Meat — Mediated Wiki

{{Short description|Animal flesh eaten as food}} {{Other uses}} {{Good article}} {{pp|small=yes}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}} {{Use American English|date=April 2024}} [[File:FoodMeat.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Raw meat (clockwise from left): chicken, beef, bacon, pork chops]] '''Meat''' is animal tissue, mostly muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cattle, starting around 11,000 years ago. Since then, selective breeding has enabled farmers to produce meat with the qualities desired by producers and consumers. Meat is important to economies and cultures around the world.

Meat is mainly composed of water, protein, and fat. Its quality is affected by many factors, including the genetics, health, and nutritional status of the animal involved. Without preservation, bacteria and fungi decompose and spoil unprocessed meat within hours or days. Meat is edible raw, but it is mostly eaten cooked, such as by stewing or roasting, or processed, such as by smoking or salting.

The consumption of meat (especially red and processed meat, as opposed to fish and poultry) increases the risk of certain negative health outcomes including cancer, coronary heart disease, and diabetes. Meat production significantly harms the environment by contributing to global warming, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Some people (vegetarians and vegans) choose not to eat meat for ethical, environmental, health or religious reasons.

== Etymology ==

The word ''meat'' comes from the Old English word {{Lang|ang|mete}}, meaning food in general. In modern usage, ''meat'' primarily means skeletal muscle with its associated fat and connective tissue, but it can include offal, here meaning other edible organs such as liver and kidney.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=1–2}} The term is sometimes used in a more restrictive sense to mean the flesh of mammalian species (pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, etc.) raised and prepared for human consumption, to the exclusion of fish, other seafood, insects, poultry, or other animals.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/meat|title=Meat definition and meaning |publisher=Collins English Dictionary |access-date=June 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712041548/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/meat|archive-date=July 12, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Definition of MEAT">{{Cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meat|title=Definition of MEAT |website=merriam-webster.com |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319025828/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meat |archive-date=March 19, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Domestication ===

Paleontological evidence suggests that meat constituted a substantial proportion of the diet of the earliest humans. Early hunter-gatherers depended on the organized hunting of large animals such as bison and deer. Animals were domesticated in the Neolithic, enabling the systematic production of meat and the breeding of animals to improve meat production.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=1–2}}

{|class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;" |+ Major animal domestications |- ! Animal !! Centre of origin !! Purpose !! Date/years ago |- |Goat, sheep, pig, cow ||Near East, South Asia ||Food ||11,000–10,000<ref name="McHugo Dover MacHugh 2019">{{Cite journal |last1=McHugo |first1=Gillian P. |last2=Dover |first2=Michael J. |last3=MacHugh |first3=David E. |date=2019-12-02 |title=Unlocking the origins and biology of domestic animals using ancient DNA and paleogenomics |journal=BMC Biology |volume=17 |issue=1 |page=98 |doi=10.1186/s12915-019-0724-7 |pmc=6889691 |pmid=31791340 |doi-access=free }}</ref> |- |Chicken ||East Asia ||Cockfighting ||7,000<ref name="Lawler Adler 2012">{{cite journal |last1=Lawler |first1=Andrew |last2=Adler |first2=Jerry |title=How the Chicken Conquered the World |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/ |journal=Smithsonian |issue=June 2012 |date=June 2012}}</ref> |- |Horse ||Central Asia ||Draft, riding ||5,500<ref name="MacHugh Larson Orlando 2017">{{cite journal |last1=MacHugh |first1=David E. |last2=Larson |first2=Greger |last3=Orlando |first3=Ludovic |title=Taming the Past: Ancient DNA and the Study of Animal Domestication |doi=10.1146/annurev-animal-022516-022747 |journal=Annual Review of Animal Biosciences |volume=5 |date=2017 |s2cid=21991146 |pmid=27813680 |pages=329–351}}</ref> |}

