Global Provisioning of Red Meat for Flexitarian Diets

Abstract

Although not always labeled as such, flexitarianism is the default lifestyle for much of the world, whereby meals based on plant materials provide the bulk of people's calories. The rich nutrition of meat and animal products is often the lynchpin of these diets, even when only consumed occasionally. It provides forms and concentrations of essential proteins, lipids, and micronutrients that are otherwise scarce. However, the production of this meat is resource intensive. It requires large quantities of arable land and water, and typically has lower conversion efficiency of farm inputs to edible outputs compared with crops, poultry, aquaculture, dairy, and eggs. An additional complication is that the quantity of ancillary products produced during slaughterhouse operations is large and underutilized. Each year, approximately 190 million metric tons (MMT) of red meat, including pork, lamb, sheep, veal, beef, and goats are produced globally, half of which will be consumed by less than 25% of the population living in developed countries. With demand for meat expected to exceed 376 MMT by 2030, an increase in the adoption of plant-based diets presents an opportunity for the world to re-evaluate how meat can be sustainably produced, with greater emphasis on animal welfare, nutritional value, product safety, better utilization, and distribution channels. In this article we consider the role meat plays in the modern diet, its production and consumption, opportunities to improve utilization of the animal, the benefits of incorporating a diverse range of red meat into diets, and the strategies that the meat industry should consider in response to flexitarianism.

Effect of texturised soy protein and yeast on the instrumental and sensory quality of hybrid beef meatballs

“…Flexitarianism, defined by Raphaely and Marinova (2014) as “part-time vegetarianism” or as “the reduction in individual meat consumption to the recommended healthy dietary guidelines”, could open new market opportunities for the meat industry. As Hicks et al (2018) suggest, “it would be efficient and wise for the meat industry to build a strategy around the flexitarian demographic, to ensure their needs are met and to keep them consuming meat, rather than risk losing them to veganism”.…”

Association between birth weight and risk of abdominal obesity in children and adolescents: a school-based epidemiology survey in China

“…The students’ questionnaire was used to collect information of dietary behavior, including the consumption of fruits, vegetables, total meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) over the past 7 days. A serving of fruit/vegetable was defined as the size of an adult fist (approximately 120 g) [ 27 ], a serving of SSBs was defined as a canned beverage (approximately 250 ml), and a portion of meat equals to the size of an adult’s palm (approximately 100 g) [ 28 ]. Students reported the frequency (days) and amount (servings) of food and drink intake per day, the daily dietary intake was estimated as follow: average daily intake = (days × servings in those days) /7.…”

The Myth of Cultured Meat: A Review

“…Due to the rise in demand for protein analogs, cultured meat sales may increase in the near future (34). Indeed, some researchers consider this new meat as a vegetarian productgood news for the expanding number of consumers who are incorporating more vegetarian and vegan choices into their diets (40,41).…”