The Meat You Haven\u27t Met, Pt. 1

This thesis contends that architecture can be a tool for exposing the social, environmental, economic, and political problems caused by industrial beef production and excessive cultural consumption of beef in order to promote meaningful change. A narrative is established in which a fictitious beef corporation seeks the expertise of an architect to design a Transparency Tour as part of a green washing campaign. However, while the intent of the corporation is to mislead consumers to gain loyalty, the architect seizes the opportunity to infiltrate the system and expose realities that would have remained hidden. Subversive design interventions within three stops along the tour deliberately juxtapose production and consumption experiences: the cow/calf operation and steakhouse, the feedlot and fast-food restaurant, and the packing plant and grocery store. The challenge is to deceive the deceiver with unavoidable, slit-like moments along a pre-determined sequence that explicitly force tour people to confront the realities of a complicated, messy network that aren’t so easy to digest