news A demographic time bomb is about to hit the beef industry

[GraceRandolph]

 

The early 1970s were the real heyday of beef in the US. It was the era of stroganoff, stews, and casseroles, steak lunches and 60-cent hamburgers. It was also the beginning of a long decline for the all-American meat. In 1975, Americans on average ate close to 90 pounds of beef each year. That has now dipped to around 57 pounds, and chicken has assumed beef’s place as the most-consumed meat in the US.

Falling appetite for beef is good news for the environment. Beef produces 10 times the greenhouse gas emissions of poultry or pig meat and between 20 and 60 times more than many plant-based forms of protein. But to really work out where beef consumption might be headed, you need to look at who exactly is really into eating cows, and that’s where things get interesting.

Earlier this year a study from Tulane University in New Orleans found that a relatively small number of Americans are responsible for the lion’s share of beef consumption—and those eaters tend to skew older and male. But the beef industry isn’t content with the narrowing demographics of its customers—it has its eyes on creating a whole new generation of beef-eating stalwarts

Diego Rose is the director of Tulane University’s nutrition program and one of the authors of the paper examining beef habits in the US. The research took data from a nationwide study conducted from 2015 through 2018 that asked adult Americans to recall which foods they had eaten in the previous 24 hours. The authors defined anyone who ate more than 4 ounces of beef a day—a little more than a single cooked hamburger—as a high consumer of beef, since US dietary guidelines recommend that adults eat no more than 4 ounces of meat, poultry, and eggs per day.

Over half of the survey respondents had eaten beef in the previous 24 hours, but what surprised Rose was just how few people were responsible for most of the beef consumption. According to his data, just 12 percent of people surveyed accounted for half of the total beef consumed. People who ate a lot of beef were more likely to be male and aged 50 to 65—roughly correlating with the baby boomer generation.

Today’s high consumers of beef likely grew up in the golden era of beef in the US, before rising prices and health fears associated with red meat made beef a less central part of the diet. “In general your dietary habits are inelastic,” says Rose. From around the age of young adulthood people tend to stick to foods they already know they like. People aged 66 or older were also less likely to be high consumers of beef—something that Rose says may be due to people cutting down due to advice from doctors. “My hunch is that life catches up with them,” he says.

 

Read More: https://www.wired.com/story/beef-consumption-boomers/

[Into The Void]

Meat consumption down but obesity still on the rise

[poki]

Personally I've been cutting out beef because it's just not that healthy, but I still crave it at least once a week. 

We need to murder the junk food industries. That crap is the worst. 

[Cain]

I like beef every once in a while but it’s very heavy, I can’t imagine eating it regularly 

[wastedpotential]

Between steaks, roasts, barbecue, and burgers (though I've mostly switched to bison meat at this point), I probably have beef every other week. I'm probably above the national average in consumption, but not by too much

[EndofASadMovie]

The impact of Pork Friday Nicki ate that one thing

[GraceRandolph]

Just now, EndofASadMovie said:

The impact of Pork Friday Nicki ate that one thing

Kylegend's impact*

 

 

[truthteller]

i like steaks for special occasions but i would prefer chicken or fish for the regular consumption tbh.

[Tusk]

People have free will to eat what they want.

[Yoko]

good we need to cut down meat production in all areas the fact boomers can stomach beef regularly is insane to me  

[Harrier]

Young people are all about chicken, and as they should be tbh

The only time I ever eat beef is on the rare occasion I get a fast food cheeseburger 

[monologueNacafe]

17 minutes ago, Tusk said:

People have free will to eat what they want.

Thank you for this breaking news

[family.guy123]

 Beef is delicious 

[Diet Pepsi]

Beef is lowkey disgusting to me 

[poki]

Baked beans are the best 

[Big Bad Wolf]

I rarely eat beef nowadays. Once in a while for tacos but that's mainly it. I went through a phase where I was obsessed with burgers but now I stick to chicken sandwiches. Meat overall is not very healthy to consume especially on a regular basis.

[Contessa]

1 hour ago, Insanity said:

Meat consumption down but obesity still on the rise

You know meat doesn’t cause obesity right?

Edited December 22, 2023 by Contessa

[vuelve88]

Chicken is superior

 

[Tusk]

1 hour ago, monologueNacafe said:

Thank you for this breaking news

You’re welcome.

 

back to me eating a steak 

[GraceRandolph]

2 minutes ago, Tusk said:

back to me eating a steak 

[Tusk]

13 minutes ago, GraceRandolph said:

More than this thread.

[Danny789]

2 hours ago, Tusk said:

People have free will to eat what they want.

No one here said otherwise, the defensiveness is very telling. 

 

ot: the younger generations know lean meats are healthier. But I do enjoy a steak here and there. 

[spree]

steakhouses will never go out of style. 

[Archetype]

I love beef burgers (the only time I eat beef), but I only eat it maybe once per month.  I prefer eating chicken or pork more regularly, or vegetarian and vegan food.  

[Leppie]

Cows are too cute to be eaten