Why Americans Don’t Give Up Beef
Based on grams per person per day, Americans rank third among all countries regarding meat consumption. Only Hong Kong and Australia rank higher, but each has an extremely small population compared to the US.
Climate crisis analysts believe cattle farming is among the largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, according to UC Davis, one cow produces “about 220 pounds of methane” per year. Cows serve two purposes on farms. One is to produce milk The other is to produce beef cows for slaughter.. Cows are the top source of methane among all agricultural sources. The point that the analysis does not take into account is that Americans have no intention to decrease their beef consumption, no matter what they are told or even believe about climate change.
In 2019, beef consumption in America reached the highest level in two decades. There is no evidence that this dropped in the last two years, even though beef prices are at an all-time level at $8 per pound. This underscores the evidence that many Americans will continue to do what they want no matter how badly it damages the environment and increases the climate crisis.
The Reducetarian Foundation sits at the top of the pyramid of organizations that want people to reduce meat consumption. According to Axios, the founders of the Reducetarian Foundation don’t think they can win the beef war entirely, but they are doing their best to decrease beef consumption in America. This organization not only focuses on beef but is focused on all meat and poultry. Despite this organization and others like it, there has been no evidence that people in the US are lowering their consumption of beef or poultry.
According to its management, “The Reducetarian Foundation aims to improve human health, protect the environment, and spare farm animals from cruelty by reducing societal consumption of animal products.” The means to accomplish this are creating viral videos, handing out literature, creating college campus clubs, and publishing books. These are neither unique nor likely to be effective, with the possible exception of videos for social media which have worked for other change-based organizations.
The other major way the Reducetarian Foundation plans to win its war against meat and poultry consumption is to promote alternatives, such as beef-like plant food. This effort has been a failure, at least in the US. The best example is the company Beyond Meat. It was going to conquer the meatless meat sector. It had a promising start. However, its stock has fallen 92% in two years. It had both the capital and the brand to be successful. What it did not have was customers.
