CBSE Class 10 Answered

Until the 1870s, animals were exported alive in ships from America to Europe and then slaughtered when they arrived there. However, alive animals to a lot of ship space. Many died during the journey, fell ill, lost weight or became unfit to eat. Hence, meat was not a part of the regular diet of European poor due to its high price. High prices in turn kept demand and production down until the development of a new technology, namely, refrigerated ships, which enabled the transport of perishable foods over long distances. Now animals were slaughtered at the starting point - in America, Australia or New Zealand - and then transported to Europe as frozen meant. This reduced shipping costs and meat prices in Europe.