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The last decade or so has brought ample evidence that Americans are gradually changing their diets, driven by health concerns and other factors.
But a new study points to one change that is starker than many have thought: Americans cut their beef consumption by 19 percent — nearly one-fifth — in the years from 2005 to 2014, according to research to be released on Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The environmental group found that consumption of chicken and pork fell as well, though less drastically, as Americans ate more cheese, butter and leafy greens.
The council is hailing the plummeting popularity of beef as a victory in the fight against climate change, because greenhouse gases are produced when cattle are raised. The group estimates that the resulting reduction in pollution would equal the emissions of 39 million cars, or about one-sixth of the number of cars registered in the United States in 2015. (Some of those environmental benefits, the group says, were erased by increased consumption of other foods that also create emissions.)
The research, which is based on data from the Agriculture Department and calculations using the same methodology as the Environmental Protection Agency, found that changes in the overall American diet reduced emissions by the equivalent of pollution from 57 million cars — despite population growth of about 9 percent.
I switched to eating people. Mmm, tasty.
(Score: 5, Informative) by nobu_the_bard on Thursday March 23 2017, @03:25PM (2 children)
Asked what prompted them to eat less beef, 37 percent of consumers surveyed cited its price as the No. 1 reason in research published in January by Mintel, a consumer research firm. Thirty-five percent of the respondents said they were eating more protein from other sources, like chicken or tofu. But more than a quarter ascribed the change to their concern about cholesterol and saturated fats.
(Emphasis mine)
The next two paragraphs, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association blames increased focus on exports (thus, less local supply) and more heated competition from other meats (particularly chicken and pork), as well as increasing prices due to feed cost increases.
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Thursday March 23 2017, @03:52PM (1 child)
Price is a huge issue. The last 5 or 10 years prices have gone through the roof. Even a small package of market hamburger costs a fortune compared to other meats at places like Publix.
It's no surprise that people don't buy as much any more. What will happen next is the industry will probably pull a Mozilla and stop selling beef because their automated metrics say "no one wants it any more".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 23 2017, @04:00PM
Having recently gone to the US for a weekend vacation and picking up some lean ground beef to make some food with.
It was quite a bit more expensive.
Canada, for pound of lean ground I pay about $4. In the US cheapest I found was $6.40. This was in Vermont.