat-loaf-dies-aged-74-2022-01-21/

Douglas, L. (2021, October 28). Coronavirus infections at U.S. meat plants far higher than previous estimates -House subcommittee. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/coronavirus-infections-us-meat-plants-far-higher-than-previous-estimates-house-2021-10-27/

the crux of the problem is: trade-offs

I'm intrigued by wartime cookbooks. This is exactly the type of recipe I'm looking for. It looks versatile, cheap,and simple.

Linked to from: https://security.stackexchange.com/a/183973/43759

Cohen, P. N. (2020). The COVID-19 epidemic in rural U.S. counties. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/pnqrd

Beef is nearly 6 times the impact of Pork.

This is worth referring to in the background section to provide context, on why you need more than just changes to the web

Is it good though?

• "we are spirits in the material world"
• "We are spiritual beings having a human experience"

or as I jokingly say:

• 'I am a Pleiadian being having a Human experience.'

Of course you're in a limited state. Being in a body is a limited state. It's a great nuisance carrying around this hunk-feeding it, housing it, keeping it clean, clothing it, making it beautiful, keeping it comfortable and attending to its many aches and pains. A nuisance, my God! Don't you just want to fly away sometimes? But the body is the garment you wear in being in this world, and it enables you to communicate here. You don't get much attention if you don't have a body and you want to communicate. Then it is hard to get people's attention. And if you do get their attention, you scare the daylights out of them, and they never want to have an experience like that again! So, obviously, our ability to communicate with people in the world seems very limited. We still give them something, but it will arise from within them and they will think it is from themselves.

https://hyp.is/CxRY8prCEeafH6-CvEocWw/gateway.ipfs.io/ipfs/QmPmEFwAKZTkEDca6uRR4VwkHwmmrdFuuBvopgfGPmKEsg

I really, truly wish that the author explained what bread is. What is its nature? What it symbolize? What does nut bread even stand for?