July 27, 2005

World meat consumption expected to increase
 

By 2020, annual human consumption of meat in developing countries would be more than 36 kilograms on average, twice as much as in the 1980s, according to The International Food Policy Research Institute.

The figure for industrial countries would still be the highest, at nearly 90 kilograms annually by 2020.

In China, the figure was expected to be 73 kilograms by 2020, while in Southeast Asia, people would likely consume 38 percent more meat than they do now.

Meanwhile, global meat production continued to grow, with an estimated 258 million tonnes produced by farmers in 2004, a two percent increase from 2003, according to the Worldwatch Institute.

Industry reports stated that worldwide beef production rose by less than one percent and global beef trade fell by more than six percent because of bans on imports from US and Canada, following the mad cow cases there.

As production and consumption of meat continued to increase worldwide, livestock have been increasingly cultivated under more intensive conditions, or "factory farming".

Pork production totalled over 100 million tonnes in 2004 as demand grew for alternative meats partly due to concerns over bird flu and mad cow disease.