Beef Podcast Averee and Emily

Cattle were first introduced to Brazil in the 16th century. Even after their arrival, enslaved people were still forced to work on plantations with cattle. Laws were put in place to keep cattle away from sugar mills. Cattle hides were exported to Europe while the meat was wasted. Each farmer had their own herd, resulting in a lot of wasted meat. In the early 1700s, there were close to two million cattle in northeastern Brazil. The tamest cattle were used for milking. The salting method was used to preserve meat and reduce waste. Salting started in the south and became a hub for dried meat export. Zebu cattle is a major breed in Brazil. Multiple generations of families have worked on breeding this type of cattle. Welcome to the Beef Podcast. I'm Avery and I'm here with Emily to talk about the production and history of beef in Brazil. Hi Avery, thank you for having me. It's such an honor to be a part of Beef the Podcast. We are so glad to have you. Let's start when beef was first introduced to Brazil and what that looked like. So according to animals and society in Brazil from the 16th to 19th century, cattle first arrived in Cape Verde in 1549, which is in the northeastern part of Brazil. Moving to the 16th century, were people still being forced to work even after cattle were introduced? So by the time the 16th century was ending, many plantations were still utilizing enslaved people with as many head of cattle. So since cattle were being utilized in a working condition, were there any laws or orders put in place for cattle at this time? In the early 1700s, in order to keep sugar safe from harm, the Royal Order of 1701 actually prohibited cattle from being around land where sugar mills were kept just to make sure that the crops were safe. According to animals and society in Brazil from the 16th to 19th centuries. What type of exports were cattle used for? In the beginning, cattle hides were actually being exported to Europe while most of the meat went unconsumed and wasted. Oh interesting. So what was early on cattle production in Brazil like? So every farmer or rancher was in charge of his own herd and was independent from all outside resources. So a lot of the meat was wasted in this system because meat wasn't being shipped or sold for consumption. People would also kill multiple animals if one person wanted the same type or cut a meat as the other person. So instead of sharing they would kill two animals. What data do you have on numbers of cattle in the 16th century? According to animals and society in Brazil from the 16th to 19th centuries, numbers for cattle in the northeastern portion of Brazil were close to two million in the early 1700s. Moving to the early 1800s, how were specific cattle types used? The tamest cattle on farms were used for milking and in the early 1800s only about a quarter of cattle were tamed on the best farms. We know the popular method used for preserving meat was the salting method. How was it utilized during this time? The salting method was utilized to preserve meat which also helped cut down on the wasted meat. So this method was developed in Sierra. When cattle raising was slowing down in the northeastern portion of Brazil, salting started being practicing in the south. The south then actually became a hub for dried meat export and then became a supplier of meat to the capital of Brazil which is Rio de Janeiro. And this is all according to animals and society in Brazil from the 16th to 19th centuries. All right, last question for you, Emily. What is a major cattle breed for Brazil and how has it affected the family producers? There is no record showing when Zebu cattle was first introduced in Brazil, but it is a major breed for them. There are actually still families where multiple generations have worked on selected breeding for that specific type of cattle. Well, thank you so much, Emily, for joining us on today's episode of Beef. Thank you so much, Avery, for having me. It was a pleasure being on Beef, the podcast, and I think we had a really great conversation.