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Americans are eating less and less meat
Washington Post ^ | 01/11/2012 | Brad Plumer

Posted on 01/11/2012 8:20:43 PM PST by iowamark

Meat eating in the United States is going out of style. According to a Department of Agriculture report, Americans are projected to eat 12.2 percent less meat in 2012 than they did 2007. And it’s not just the weak economy. As Mark Bittman observes, there’s a real long-term trend here: “Beef consumption has been in decline for about 20 years; the drop in chicken is even more dramatic, over the last five years or so; pork also has been steadily slipping for about five years.”

Why is this happening? The Daily Livestock Report blames rising meat prices in the United States. As countries like China and India get richer, they’re eating more meat, which is helping to drive up U.S. exports and making beef, pork, and chicken more expensive here at home. Ethanol also plays a role: Nowadays, American farmers divert bushels and bushels of corn to make fuel, which drives up feed prices and, again, makes meat pricier.

Perhaps just as significantly, though, it does seem that attitudes toward meat are changing. More and more people appear to be cutting back on beef and pork consumption for environmental or ethical reasons. (Although before vegetarians get too excited, one factor that often gets overlooked here is the aging of the population — as the baby boomers get older, they’ve been eating less meat.)...

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events
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To: rsobin

You misread my post. Read the title, then read my post.

I haven’t quit eating meat and won’t.


41 posted on 01/11/2012 9:20:34 PM PST by Gator113 (~Just livin' life, my way~..... GO NEWT GO.....!)
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To: iowamark

Yea....more for ME!


42 posted on 01/11/2012 9:24:10 PM PST by goodnesswins (2012..."We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor")
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To: iowamark

Just recommitted to the Whataburger Double Double. It’s good. And as well, ANYTHING to hack off PETA.


43 posted on 01/11/2012 9:24:17 PM PST by righttackle44 (I may not be much, but I raised a United States Marine)
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To: Vendome

I planted 4 Texas Everbearing figs this year. In the middle of the horrible drought.

All 4 survived and it looked like I would actually make some figs the first year. Frost came too soon.

But next year I look forward to a crop. Along with a lot of strawberries and blackberries.

My blueberries did not do so well 1 of 4 survived. Our soil is mildly alkali, suspect I did not put enough peat moss on the soil.


44 posted on 01/11/2012 9:25:53 PM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one)
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To: writer33
80% hamburger is going for close to $3/#...good rib eyes are a deal at $4.99....beef has just gone thru the roof...

I think people are trying to cook more economically....using a little bit less meat with rice/pasta/taters etc...soup/stews....

people have to because of the poor economy and the food inflation....

45 posted on 01/11/2012 9:27:50 PM PST by cherry
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To: righttackle44

Whataburger! Yum.


46 posted on 01/11/2012 9:28:34 PM PST by BenKenobi (Rick Santorum - "The Force is strong with this one")
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To: iowamark

Has absolutely nothing to do with “going out of style”. No- it’s going “out of budget”!

The insane inflation of beef and pork prices in particular are killing the bottom line for many families. One could list many reasons, from feed prices to the value of the $US. Some ranchers say they are not getting a price for “on the hoof” beef that supermarket prices might lead one to believe. In fact, usually when there is drought in beef-producing areas, the market sees a glut of beef (and drop In price).


47 posted on 01/11/2012 9:43:12 PM PST by TheBattman (Isn't the lesser evil... still evil?)
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To: iowamark; Constitution Day

Bacon Man will save us!

48 posted on 01/11/2012 9:47:15 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: iowamark
Not this American. We have eaten less steak this last year because of the price, but there are lots of other meat choices that are still economical. We can get a few meals out of a nice pop roast, or a large pot of meaty spaghetti sauce, or my favorite Shepard's pie. But meat is still part of nearly every dinner we have.
49 posted on 01/11/2012 10:05:42 PM PST by NavyCanDo
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To: Nik Naym

No it isn’t. Wake up.


50 posted on 01/11/2012 10:19:59 PM PST by hedgetrimmer
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To: shibumi
That looks like Steak Tartar. Yum. I like my meat raw...
51 posted on 01/11/2012 10:22:25 PM PST by joe212
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To: iowamark

I buy half the beef I used to. Because it is at least $4 per pound, but I can get pork and chicken much cheaper.

The $4 per pound of beef I do buy is usually tough and stringy.

Even hamburger is $3 per pound or more. It’s ridiculous.


52 posted on 01/11/2012 10:28:31 PM PST by Persevero (Homeschooling for Excellence since 1992)
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To: Gene Eric

Urban Dictionary tells me that “chop meat” is New York slang for “ground beef.” $7/lb is almost certainly a New York price. National average is allegedly $2.899/lb. Government claims an annual increase of 21.1%. That, folks, is why the government doesn’t include food or fuel when calculating the inflation rate.

Here in the beef belt, well, it’s considerably less that average.


53 posted on 01/11/2012 10:30:41 PM PST by dufekin (Name our lead enemy: Islamic Republic of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Islamofascist terrorist dictator)
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To: ExtremeUnction

I aim in the sixties myself and still eat it. Beef, chicken and pork.


54 posted on 01/11/2012 11:21:35 PM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote; then find me a real conservative to vote for)
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To: 1066AD

Most steaks are too lean, no flavor.


55 posted on 01/11/2012 11:21:56 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati)
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To: Rennes Templar

LOL. Had several vege friends. Only one alive today.


56 posted on 01/11/2012 11:22:32 PM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote; then find me a real conservative to vote for)
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To: iowamark

I remember when tenderloin was about $6 a pound and I thought it was expensive. Now it is over $12 and way out of my price range, even for special occasions. I used to buy beef roasts, but they are now about $3 a pound on sale, so feeding a family of four costs $12 to $15 just for the meat for one meal. Hamburger is close to $4 a pound and rarely, if ever, on sale. Pork and chicken are more affordable. I don’t even shop for fish—it’s too expensive, too.


57 posted on 01/12/2012 12:16:50 AM PST by dupree
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To: iowamark

Nonsense story. Per your chart we’re eating the back to the mean.


58 posted on 01/12/2012 12:30:53 AM PST by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: Texas Fossil

LOL


59 posted on 01/12/2012 12:33:01 AM PST by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously, you won't live through it anyway)
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To: Rembrandt

To each his own, and own yer choices.

Yuh live in the US of A and we don’t have to conform to nothuhn!


60 posted on 01/12/2012 12:34:36 AM PST by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously, you won't live through it anyway)
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