Protein Machines, Technology, and the Nature of the Future

"Debates over the place of meat in our food system are proliferating. It’s rare to find treatments that provide even-handed views of their moral and environmental character, and even harder when you consider the thorny technological dimensions. Galusky’s work is that rare book. It’s a brute force and mature contribution, asking readers to reconsider our relationships to animals as we confront the futures we want and find ways to sustain the present we inhabit." —Benjamin R. Cohen, Associate Professor and Chair, Engineering Studies, Lafayette College, USA "This book is a deep yet accessible analysis of how 'chicken of tomorrow' campaigns of past decades led to the industrial meat production system of today. Chickens and other animals were engineered to serve our meals, but Galusky shows how humans have also been transformed in the process, pointing to our responsibility for developing a more ethical and just relationship. This book provokes essential questions andconversations for our shared interspecies future." —Christopher Henke, Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies, Colgate University, USA This book explores the relationships between humans, chickens, and environments in the context of protein production. The history of these relationships reveals them to be increasingly technological, which results in humans becoming more responsible for those animals and their environments. Understanding this development through the configuration of various kinds of protein machines is key to confronting the kinds of future we wish to promote, and the characteristics of the present we wish to sustain. The book is organized around narratives that explore the concept of the protein machine, with a particular focus on the development of the chicken as it has moved from the field to the factory to the laboratory. These transformations are interconnected, and culminate in efforts to cultivate meat without the animal. Our ultimate goal will be to ask what kind of future does this technology envision, and what roles do humans and animals play in it? Wyatt Galusky is Professor of Humanities, and the Coordinator of the Science, Technology, & Society program, at SUNY Morrisville. His research interests include animals in agriculture and public engagement with science and technology.