Meat Consumption Culture in Ethiopia

Abstract

The consumption of animal flesh food in Ethiopia has associated with cultural practices. Meat plays pivotal and vital parts in special occasions and its cultural symbolic weight is markedly greater than that accorded to most other food. Processing and cooking of poultry is a gender based duty and has socio-cultural roles. Ethiopians are dependent on limited types of animals for meats due to the taboo associated culturally. Moreover, the consumption of meat and meat products has a very tidy association with religious beliefs, and are influenced by religions. The main religions of Ethiopia have their own peculiar doctrines of setting the feeding habits and customs of their followers. They influence meat products consumption through dictating the source animals that should be used or not be used for food, and scheduling the days of the years in periodical permeation and restriction of consumptions which in turn influences the pattern of meat consumption in the country. In Ethiopia, a cow or an ox is commonly butchered for the sole purpose of selling within the community. In special occasions, people have a cultural ceremony of slaughtering cow or ox and sharing among the group, called Kircha, which is a very common option of the people in rural area where access of meat is challenging frequently.

The impact of dietary risk factors on the burden of non-communicable diseases in Ethiopia: findings from the Global Burden of Disease study 2013

“…Although there is lack of evidence on the impact of economic development and trade policy on the overall food consumption pattern in Ethiopia, the expenditure on processed foods and per capita energy consumption increased between 1996 and 2011 as a result of raised household income [25]. Over the same period, expenditure on some of the nutrient-dense foods (including pulses and unprocessed cereals) decreased [25], and the consumption of animal products remained consistent [26]. …”

Meat traditions. The co-evolution of humans and meat

“…In a recent focus group study by Graça et al (2014), some participants stated that meat consumption affirms belongingness, gastronomic tradition, and collective identity. This is especially the case during festivities, both of a civic and religious nature (Orlove, 1997;Población, 2013;Seleshe et al, 2014). Meat is not only a central part of Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Eid al-Adha celebrations, but also of local festivals such as German Schlachtfests, Spanish matanzas, and Italian maialatas (Smil, 2013).…”

“…The usual focus is on dominant monotheistic religions (e.g., Mukherjee, 2014), but the concept is equally valid for other, less-studied or hybrid belief systems (Luzar et al, 2012;Nam, Jo, & Lee, 2010;Seleshe et al, 2014). We limit ourselves here to a brief discussion of some aspects of the history of Christianity, which has had a confounding relationship with meat traditions.…”

“…This could, amongst other effects, result in a relative global rise in importance of certain product categories, dictating the source of animals that should be used or not as food but also the temporal dependency on specific calendars (Seleshe et al, 2014). Poultry, for instance, is expected to become more important still, as it is not subjected to taboos from the leading belief systems in emerging populations worldwide, in contrast to pork and beef (Devi, Balachandar, Lee, & Kim, 2014).…”

“…The age-old interlacing of the collection, consumption, and societal integration of meat (hereafter labelled as "meat traditions") with hominin development has influenced our biological and cultural modes of operating (Ehrlich, 2000). Although some have labelled meat as the most significant of foods, particularly rich in social and cultural meaning (Seleshe, Jo, & Lee, 2014;Twigg, 1983), its true societal impact has not received the attention it deserves. For policy makers, this would nonetheless represent a strategic factor in view of the imminent courses of action that are required to set up sustainable meat production systems (Boland et al, 2013;de Boer, Hoek, & Elzerman, 2006;Hoogland, de Boer, & Boersema, 2005;Vranken, Avermaete, Petalios, & Mathijs, 2014), and to improve food security (Población, 2013).…”