Beef consumption in the United States reached a new high in 2021, when 30 billion pounds were consumed. This is an increase in consumption of about 8.7 percent compared to the previous year and the highest consumption recorded during the period under consideration.

United States beef production

The United States is the world’s top producer of beef and veal. In 2022, production exceeding 12.6 million metric tons. To keep up with the production demand, the U.S. was home to about 30 million beef cows in 2022, more than three times the number of dairy cows recorded that year.

The shift towards plant-based foods

There is a large trend among Generation Z consumers to adopt a more vegetarian or vegan diet. Over half of Gen Z consumers are mostly vegetarian, at a minimum, as of 2022. 21 percent, however, are completely vegan, meaning they eat no animal products at all. With this shift away from animal proteins, it is no surprise that the consumption of meat substitutes is expected to exponentially grow within the next several years. By 2027, U.S. meat substitute consumption is forecast to reach 292.5 million kilograms.

The total beef production in the United States is estimated to be 26.96 billion pounds in 2023, down from 28.29 billion pounds in the previous year. Over the last two decades, the total U.S. beef production has fluctuated slightly but remained stable overall.

Beef retail in the United States Beef has the highest retail sales of any fresh meat in the United States, as of 2021. In that year, over 30 billion U.S. dollars worth of fresh beef were sold in the United States. The retail price for 100 percent ground beef in the United States was 4.8 U.S. dollars per pound in 2022, up from 3.95 U.S. dollars in 2020. Beef brisket, on the other hand, was priced on average around 8.84 U.S. dollars per pound in major grocery retailers.

U.S. beef consumption The United States consumes more beef than any other country in the world. Consumption of beef amounted to around 59 pounds per capita on an annual basis. This was projected to decrease slowly until 2032.

This statistic shows the per capita consumption of red meat in the United States from 2010 to 2023, with an estimated figure for 2024, by type. The consumption of beef in the U.S. amounted to 57.6 pounds per capita in 2023, and was estimated to decrease slightly in 2024.

In 2024, the most consumed type of meat in the United States was broiler chicken, at about 102.1 pounds per capita. This figure is expected to increase to around 110.4 pounds per capita by 2034. Chickens in the United States To accommodate the growing demand for chicken among American consumers, there is a rapidly expanding chicken industry in the United States. The overall value of all chickens in America was over 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. In that same year, an individual chicken in the United States was worth 3.32 U.S. dollars. Meat consumption in the United States On average, Americans purchase fresh meat about 27 times per year, compared to only 4.3 times for fresh seafood. A 2018 survey found that nearly half of Americans eat chicken a couple times a week but not every day, while only 9 percent ate chicken on a daily basis. Ready-to-eat meat/poultry is also very popular among consumers in the United States, with about 40 percent of Americans eating ready-to-eat meat at least once a week as of 2017.

This statistic shows the total amount of beef and veal imported and exported by the United States from 2006 to 2024. In 2015, almost 2.3 billion pounds of beef and veal were exported and has since fluctuated slightly, but generally increased. The forecasted amount of beef and veal exported in 2024 is about 2.8 billion pounds.

This statistic shows the per capita consumption of beef in the United States from 2000 to 2024 and includes a forecast from 2025 to 2034. The U.S. per capita consumption of beef amounted to 58.1 pounds in 2023.

In 2023, around 140 million tons of poultry meat were consumed worldwide, making it the most consumed type of meat globally. Pork was the second most consumed meat worldwide, followed by beef and veal. Leading consumers The per capita consumption of meat is forecast to grow in every part of the world by 2031. OECD countries had the highest per capita consumption of meat from 2019 to 2021, at 69.5 kilograms of retail weight per person. The world average per capita consumption is only about 34.1 kilograms. Shift towards meat substitutes Meat production is a significant greenhouse gas emitter and beef specifically emits more greenhouse gases than any other food product. Because of this and other climate change threats caused by meat production, such as deforestation, meat alternatives have been on the rise. It is projected that by 2040, 25 percent of all “meat” consumed will be vegan meat alternatives and only 40 percent of consumption will be from traditionally produced meat.

The retail price of 100% ground beef in the United States has risen significantly in the last two decades. In 2024, a pound of ground beef cost 5.61 U.S. dollars, up from 2.41 U.S. dollars in 2008. Cattle and beef production in the U.S. In 2022, there were almost 29 million beef cows in the United States. Compared to sheep, pigs, and chickens, cows are very expensive to raise and require much more water, feed, and land per calorie generated. Though beef production fluctuates from year to year, there has been a positive trend in beef production in the last several years in the United States. U.S. beef market In terms of retail sales, beef is the leading type of fresh meat in the United States. On average, beef generates about 19 thousand U.S. dollars in sales per store per week, compared to approximately 10 thousand dollars for chicken, and less than five thousand dollars for pork. As of 2021, per capita consumption of beef in the United States amounted to about 59 pounds per year.

