Roman Army Source of meat.

[Legio 1 Minerva]

Howdy Folks wondering if you fellas could help me out. What would be a roman legionnaires most common source of meat (if any)around 82ad (Emperor Domitian era)during the wars with Germanic tribes.
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[Michael J. Taylor]

The extent of meat in Roman military rations is uncertain. According to Polybius, northern Italy (Cis-Alpine Gaul) was a major source of pork for Roman armies, although he never mentions pork as part of a Roman ration.


Things may be a little easier in the 80s AD. Scholars have studied the ratio of bones at Roman army camps, and curiously they discovered that the soldiers were eating mostly beef. This is curious because if you look at the ratio of bones in Italy, it is obvious that Romans LOVE pork.

So the Roman soldiers along the northern frontier, rather than "pigging" out on pork, are eating meats most common in the region, in particular beef.

Now the plot thickens further. It turns out that prior to the arrival of the Romans along the Roman frontier, the natives ate a good deal of pork. Then when the Roman army shows up , they stop eating pork and starting raising beef. Because cows are so common, the Romans buy and eat it too. Why the sudden local switch from pork (very easy to raise, as pigs can just roam around in the woods and eat acorns) to beef? The answer seems to be, as is so often the case, the Roman army. The Romans have a high demand for leather, to make tents and boots, and this causes the locals to raise cows for leather. This leads to a lot of left over beef, which the Roman army buys and eats, even if Italians have a preference for pork.

[Condottiero Magno]

Cattle are superior to swine as a source for hides, meat and milk - good for a variety of uses - and as beasts of burden.

[Martin Moser]

I'd suggest to check The Logistics of the Roman Army at War (264 B.C. - A.D.235) (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition) by Jonathan P. Roth.