Are consumers really cutting back on meat?
With a wave of new plant-based substitutes, are Americans actually eating less meat? Plus, get involved as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans take shape.
February 19, 2020
The anti-meat rhetoric is constant, but are consumers implementing a plant-based lifestyle?
According to the USDA, Americans are forecast to eat 225.6 pounds of meat in 2020, so I think it’s safe to say that the majority of consumers really enjoy the taste of nutrient-dense proteins like beef.
However, a recent Gallup poll shows that nearly a fourth of Americans have cut back on eating meat.
Per the study, “Nearly one in four Americans (23%) report eating less meat in the past year than they had previously, while the vast majority (72%) say they are eating the same amount of meat. Very few (5%) report eating more meat this year than in the past.
“Certain groups are more likely than others to say they have eaten less meat in the past year. Women are about twice as likely as men to report having cut down on meat consumption,” according to the study.
“Nonwhites report having reduced meat in their diets at a higher rate than whites. Midwesterners are less likely to be reducing their meat consumption than adults in other parts of the country. About one in four residents of cities and suburbs have reduced their meat consumption, while residents in rural areas are less likely to report having done so.”
And for us die-hards who eat meat every day, it’s important to know that apparently, activists are finding more success in providing new menu options like vegan chicken, burgers and sausages, instead of “virtue signaling” and guilting consumers about the ethics of eating meat.
A recent article in The Atlantic titled, “The Capitalist Way to Make Americans Stop Eating Meat” highlights how longer menus, including plant-based burger substitutes, may finally be the reason that consumers adopt a meatless diet.
In the article, Derek Thompson explains, “For the past 50 years, Americans have responded to the case against eating animals mostly by eating more animals. They have heard again and again about the moral and ecological costs of eating meat—from philosophers like Peter Singer and polemicists like Jonathan Safran Foer; from viral documentary footage of slaughterhouses and tortured poultry; from activist organizations like PETA and scientific reports on the fossil-fuel cost of producing a medallion of beef.