Travel and Documentary Photographer Holger Hoffmann and Travel Writer Sylvia Furrer are the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributors of this documentary photography. From the project ‘Fray Bentos: The Production Plant of Liebig’s Meat Extract’. To see Holger and Sylvia’s body of work, click on any photograph.

Justus Liebig was the foremost German chemist of the 19th century and Liebig’s meat extract made him world famous and rich. From 1863 to 1979, the meat extract was produced in Fray Bentos, on the banks of the Uruguay River. Justus Liebig was never there, but a German businessman had realized that the abundant beef here was cheap to process into extract. Exporting the meat in large quantities to Europe was not possible at the time since cooling systems had not yet been invented.

The company flourished. In its best times, over 1000 animals were slaughtered per day. But as early as 1886, Liebig’s meat extract faced increasing competition from the Swiss company Maggi: first it launched Maggi seasoning, developed entirely on a vegetable basis, followed by Maggi bouillon cubes. The vegetable proteins they contain make them much cheaper than the beef cubes from Uruguay.

The additional production of corned beef enabled the company in Fray Bentos to stay afloat, especially during the two world wars. Today it is a museum and is under UNESCO protection. The steam-driven compression refrigeration machines are an impressive testimony to the worldwide beginning of industrialization at the end of the 19th century.

Swiss travel and documentary photographer Holger Hoffmann and travel writer Sylvia Furrer have visited over 100 countries. They are fascinated by the customs and daily life of the people who have preserved their culture. Holger and Sylvia are deeply impressed by how they cope and adapt to the advances and pressures of the modern world. They have published travel and photo reports in various magazines.

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