Boundary Labor and the Production of Emotionless Commodities: The Case of Beef Production

This study examines cattle producers' work in conventional U.S. beef production. Producers express emotional connection to cattle, but also treat cattle as economic assets. Balancing these perspectives is central to their work. This article introduces the concept of "boundary labor" t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSociological quarterly Vol. 55; no. 1; pp. 92 - 118
Main Author Ellis, Colter
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Berkeley Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2014
Wiley Subscription Services
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Animal Husbandry
Beef production
Cattle
Commodities
Conceptualization
Emotions
Faith
Farmers
Livestock
Management
Self control
Skills
U.S.A
United States > US
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Summary:This study examines cattle producers' work in conventional U.S. beef production. Producers express emotional connection to cattle, but also treat cattle as economic assets. Balancing these perspectives is central to their work. This article introduces the concept of "boundary labor" to describe the way producers' emotion management separates cattle physically and emotionally from products derived from their bodies. Producers have three central emotional skills that make this labor possible. They include (1) a sense of responsibility, (2) sentiments of dominion, and (3) faith in the cycle of production.
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ISSN:0038-0253
1533-8525
DOI:10.1111/tsq.12047