Newsletter No. 39 – Item 4

The report discussed in our last post and referenced here discussed the increasing demand for animal protein that we have discussed in earlier news letters.

Quote:  The demand for meat and other animal based foods is largely related to income and consumer tastes and preferences.  Two fundamental trends affect demand for animal based products:

•    income growth
•    demographic changes

In developed countries, consumer tastes and preferences change, but total demand grows relatively slowly – see chart below. While the demand has shifted for specific products, total demand has grown at about the rate of population growth.

The changing demand for specific meat products results from concerns about diet and health, functional characteristics of products such as convenience, food safety, and perceived values associated with the place or techniques of production. 
More dynamic growth in demand for animal based protein results from the fact that incomes are rising in many developing economies with large populations. The rapid increase in per-capita income, particularly in China, has generated a significant increase in per-capita meat consumption. Similar income and consumption trends are occurring in India, Indonesia, Chile and other developing countries of Asia and Latin America.  End quote