The death of meat consumption has been greatly exaggerated
There has been a bit of buzz in the media and food circles about “plant-based meat substitutes,” but don’t be fooled.
While the preference for meat substitutes, vegetarian, and vegan diets has increased, good old-fashioned meat is hardly an endangered food choice. In fact, based on news from Agriculture.com, meat consumption may be in a growth phase thanks to these trends:
Buying Local
For many years now, a growing number of consumers want to know where their food comes from. Driving the trend are concerns about freshness, ethical production practices, and possible environmental impacts caused by shipping goods long distances. Consumers also prefer to spend their food dollars to benefit local producers.
When a trend hits large supermarket chains, you know it’s becoming mainstream. You’ve probably seen signs in grocery stores touting the local sources for their fruits and vegetables. The ads and signs increasingly also promote the local sources for dairy products, beef, pork, and poultry.
Old Station Craft Meats strives to source our meat from local, quality producers. When you know the farmer who raised the steer or pig that ends up in your display case, you’re reassured – and can pass that assurance on to your customers — that it’s a quality, ethically raised product.
This demand for more locally raised food is a win for consumers, retailers, and the community’s economy.
Big Demand
Livestock markets are booming in 2021, so much so that the industry is having a hard time keeping up. Production cutbacks during the pandemic helped trigger the higher demand, especially as people are looking to return to restaurants. The pandemic also forced people to learn or build on their cooking skills. That was good news for food retailers.
While this year may be fueled by pent-up demand, meat consumption in the U.S. has been trending up, despite the increase in non-meat diets.
According to the USDA, “After falling from 148.6 pounds in 2004 to 133.5 pounds per capita in 2014, the supply of red meat, poultry, and fish/shellfish available for Americans to eat after adjusting for losses rose to 143.9 per capita pounds in 2017. Red meat (beef, pork, veal, and lamb) accounted for 51 percent of 2017’s 143.9-pound total, compared with 42 percent for poultry (chicken and turkey) and 7 percent for fish and shellfish.”
More nuggets from the USDA report:
Pork consumption has been relatively flat for three decades, ranging from 28.8 to 33.5 pounds per capita.
Fish and shellfish consumption has grown from 7.5 pounds per capita in 1970 to an averaged 9.4 pounds per capita since 2000.
Within the fish category, shellfish (crustaceans, mollusks, squid, and other shellfish) had the greatest increase—more than doubling from 1.3 pounds per capita in 1970 to 3.2 pounds per capita in 2017.
Overall, chicken and turkey had the largest gains over the last five decades. Loss-adjusted chicken availability increased from 22.4 pounds per capita in 1970 to 52.3 pounds per capita in 2017. For turkey, loss-adjusted availability doubled from 4.0 pounds per capita in 1970 to 8.2 pounds in 1989 and has remained between 8 and 9 pounds per capita since 1990.
Ready to shop small and enjoy some Iowa-raised beef, pork, and poultry? Then Old Station Craft Meat has what you need.