Before refrigeration, on a two-week crossing of the Atlantic it was impossible to provide fresh meat, eggs or milk without carrying livestock on board. On 4 July 1840, when the Cunarder Britannia sailed from Liverpool for the New World carrying 63 passengers, she also carried at least one cow for milk, numerous hens for eggs and various other animals. At the time, it was normal for passengers to spend most of the voyage below decks, so the stables would be found on deck, where any mess could be dumped overboard, and so these early passenger ships were the first livestock carriers.
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