Monday, 07 May 2012
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Meat Consumption Around The World
Ever wonder which country consumes the most meat? The Economist has the answer for your, courtesy of data compiled by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). And if, like me, you thought it was The United States, think again! The most meat in the world is consumed by Luxembourg--the average person consumes 136.5 kg of meat per person a year. And Americans aren't far behind: The average American consumes 125 kg of meat per person a year.
As it would turn out, India has the least amount of meat consumes at seven pounds per person per year. This could be in part due to the extreme poverty in certain regions and due to the high population of Hindus, Jains and Buddhist, most of whom do not consume meats.
The data analyzed also reveals that meat consumption has been on the rice for the last half century and that meat preferences have been changing as well. In the 1960's cow meat was the most consumed but as of 2007 pig meat has taken its place.
It's important to acknowledge that this data shows which country has the highest rate per person. While the average citizen of Luxembourg eats more meat than the average citizen of any other country, the nation of Luxembourg itself may not create the most demand. In fact, it's countries like China that demand the most meat due to the large population.
What do you think of this data? How much meat do you think you eat a year?
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- From: larabs@xanga
- About Me: I'm a Rutgers University graduate who discovered a passion for writing in college when I found myself enjoying researching for and writing papers instead of working at biology labs. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking and watching movies--I am in pursuit of learning to fluently speak French and Italian after developing an interest in these languages from watching foreign films. Apart from foreign films and cooking, my interests include photography, traveling, art history and interior design. twitter.com/sushbaral
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Comments (31)
I think it's sad and really unhealthy. As for me, none. I'm vegan.
There's really nothing wrong with eating meat in my opinion. 1) It tastes good. 2) It has protein. 3) It's natural. 4) We're a consumerist society and the treatment of animals for a profit exemplifies this... guess what, so do protein pills, shakes, and vitamins.
While the companies may not be harming plants or bacteria or whatever is in those nasty things, the companies are still making money off you. It's also not very healthy. Humans need meat. It's proportions that are outlandish.
They should try to eat their vegetables more.
I eat meat maybe once or twice a month, if that.
I eat lots of meat. Fat and protein via animals is what we evolved to eat, and I feel best on a high meat/vegetable/fruit, no grain/sugar/dairy diet.
@Lynn Males@facebook - Well, you're quite obviously not average. Average people, with average gym schedules, with an average body fat percentage need protein as a part of their healthy diet.
I enjoy meat. I've cut way back on it due to health reasons, though. Also, "meat consumption has been on the rice" really made me giggle.
@Grtt@xanga - Dammit. I think that's the second thing this week you've been the last person to comment on and said something very near what I was going to say. I only eat chicken or kielbasa on rice, though. Or fish if I'm eating sushi, but that's more IN rice than on it.
Can vegetarians/vegans just accept the fact that other people eat meat without acting self-righteous and feeling the need to lecture meat eaters?
I don't go around lecturing vegetarians/vegans about how they should eat more meat, so stop lecturing "meat eaters" to stop eating meat. You have your own reasons to not eat meat, and I have my own reasons to eat meat.
@Grtt@xanga - hahaha this is almost exactly what i was going to say. except that i am trying to cut down for both ethical and health reasons.
@Lynn Males@facebook - avoiding meat is difficult for those of us with celiacs disease and food allergies :-/ I can't eat any gluten at all. I can't even use personal care products with gluten as an ingredient. On top of that I have a severe allergy towards nuts and soy. I do my best to substitute alot of rice, fruits and veggies in my diet, but other than that I tend to eat animal products for protein since they are naturally gluten free. I do try to eat either farm raised fish and free-range poultry and buffalo. I am not too big a fan of beef.
I eat meat of all kinds, not just the red meat. I like meat, I enjoy it, but I also like to eat the occasional vegetarian dishes <33 It's all food and it's all good!
@Lynn Males@facebook - Hemp seed is pretty good, and other than rice, it is becoming an important part of my diet. Ever since I went on a no gluten diet that's mainly fruits, veggies, and lean protein my health issues have gone away. If I could switch to eating more plant based proteins I would, but I think it's not in the cards for me until I completely heal. I know I don't need alot of protein, but I need some. I think even if I weren't a celiac case I would still avoid gluten for environmental reasons..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto#Environmental_and_health_record
What's your reason for avoiding the gluten and soy?
@Lynn Males@facebook - It's interesting you say that about soy. The isoflavones in the soy mimic estrogen, something not too many people know. Also, people with celiacs often produce more antibodies against the soy protein (and casein) just like they do with gluten:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8488125
It's just not worth it I think. The same thing is true about dairy. Humans really haven't evolved to continue consuming lactose as adults. I am not one to believe lactose intolerance is an actual disease, but rather the natural state of the human adult. I wrote a report on the topic once and there are several mutations that allow individuals to continue consuming milk as adults, but they are by no means the wild-type (unless I suppose we are talking about certain northern European populations). It's probably why around 70% of the world's adult population is lactose intolerant, and yet we are told that drinking milk as adults is natural.
I like meat, but I try to limit my consumption. My goal is to eventually only eat animals I have personally met. Someday, maybe. I wouldn't be able to ever eat any meat at a restaurant ever again, besides seafood (because it's kinda hard to get to know shrimps). I am hoping to buy into a pig share and be able to visit a farm since pork is honestly the only meat I can't see myself parting with permanently.
I will never see anything wrong with eating meat, just the manner in which we do now with industrial farming.
Hmm why is Japan not on the list!! >.But I did a research paper about meat consumption/production not too long ago. So after that, I decided to be a partial vegetarian lol I know that doesn't even exist, but long story short, I cut down my meat intake by half. I'm not a fan of meat anyway, but I do like to eat it once in a while. And once in a while means 3-4 times a week, if my school has good food =/ Not a fan of chicken somehow..
I eat meat every day
<<Vegetarian.
I guess you mean this quote, taken from the source.
"Although populous middle-income countries such as China are driving the worldwide demand for meat, it is mainly Western countries who still eat most per person."
The way you worded it lead me to believe the most populous countries had a larger demand for meat, except China has the biggest population, with over 1 billion more Chinese citizens than US citizens. Next would be India's population, then the US. With Indonesia being the fourth most populous country, then Brazil, I guess more meat would go there... America is an anomoly though. It actually has a large population AND has more meat consumption than every country except Luxembourg, so I don't think we can immediately throw ourselves out of this.
Still, this has been an interestingly good blog! :)
I love vegetarians... I think they taste best medium rare with some asparagus in a bearnaise sauce on the side.
"meat consumption has been on the rice for the last half century"
Best typo ever?
@Lynn Males@facebook - Yup. Some research suggests that certain northern European populations evolved lactose tolerance into adulthood as a way to derive vitamin D in their cold climates as a selection pressure against vitamin D deficient diseases, but overall most human populations are intolerant to lactose as adults. It makes sense. I think pubmed has some published papers on the soy and estrogen topic (actually I am pretty sure they do). I usually don't eat honey, but I will say bees are near and dear to me (I study insects) :D
I enjoy meat. A few of my friends have some cattle on their land, helps keep the grass short and one cow goes a long way as far as being used for food goes.
I was sure it would be Argentina, Luxemburg is quite a surprise. I wonder what culinary culture they have.
I save 125 kg of animals per year, not including the amount of suffering and indirect murder I save by eliminating animal byproducts as well.