US meat consumption rate is down 9 pct in a decade | Food and Environment Reporting Network

Americans are consuming 9 pct less red meat and poultry per person than a decade ago, the result of rising prices and lower production. The 2007/08 recession also was a factor. Per capita consumption is estimated for 200.6 lbs this year, compared to 222 lbs in 2004, according to the Agriculture Department.

Retail beef prices are at or near record levels and are up 7.4 pct from a year ago. Pork is up 5.3 pct, chicken up 4.9 and eggs up nearly 10 pct, says USDA chief economist Joe Glauber.

Meat consumption rates are forecast to increase in coming year “but only reach 215 lbs by 2023,” Glauber told a House Agriculture subcommittee. Poultry will account for most of the gain, he said.

High feed prices meant tight margins for livestock producers in the past few years, which limited their ability to expand output. Now, feed prices are down but cattle producers face a long biological cycle to rebuild herds. Hog production is hobbled by Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, which has killed millions of piglets.

Members of the subcommittee criticized the impact of U.S. biofuels mandates and the country-of-origin meat-labeling law, says Feedstuffs.