Sunday, January 27, 2008

Where's the Beef? Mostly in the U.S.


A SEA change in the consumption of a resource that Americans take for granted may be in store — something cheap, plentiful, widely enjoyed and a part of daily life. And it isn’t oil. It’s meat.

The two commodities share a great deal: Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government. Like oil, meat is subject to accelerating demand as nations become wealthier, and this, in turn, sends prices higher. Finally — like oil — meat is something people are encouraged to consume less of, as the toll exacted by industrial production increases, and becomes increasingly visible.

The world’s total meat supply was 71 million tons in 1961. In 2007, it was estimated to be 284 million tons. Per capita consumption has more than doubled over that period. (In the developing world, it rose twice as fast, doubling in the last 20 years.) World meat consumption is expected to double again by 2050, which one expert, Henning Steinfeld of the United Nations, says is resulting in a “relentless growth in livestock production.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html?ex=1359090000&en=a9d80925d175d1b2&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

1 comment:

Annah said...

I'm never eating another hamburger...although, that's what I said after seeing the film "Our Daily Bread" (see http://ourdailybread.at) and the carnivore in me took over again. When in doubt, eat local?

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