MARKETS ▶▶▶
Approaching peak poultry and meat consumption
Meat consumption is increasing in many countries worldwide, although it seems that peak meat consumption has been reached in some. A recent study analysed 35 countries to determine where consumption is increasing and decreasing of all the major types of meat consumed from 2000 to 2019, including poultry, of course.
BY NATALIE BERKHOUT G
Poultry Pork Beef
Lamb/goat Total
18
rowing prosperity, disease outbreaks, natural disasters and consumer preferences are changing global meat consumption which, worldwide, has quadrupled since 1961. The growing human
population has encouraged the expansion of livestock, with 80 billion animals slaughtered annually to produce 340 mil- lion tonnes of meat for human consumption, the report states. It is interesting to note that while meat consumption is positively associated with income, an earlier study of 120 countries identified that at a certain level of income per capita (around US$ 40,000 GDP per capita), total meat consumption decreases with income.
The environment, health and welfare Climate change and environmental degradation continue to motivate people to reduce their meat consumption, while human health and animal welfare considerations have
Table 1 – World meat consumption 2019. Type of meat
Total consumption kg/capita 14.7 11.1 6.4 1.8
34.0 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 2, 2022
Share 43% 33% 19% 5%
100%
triggered rising levels of flexitarianism and more plant-based meat alternatives. The substitution of red meat by poultry is also evident, likely due to the perception that chicken is healthier, better for the environment and cheaper. “Whilst eating is a personal choice, subject to access, availa- bility and affordability, the implications for the common re- sources of land, air, water, biodiversity and climate, are pro- portionately greater than those of energy, transport, buildings and any other industry over a 20-year horizon. We hypothesised that this is inducing a shift towards less meat consumption,” noted the authors of the study, adding that the team searched for evidence of ‘peak meat’ – a point when consumption of animal meat peaks followed by a voluntary reduction in consumption. Annual estimates of the consumption of beef and veal, poul- try, pork, and sheep or goat (in kg retail weight per capita, kg/cap) were downloaded for each year between 2000 and 2019 from the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook database (Ta- ble 1). Fish was excluded from this analysis. Poultry was found to be the main driver of increasing total meat con- sumption, while beef and lamb consumption generally de- creased. These trends likely reflect consumer appetite and technological development.
Eating more meat World meat consumption per capita increased between 2000 and 2019 (29.5 kg vs. 34.0 kg), by 0.34 kg/capita/year (SE 0.03, p<0.001). In 26 of the 35 countries studied, total meat con- sumption per capita increased significantly over time. The most substantial increases (around 2 kg/capita/year) were observed in countries with consumption levels below the 2000 world average, such as Russia, Vietnam and Peru. In South American countries (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Co- lombia), which had relatively high consumption in 2000, an- nual increases by over 1 kg/capita were also observed (Ta- ble 2). Overall decreases in total meat consumption were seen in six countries, most notably, New Zealand (86.7 kg/capita in 2000 down to 75.2 kg/capita in 2019) and Paraguay (53.5 kg/ capita in 2000 reduced to 39.5 kg/capita in 2019).
PHOTO: KOOS GROENEWOLD
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
