American Identity and Culture Alongside the Beef and Dairy Industries

This thesis examines the cultural, historical, and technological significance of food, specifically red meat, milk, and the cow, in shaping American identities and societal values. Through a combination of historical analysis and cultural critique, it explores how food products like meat and milk function as tools of cultural expression and control, reflecting and reinforcing societal norms tied to gender, race, and power. Drawing on feminist and critical race theories, the thesis analyzes the cow’s role as a literal and symbolic technology, from its use in colonization and expansion to its influence in constructing modern hierarchies. It highlights the cowboy myth and red meat as symbols of masculinity, alongside milk’s portrayal as a nurturing and maternal product, to illustrate how these foods perpetuate power dynamics and societal expectations. Contemporary movements like the Raw Milk Movement underscore how food choices mirror personal and collective identities, particularly during societal tension, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These movements reveal cultural and political divides, with raw milk becoming a symbol of resistance against government authority and modern food systems. Ultimately, this thesis argues that food is more than sustenance–it is a technology of identity that reflects and shapes societal transformations, offering insight into how Americans define themselves through what they eat in an ever-changing social and political landscape.