Let's just get this out of the way right now: I love Meatpaper! I've been a subscriber since the beginning and read every issue cover to cover. The latest edition is another example of high quality writing and excellent photography.
Content: 55/60
There are a few articles here that really made me think. In particular, I enjoyed Heather Smith's discussion in A Modest Proposal: A Selective History of Telling People What to Eat. This delves into the essence of Don't Yuck My Yum: How meat eaters and vegetarians feel threatened by each other. Her article on hot dogs is also worth a read.
Meatpaper is not just about the consumption of meat, but rather fleischgeist:
Fleisch•geist (flish'gist') n. From the German, Fleisch “meat” + Geist “spirit.” Spirit of the meat. From Zeitgeist, “spirit of the times.”
This spirit includes articles on how bulls are enticed into participating in artificial insemination, hunting with eskimos and taxidermy. This issue misses the perfect mark for the article on the shock value of certain food TV shows. I feel the author really stretches to make the facts fit the theory. Oh, and my usual complaint about Meatpaper: It's too short!
Quality: 18/20
As usual, this is a well crafted publication that is artfully assembled. Given the wide range of styles, this could easily have been garish and jarring. But they pull it off well. My only complaint is the lack of captions on nearly all photos. Sure, I can infer meaning from the accompanying copy, but I'd like some specifics.
Food Porn: 18/20
There is always some seriously good photos in this magazine, but this issue does not have as many good money shots. About the only one is on the end papers. Mmmm, pancetta. The carving up of the whale blubber kind of killed my appetite, though.
Recipes: 0/0
No recipes, but that's OK. Meatpaper isn't a cooking magazine.