There are two traditional, indeed ancient ways of obtaining meat from animals, and they produce meats of distinctive qualities.
One method is to raise animals primarily for their value as living companions— oxen and horses for their work in the fields, laying hens for their eggs, cows and sheep and goats for their milk and for wool—and turn them into meat only when they are no longer productive. In this system, slaughtering animals for meat is the last use of a resource that is more valuable when alive. The meat comes from mature animals, and is therefore well exercised and relatively tough, lean but flavorful. This method was by far the most common one from prehistoric times until the 19th century.
The second way of obtaining meat from animals is to raise the animals exclusively for that purpose. This means feeding the animals well, sparing them unnecessary exercise, and slaughtering them young to obtain tender, mild, fatty flesh. This method also goes back to prehistory, when it was applied to pigs and to the otherwise useless male offspring of hens and dairy animals. With the rise of cities, meat animals were confined and fattened exclusively for the urban elite who could afford such a luxury, an art represented in Egyptian murals and described by Roman writers.
For many centuries, rural and urban meats coexisted, and inspired the development of two distinct styles of meat preparation: roasting for the tender, fattened meats of the wealthy, and stewing for the tough, lean meats of the peasants.