Food critic and author Lauraine Jacobs attributes part of the decline in traditional red meat consumption to a wider, high-quality availability of alternative protein meats, including fish.
Despite continuing to uphold the perennial claim of having more cows and sheep than people, New Zealand appears to be well past “peak meat” and is now one of only six countries globally to be eating less meat now than it was 20 years ago.
An academic paper published in zoology and veterinary sciences peer-reviewed magazine Animals has highlighted the world’s continuing hunger for meat.
The researchers from Curtin University in Perth Western Australia identified a co-relation between GDP growth and meat consumption in 26 countries. With every US$9795 increase in GDP per capita, an additional 1kg of meat was consumed per capita a year.
Overall, they estimated that once a country hits average GDP per capita of US$40,000, GDP growth is no longer as much of a determinant for increased meat consumption.
They suspected dietary changes and greater environmental awareness were prompting lowered consumption in NZ, Switzerland and Canada.
The drop of 11% in per capita consumption over the 20 years meant NZ has experienced by far the greatest decline in meat consumption of the six countries.
In 2019 NZ’s GDP per capita was US$42,084, Canada’s US$46,195 and Switzerland’s US$81,994.
Only three other countries globally had experienced a decline, namely Paraguay, Nigeria and Ethiopia. The decline in consumption of meat in those countries was linked to economic unaffordability.
With its US$54,907 per capita income, Australia is the world’s top meat-eating nation, averaging 89kg per capita, an increase from the 88kg eaten per capita back in 2000.
It is a claim shared by Israel, closely followed by Argentina.
Between 2000 and 2019 total meat consumed in NZ dropped from 86kg to 75kg per capita.
Red meat took the biggest hit, with sheepmeat down from 25kg a head to 3.6kg and beef from 23kg to 11kg.
Poultry had filled a lot of the gap, surging from 24kg per head to 41kg in 2019, while pork came up from 13kg to 19kg a head.
Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ) data lead Dr Ben Hancock says while obtaining exact per capita domestic consumption data was difficult, the trend identified by the academics was accurate.
“We are seeing some shifts in the type of meat consumed, driven in part by costs. Twenty-five years ago, chicken was expensive and its cost has dropped. But internationally NZ’s sheepmeat is now a premium, special occasion meat, making it more expensive here too,” Hancock said.
He says B+LNZ was working on getting more specific domestic data on red meat consumption, a difficult task when carcases were portioned across multiple markets globally.
Long-time food author and critic Lauraine Jacobs says she was not surprised to see the slide in red meat consumption here. But she noted that overall, New Zealanders’ total meat consumption had not dropped too significantly over the 20-year period.
“Twenty years ago, it was hard to get much pork, chicken or fish or even venison,” Jacobs said.
“So, a lot of that shift from traditional red meat has come down to there simply being other protein choices. No one offering ‘substitute meat’ could claim a win from this. I have seen those products getting only the same space in supermarkets as they were getting when they first came out.”
She also attributed the ubiquitous sushi roll to having an impact upon traditional meat choices, particularly for day-time dining and convenience eating.
“I know that here in NZ farmed salmon sales are through the roof to sushi retailers,” she said.
She also noted that, on average, New Zealanders were simply consuming smaller portions of all food components in their diets in response to health messages.
B+LNZ head of nutrition Fiona Windle says the jump in poultry consumption also reflected that sector’s ability to offer a wide range of convenience-focused products.
“And often when we ask people if they have changed from beef and lamb, they will say it is on grounds of price. Many consumers have a limited food budget and need some form of meat protein and opt for cheaper chicken,” Windle said.
“Many will make health and environmental claims, but price usually comes up as the number one factor.”
