Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Apr;14(4):575-83.
doi: 10.1017/S1368980010002077. Epub 2010 Nov 12.

Trends in meat consumption in the USA

Carrie R Daniel  1 , Amanda J Cross, Corinna Koebnick, Rashmi Sinha
Affiliations

Trends in meat consumption in the USA

Carrie R Daniel et al. Public Health Nutr. 2011 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: To characterize the trends, distribution, potential determinants and public health implications of meat consumption within the USA.

Design: We examined temporal trends in meat consumption using food availability data from the FAO and US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and further evaluated the meat intake by type (red, white, processed) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) linked to the MyPyramid Equivalents Database (MPED).

Results: Overall meat consumption has continued to rise in the USA and the rest of the developed world. Despite a shift towards higher poultry consumption, red meat still represents the largest proportion of meat consumed in the USA (58 %). Twenty-two per cent of the meat consumed in the USA is processed. According to the NHANES 2003-2004, total meat intake averaged 128 g/d. The type and quantities of meat reported varied by education, race, age and gender.

Conclusions: Given the plausible epidemiological evidence for red and processed meat intake in cancer and chronic disease risk, understanding the trends and determinants of meat consumption in the USA, where meat is consumed at more than three times the global average, should be particularly pertinent to researchers and other public health professionals aiming to reduce the global burden of chronic disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Total meat consumption in the U.S., E.U., and developed world, FAOSTAT, 1961–2003
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total meat, red meat, poultry, and fish consumption in the U.S., USDA, 1909–2007
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percent intake of different types of meat in U.S. as estimated by a single 24-hour dietary recall, NHANES, 2003–2004 A) Distribution of meat types that contribute to total meat intake. B) Percentage of total meat that is processed.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Statistics Division Food Balance Sheets Millennium Issue 1999–2001 Special Charts (forthcoming publication) http://www.fao.org/statistics/ and http://www.fao.org/es/ess/chartroom/fbs.asp.
    1. Hiza HAB, Bente L, Fungwe T. Nutrient Content of the U.S. Food Supply, 1909–2005. Home Economics Research Report. 2008;58
    1. United States Department of Agriculture U.S. Food Supply Database: 1909 to 2005
    1. Walker P, Rhubart-Berg P, McKenzie S, et al. Public health implications of meat production and consumption. Public Health Nutr. 2005;8:348–356. - PubMed
    1. Speedy AW. Global Production and Consumption of Animal Source Foods. J Nutr. 2003;133:4048S–4053. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

  NODES
twitter 2