Americans Losing Appetite For Beef

US – Growing health concerns about beef and tax increases have lead to a drop in consumer beef demand, which is forecast to dip further.
calendar icon 22 February 2013
clock icon 1 minute read

This was the message of Rich Nelson at the Allendale Ag Leaders Conference. He said that the annual average US beef consumption per head had fallen by 30lbs since 2005.

“The US consumer used to eat around 85 lbs per year. Right now this is down to 50-55 lbs right now amounting to an 18 per cent drop since 2005. Beef has been maligned as a fatty meat.”

Mr Nelson said Allendale is forecasting this trend to continue for the next two years and possibly further. People will still be buying less beef in 2015 to the tune of a 25 per cent drop over ten years from 2005, he added.

National economic turmoil and higher tax bands for the upper and middle classes have been pinpointed by Allendale as factors that could be restricting beef buying.

Paying for Obamacare, the country wide social healthcare policy, is a further setback for shoppers, who are faced with shrinking wages not going as far as inflation impacts family expandable income.

Michael Priestley

Michael Priestley
News Team - Editor

Mainly production and market stories on ruminants sector. Works closely with sustainability consultants at FAI Farms

 
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