The real problem with meat is that it is a status symbol in developing nations. Sort of like smoking, it is declining in America as the health risks become fully known,
It would surprise me if there were credible statistics showing a significant decline in the consumption of meat in this country. According to the USDA, probably an agency you don't much care for but I see no reason to doubt their basic statistics, a recent report stated
"Meat Consumption at Record High
"Now more than ever, America is a Nation of meat eaters. In 2000, total meat consumption (red meat, poultry, and fish) reached 195 pounds (boneless, trimmed-weight equivalent) per person, 57 pounds above average annual consumption in the 1950s (table 2-1). Each American consumed an average of 7 pounds more red meat than in the 1950s, 46 pounds more poultry, and 4 pounds more fish and shellfish. Rising consumer incomes, especially with the increase in two-income households, and meat prices in the 1990s that were often at 50-year lows, when adjusted for inflation, explain much of the increase in meat consumption. In addition, the meat industry has provided scores of new brand-name, value-added products processed for consumers’ convenience, as well as a host of products for foodservice operators."
usda.gov
The report does go on to say that consumers are responding to concerns about fat by buying leaner cuts of meat. I know in our family this is true -- we are eating as much meat as before, but are eating leaner, organically grown beef. But Costco seems to continue to sell large quantities of meat. And with the popularity of the Atkins diet, I don't see Vegan
I agree that a number of young people at various times adopt vegetarian diets, but as I have watched our children's friends over the years, this has tended to be a fad which is dropped within a year or two.
I understand that there are true believers in Veganism (as there are true believers in many other causes, from Peace on Earth to a firm belief in UFOs and the Loch Ness monster -- true belief is a fairly common aspect of the human psyche), but frankly I think they are no more likely to be successful in creating a vegan world than my pacifist friends will be in creating a world without violence.
Both may be admirable goals. But when it comes down to it, humans over the millenia have proved remarkably resilient to resisting admirable goals that require them to give up cherished traditions. |
