The Case of Meat explores manifold stories behind the meat industry in Argentina. Beginning with the personal narrative of Tata Moya, a former worker at a slaughterhouse in the Argentine pampas, this film opens the curtain on an industry socially designed to remain out of sight. Working against the common assumption that the slaughterhouse is a space designed to confine and conceal the violent encounter between butchers and cattle, the video delves into the complex cultural tales of a country known worldwide for its meat production and steak culture. What if meat isn’t separate from cattle? What if humans and animals are part of the same overarching narrative? By looking at disparate stories surrounding cattle and meat, The Case of Meat speculates about modes of kinship with other species, their role as co-workers and co-habitants of our world, and the making of a common history.
Critical Cooking Show is a collaboration between e-flux Architecture and the Istanbul Design Biennial within the context of its fifth edition, Empathy Revisited: Designs for more than one.