How many cattle are in the world? The global live cattle population amounted to about 1.57 billion heads in 2023, up from approximately 1.51 million in 2021. Cows as livestock The domestication of cattle began as early as 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. From ancient times up to the present, cattle are bred to provide meat and dairy. Cattle are also employed as draft animals to plow the fields or transport heavy objects. Cattle hide is used for the production of leather, and dung for fuel and agricultural fertilizer. In 2022, India was home to the highest number of milk cows in the world. Cattle farming in the United States Cattle meat such as beef and veal is one of the most widely consumed types of meat across the globe, and is particularly popular in the United States. The United States is the top producer of beef and veal of any country worldwide. In 2021, beef production in the United States reached 12.6 million metric tons. Beef production appears to be following a positive trend in the United States. More than 33.07 million cattle were slaughtered both commercially and in farms annually in the United States in 2019, up from 33 million in the previous year.

The per capita consumption of meat was highest in North America, at roughly 78.5 kilos per person in the period between 2021 and 2023. By comparison, the average person living in Africa consumed about 9.7 kilos per year during that period.

The value of the global meat sector was estimated to value at 1460 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, and was forecast to increase to 2101.6 billion U.S. dollars by 2030. Global meat industry The production volume of meat worldwide has seen a slight increase between 2016 and 2020, from 317.2 million metric tons to around 328 million metric tons. During that time period, pork and poultry were the two most produced types of meat in terms of weight. In 2016 and 2017 pork had a slightly larger production volume than poultry but between 2017 and 2020, poultry overtook pork as the leading of meat worldwide. Beef in the United States The United States is the world’s leading producer of beef and veal as of 2020. In that year, the U.S.’s beef production amounted to 12.4 million metric tons. The United States also has the largest domestic consumption of beef of any country. On a regional level, the amount that each consumer in the United States spends on beef on an annual basis varies quite significantly, with the Western United States having the highest household expenditure on beef, and the Midwest having the lowest.

In 2024, the world's production of poultry is projected to amount to approximately 138.75 million metric tons, up from about 115 million metric tons in 2016. During this time period, poultry has overtaken pork as the most produced type of meat worldwide. Chicken production worldwide The number of chickens worldwide has increased significantly over the last decades, reaching approximately 25.9 billion chickens globally, up from nearly 11 billion in 1990. Chicken farming could be done for the purpose of producing eggs or for the sole purpose of meat, the latter being called broiler chicken. In 2023, the United States was the leading global producer of broiler chicken, with more than 21 million metric tons of broiler meat produced. Brazil, China, and the European Union were also on top of the list of chicken meat producing countries in that year. As for egg laying hens, China was by far the leading egg producing country in the world, generating an output of some 586.3 billion eggs in 2021. Leading meat-producing companies worldwide As of March 2023, Hormel was the leading meat producer worldwide with a market capitalization of 21.4 billion U.S. dollars. Tyson Foods was the second leading meat producer. Tyson is an American company based in Springdale, Arkansas that specializes in the processing of chicken, beef and pork. In 2021, Tyson Foods generated revenues exceeding 43 billion U.S. dollars.

The per-capita meat consumption in Germany increased from an estimated 46 kilograms in 2018 to 47.9 kg by 2022. Consumption in Italy and Spain also increased. Poland saw the largest rise in meat consumption in this time period. Consumption of meat in France remained mostly stable.

Meat consumption in Germany

German meat consumption is currently decreasing. Pork consumption especially, the biggest meat category by consumption volume, has declined since 2014. For 2022, the per capita consumption of pork is estimated to be under 30 kilograms for the first time. Germany has the highest share of young individuals who consider themselves to be vegetarian among European countries. With the growing importance of these younger generations, meat consumption is likely to keep declining.

Meat consumption in the UK

The generational shift in consumption habits is also visible in the United Kingdom. Meat-free nutrition is the goal for over a quarter of millennials in 2023. The share of Generation Z consumers that aimed for a meat-free diet in 2023 was 43 percent. Beef and veal are on the chopping block. From 2006 to 2019/20, consumption per person per week declined from 128 to 97 grams per person.

In 2024, the market value of plant-based meat substitutes worldwide was estimated to be worth 10.33 billion U.S. dollars. This figure is estimated to steadily increase over the coming years and reach roughly 14.32 billion in 2028. Meat substitutes Meat substitutes are plant-based products that try to emulate meat products in taste, texture, smell, and appearance. These alternatives exist in a high variety of forms, like the diversity of meat products they are imitating. Plant-based products have achieved a strong position in the market and are now a mainstay in many grocery stores around the world. Currently, over 660 million kilograms of meat substitutes are consumed globally. Consumer adoption varies significantly across the globe. Vietnam, Thailand, and the Netherlands show the highest rate of regular consumption of meat substitutes among their populations.Meat Substitutes in the United StatesIn the United States, meat substitutes get regularly consumed by 11 percent of consumers. To put this number into perspective, a comparison to other products is useful. In the same survey, about 54 percent of consumers stated that they regularly consume bread and bakery products, and the same share of respondents eat potatoes regularly. Both categories show regular consumption levels of around five times the level of meat substitutes. In total, the market in the U.S. alone generates an annual revenue of 1.4 billion U.S. dollars.