Definition of meat market

The phrase "meat market" originated in the 1800s, specifically in the context of meat packaged and sold for consumption. The term was coined by meatpackers and merchants working in the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, a place where livestock was bought, slaughtered, and processed on a massive scale. The overwhelming number of animals sold in the yard for meat led to the comparison of the place to a market filled with meat, much like the fruit and vegetable markets that people were already familiar with. As the popularity of the term grew, it began to be applied more broadly to any place where people were being treated like commodities, such as relationships or job markets with an overwhelming number of potential options. Today, the term "meat market" still has this dual meaning, referring both to meatpacking businesses and to environments where people are being treated impersonally as products for sale.