Tender is the Flesh | Cannibalism for Profit

How would cannibalism function under capitalism? If you’ve ever wondered this then do I have the book for you!

“Tender is the Flesh” is by  Argentine author, Agustina Bazterrica (I know I’m pronouncing her name incorrectly and I’m sorry! I can’t really roll my R’s). I would call this book an eerie future dystopian story with some body horror and anti-capitalist elements thrown in. This book is definitely not for those who have a weak stomach - I’m not easily bothered in that way and I can mostly continue eating while watching the grossest of horror movies, but this book had a few passages that made me pause from feeling a little uneasy. So before I start to talk more in depth about the book just know that it can get pretty graphic and intense.

“Special” Meat

Within the first couple of pages we learn that there was a virus that infected all if not most of the animals on earth and it has rendered their meat poisonous to humans. We don’t get much more detail on this which kind of bothered me at first but once I really got into the book it really didn’t matter much and it didn’t take away from me enjoying the story at all. After the public’s craving for meat reaches a boiling point the government legalizes cannibalism and it becomes industrialized and normalized. Humans are then bred in captivity specifically for being slaughtered to provide meat for the masses which is referred to as “special meat”. It’s interesting because in this world it’s common knowledge that people are eating other people but no one is allowed to directly say that - it’s become almost a taboo subject. Words like “product, special meat, domestic head” are used to dance around the subject directly. 

It’s good work if you can stomach it

We are introduced to this horrific world through our protagonist and point-of-view character Marcos. Marcos is essentially the general manager for what has become the most reputable meat processing plant since the transition to special meat. He is in charge of the daily operations, processes, and staff of the processing plant. Right at the beginning of the book we follow Marcos through a typical work day and part of the horror is how “matter of fact” Marcos describes the way in which the product is shipped in, inspected, and prepared for slaughter. Keep in mind that these are humans that he’s processing in his plant; because the process keeps going as Marcos oversees how his staff restrain and dismember the product into various pieces to then be sent out to various butchers and customers. 

We learn that when the transition happened many people who worked in the meat processing industry weren’t able to stomach the new ways of doing things. Marcos is one of the few people who has been able to make this transition and do the work extremely well and do it for an extremely long time. I won’t spoil anything but as we get further in the book we learn he essentially doesn’t have much of a choice and I think that’s why he has such a detached and cold demeanor when he talks about the meat processing systems. I mean, I think you pretty much have to leave your body to this kind of work! 

The narrative horror in Tender is the Flesh feels like a weighted blanket draped over the entire story, it’s always there and looming over the entire story with an oppressive weight. But there is also a longing sadness that is beautifully woven into that fabric. The virus didn’t just make animals poisonous for human consumption it also made it deadly if you were to even receive just a scratch or small bite. So animals were killed in mass, that includes pets. Between the horrors of human slaughter and consumption there are tender melancholy memories of playing with a beloved pet dog or trying to remember what it felt like to pet a cat. These simple but immensely meaningful human/animal relationships that we’ve taken for granted are now gone forever. We feel these moments through Marcos and they provide a brief respite from the harsh meat processing world we are forced to walk through, even if these moments of rest are coated in sadness.

It was capitalism all along

Now the real villain of the story is actually capitalism and more specifically neoliberal capitalism. Once we get a solid idea of how the first level of the new meat processing system works we then follow Marcos through more of an administrative work day. Through this upper level view of the industry we watch as he meets with his boss (the actually owner of the processing plant) to discuss hiring staff that can actually handle the psychological strain of the work and how to solve issues of the product being injured while it’s shipped from the breeder to the slaughter house. Speaking of the breeder we do get a run down of how the humans are bred and raised for slaughter. We follow Marcos as he travels between the slaughterhouse to the breeder to the butchers to high end customers and watch as he struggles and is worn down having to conduct meetings about slaughtering and eating humans in such a cold and detached manner. The wealth and power that these people have amassed from oppressing and literally eating humans that they deem as “lesser than” is on full display during these moments. 

I’ve really only talked about the logistics and consequences of this new system and just some of the psychological effect it has on our protagonist. Once we get into the narrative there are other character dynamics at play, Marcos has to deal with his family for instance. But there is a central conflict and a surprise catalyst for it that I won’t spoil because it was so satisfying to read and figure out what was happening as it unfolded in real time. 

Great dystopian body horror

So yeah, if you can stomach the idea of cannibalism and learning the ins and outs of how the meat processing industry would function and thrive under capitalism then I’d definitely give “Tender is the Flesh” a read. The true horror is in the mundane acceptance that people resign themselves to because the corporate and government powers have left them no choice. They know about the brutality going on behind the scenes but are powerless to do anything about it. And like our protagonist, Marcos, they just have to figure out where they fit within the system they’ve been born in, keep their heads down, and try not to get eaten by capitalism.