Lots of methods of preserving meat do not require a freezer. Dried, salted, pickled, smoked, jerked, come to mind. I doubt they could Irradiate the meat, but a sealed beef steak so treated will store for at least 10 years, at room temp. (NO bacteria, no break down).
Only reason for the meat to go bad, would be not enough labor in time.

An unemployed Jester, is nobody's Fool.

the only real difference between a good tracker and a bad tracker, is observation. all the same data is present for both. The rest, is understanding what you're seeing.

~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~