Reagan's name came up in a discussion of the depreciation of school lunches since the 1980s. Remember his ketchup as a vegetable claim?

Q: In the old days, meats were often heavily spiced (peppered, whatever) to cover up decomposition, but that was more cosmetic than preventive.

This theory about the use of spice has been debunked. In ancient times spices were so expensive no one would have wasted them on spoiled meat. And meat was generally local, so it would have been killed and cured as needed, is the theory I've heard most recently. This is rather reassuring, actually. I'll have to think about where I heard it, but I think it was on Lynne Rosetto Kasper's The Splendid Table.

SRS