The Ice Plant Cometh: The Insular Cold Storage and Ice Plant, Frozen Meat, and the Imperial Biodeterioration of American Manila, 1900-1935

Abstract

This article examines the emergence of the Insular Cold Storage and Ice Plant as a site of preserving frozen meat and imperial action in response to biodeterioration in Manila under American rule between 1900 to 1935. Cold storage facilities allowed for the production, long-distance transportation, and storage of meat due to technological advances in refrigeration. While it was intended to control chemical breakdowns within meat, a multi-scalar analysis demonstrates how it also reinforced imperial biodeterioration. By focusing on the Insular Cold Storage and Ice Plant, this article argues that cold storage facilities both prevented and facilitated the process of biodeterioration. It also investigates the radicalized meanings of food, specifically with conceptions of “Western” meat as imported from Australia and U.S., versus Chinese meat. This article also considers the issues surrounding the global pathways of meat, racialized meanings of food, and the impact of imperial technologies on the local food landscape.