Despite being just one-twentieth of the world population, Americans consume one-sixth of the meat in the world. Surprised? Well, that is changing now as America’s meat consumption is decreasing with each passing day. The Department of Agriculture has released figures saying that in 2012, the meat and poultry consumption in the country will be 12.2% less than what it was in 2007. What is more disheartening  is that the consumption of beef in the country has been on the decline for the past two decades as is the chicken, which has been gradually slipping since 2006.

1) That Chunk of Meat

Americans love their dinner plate when it has that one odd piece of meat on it, which may have come from beef, pork, chicken, or duck, doesn’t matter but it has to be there otherwise, the dinner plate would be incomplete. The major reason behind this, apart from our weakness for meat, is that meat is considerably cheaper than other food items so everybody can afford it.

2) The USDA Report

The Government is responsible for the declining consumption of meat in the country. No, the USDA report does not say that, of course, it can’t. This is something that has come up in a story done by the Daily Livestock Report recently in which a lot of factors have been blamed for the present situation vis a vis meat consumption. Besides growing exports, rising production costs, even drought, the report blames the Government for its bias against meat to be responsible for the present situation. Other experts on this subject outline a number of Government decisions in the past to bring this decline. However, sections of the media also counter this claim as “non-existent War on Meat” because Americans are eating less meat because they want to, not because it is not available.

3) What Americans Want

Americans are more conscious today than ever, which is why the meat consumption is also coming down. People are choosing to eat less meat and going flexitarian (the actual term is flexitarianism – an eating style where meat consumption declines without people going vegetarian). The Values Institute at DGWB Advertising and Communications coined this term as part of one of its top five consumer health trends for this year. Another survey found that more than one-third of the home cooks, out of a 1400 surveyed sample, ate less meat last year than in 2010. Furthermore, 50% of adult Americans, surveyed in June last year, confirmed that they were aware of the “Meatless Monday campaign.”

4) The Outcome

Well, there is no unanimity on the reason behind this decline but one thing is sure, Americans are eating less meat than they used to and it is reflected in the 12% reduction in consumption in just five years, which is a significant development. Those who are unhappy with the turn of events are the industry while those celebrating this change are the public health advocates, who have been advocating for quite some time now for people to consume less meat.

The jury is still out on this one and since its dinnertime, rice and beans anyone? And for those who need help in weaning off meat, here are some benefits of not eating meat.

Image Courtesy: healthlob.com