"Trick or treat" the misrepresentation of American beef exports in Britain during the late nineteenth century

This article examines the misrepresentation of American beef in the British market between c. 1890 and c. 1913. We examine the complaints voiced by British consumers, producers, and retailers and we discuss the response of the British government and the United States Department of Agriculture. A new...

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Main Authors: Higgins, D, Gangjee, D
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2010
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author Higgins, D
Gangjee, D
author_facet Higgins, D
Gangjee, D
author_sort Higgins, D
collection OXFORD
description This article examines the misrepresentation of American beef in the British market between c. 1890 and c. 1913. We examine the complaints voiced by British consumers, producers, and retailers and we discuss the response of the British government and the United States Department of Agriculture. A new dataset is employed to calculate the price premiums that could be earned from the misrepresentation of beef according to geographic origin. While considerable premiums could be earned by "passing-off" American beef as British in the 1890s, these premiums declined during the 1900s. Particular emphasis is placed on the inability of the British government to act unilaterally on meat marking. This article also considers origin as a means of distinguishing between categories of nonbranded goods. Yet "origin" has many dimensions. Not only does it indicate provenance, it sometimes signals quality associated with provenance while also serving as the basis for protectionist responses. This article therefore contributes to the broader debates surrounding origin marking as a commercial and legal phenomenon. © The Author 2010.
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spelling oxford-uuid:ef70419d-9e03-43bb-89d4-725adae86d9f2022-03-27T11:40:12Z"Trick or treat" the misrepresentation of American beef exports in Britain during the late nineteenth centuryJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:ef70419d-9e03-43bb-89d4-725adae86d9fEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2010Higgins, DGangjee, DThis article examines the misrepresentation of American beef in the British market between c. 1890 and c. 1913. We examine the complaints voiced by British consumers, producers, and retailers and we discuss the response of the British government and the United States Department of Agriculture. A new dataset is employed to calculate the price premiums that could be earned from the misrepresentation of beef according to geographic origin. While considerable premiums could be earned by "passing-off" American beef as British in the 1890s, these premiums declined during the 1900s. Particular emphasis is placed on the inability of the British government to act unilaterally on meat marking. This article also considers origin as a means of distinguishing between categories of nonbranded goods. Yet "origin" has many dimensions. Not only does it indicate provenance, it sometimes signals quality associated with provenance while also serving as the basis for protectionist responses. This article therefore contributes to the broader debates surrounding origin marking as a commercial and legal phenomenon. © The Author 2010.
spellingShingle Higgins, D
Gangjee, D
"Trick or treat" the misrepresentation of American beef exports in Britain during the late nineteenth century
title "Trick or treat" the misrepresentation of American beef exports in Britain during the late nineteenth century
title_full "Trick or treat" the misrepresentation of American beef exports in Britain during the late nineteenth century
title_fullStr "Trick or treat" the misrepresentation of American beef exports in Britain during the late nineteenth century
title_full_unstemmed "Trick or treat" the misrepresentation of American beef exports in Britain during the late nineteenth century
title_short "Trick or treat" the misrepresentation of American beef exports in Britain during the late nineteenth century
title_sort trick or treat the misrepresentation of american beef exports in britain during the late nineteenth century
work_keys_str_mv AT higginsd trickortreatthemisrepresentationofamericanbeefexportsinbritainduringthelatenineteenthcentury
AT gangjeed trickortreatthemisrepresentationofamericanbeefexportsinbritainduringthelatenineteenthcentury