1895–1945: 殖民剝削時期

1895–1945: Colonial Exploitation

日治時期，台灣農民在債務、殖民榨取和環境艱困下掙扎。家中的牛是生存的最後一線，是不可替代的勞動者。賣牛或宰牛成為了恥辱的象徵。為隱藏這種恥辱，農村社區創造了一個道德敘事：「我們不吃牛肉因為尊重幫助我們的動物。」但這個故事掩蓋了更殘酷的現實。

During the Japanese colonial era, Taiwan's farmers struggled under crushing debt and extraction. The family ox was their last line of survival - an irreplaceable laborer. Selling or slaughtering it became a public confession of ruin. To shield against shame, rural communities created a moral narrative: "We don't eat beef because we honor our helpers." But this story concealed a harsher reality.

「當貧困農民因必需而敬奉他們的牛時，殖民官員、日本移民和城市精英在慶典、咖啡廳和國宴上盛宴牛肉。」

"While impoverished farmers idolized their oxen out of necessity, colonial officials, Japanese settlers, and urban elites feasted on beef in celebrations, cafes, and state banquets."

1946–1980: 戰後神話保存

1946–1980: Post-War Myth Preservation

殖民政權結束後，神話仍然存在，被不加質疑地代代相傳，將貧困強化為美德。牛肉成為了地位、權威和支配的象徵，正是農村窮人被系統性剝奪的東西。他們勞動成果餵養了統治者，而飼養這些動物的人卻在生理和象徵上挨餓。

Even after the colonial regime ended, the myth endured, passed down unchallenged, reinforcing deprivation as a virtue. Beef became a symbol of status, authority, and domination, the very things the rural poor were systematically denied. The meat of their toil nourished the rulers, while those who bred the animals starved, both physically and symbolically.

1980–今日: 靜默的文化轉變

1980–Today: Quiet Cultural Shift

但現代台灣不再受犁具的束縛，真相需要被重新認識。今日台灣人開始認識到，打破對牛肉的禁忌不是背叛，而是生物學上的解放。牛肉是人體可獲得的最完整、最強大的營養來源之一。

Modern Taiwan is no longer bound by the plow, and the truth demands to be reclaimed. Today, breaking the beef taboo is not betrayal, it is biological liberation. Beef is one of the most complete and powerful nutritional sources available to the human body.