=== Intensive animal farming ===

In the postwar period, governments gave farmers guaranteed prices to increase animal production. The effect was to raise output at the cost of increased inputs such as of animal feed and veterinary medicines, as well as of animal disease and environmental pollution.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zatta |first=Paolo |title=The History of Factory Farming |url=http://www.unsystem.org/SCN/archives/scnnews21/ch04.htm#TopOfPage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116060714/http://www.unsystem.org/SCN/archives/scnnews21/ch04.htm |archive-date=16 November 2013 |publisher=United Nations }}</ref> In 1966, the United States, the United Kingdom and other industrialized nations, began factory farming of beef and dairy cattle and domestic pigs.<ref name="Danielle Nierenburg 2005"/> Intensive animal farming became globalized in the later years of the 20th century, replacing traditional stock rearing in countries around the world.<ref name="Danielle Nierenburg 2005">{{cite journal |last=Nierenburg |first=Danielle |year=2005 |title=Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry |journal=Worldwatch Paper |volume=171 |page=5 }}</ref> In 1990 intensive animal farming accounted for 30% of world meat production and by 2005, this had risen to 40%.<ref name="Danielle Nierenburg 2005"/>

=== Selective breeding ===

Modern agriculture employs techniques such as progeny testing to speed selective breeding, allowing the rapid acquisition of the qualities desired by meat producers.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}} For instance, in the wake of well-publicized health concerns associated with saturated fats in the 1980s, the fat content of United Kingdom beef, pork and lamb fell from 20–26 percent to 4–8 percent within a few decades, due to both selective breeding for leanness and changed methods of butchery.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}} Methods of genetic engineering that could improve the meat-producing qualities of animals are becoming available.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}}

Meat production continues to be shaped by the demands of customers. The trend towards selling meat in pre-packaged cuts has increased the demand for larger breeds of cattle, better suited to producing such cuts.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}} Animals not previously exploited for their meat are now being farmed, including mammals such as antelope, zebra, water buffalo and camel,{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}} as well as non-mammals, such as crocodile, emu and ostrich.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}} Organic farming supports an increasing demand for meat produced to that standard.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/Demand-for-organic-meat-on-the-rise-says-Soil-Association |title=Demand for organic meat on the rise, says Soil Association |date=July 28, 2016 |access-date=January 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012021608/http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/Demand-for-organic-meat-on-the-rise-says-Soil-Association|archive-date=October 12, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=220 heights=180> File:Lamb meat.jpg|A shoulder of lamb File:Hereford bull large.jpg|A Hereford bull, a breed of beef cattle File:SelectionOfPackageMeats.jpg|Supermarket meat, North America </gallery>

== Animal growth and development ==

Several factors affect the growth and development of meat.

=== Genetics === {{table alignment}} {|class="wikitable floatleft col2right" |- ! Trait ! Heritability{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=17–22}} |- |Reproductive efficiency |2–10% |- |Meat quality |15–30% |- |Growth |20–40% |- |Muscle/fat ratio |40–60% |} Some economically important traits in meat animals are heritable to some degree, and can thus be selected for by animal breeding. In cattle, certain growth features are controlled by recessive genes which have not so far been excluded, complicating breeding.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=17–22}} One such trait is dwarfism; another is the doppelender or "double muscling" condition, which causes muscle hypertrophy and thereby increases the animal's commercial value.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=17–22}} Genetic analysis continues to reveal the mechanisms that control numerous aspects of the endocrine system and, through it, meat growth and quality.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=17–22}}

Genetic engineering can shorten breeding programs significantly because they allow for the identification and isolation of genes coding for desired traits, and for the reincorporation of these genes into the animal genome.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=17–22}} To enable this, the genomes of many animals are being mapped.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=17–22}} Some research has already seen commercial application. For instance, a recombinant bacterium has been developed which improves the digestion of grass in the rumen of cattle, and some features of muscle fibers have been genetically altered.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=17–22}} Experimental reproductive cloning of commercially important meat animals such as sheep, pig or cattle has been successful. Asexual reproduction of animals bearing desirable traits is anticipated.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=17–22}}

=== Environment ===

Heat regulation in livestock is of economic significance, as mammals attempt to maintain a constant optimal body temperature. Low temperatures tend to prolong animal development and high temperatures tend to delay it. Depending on their size, body shape and insulation through tissue and fur, some animals have a relatively narrow zone of temperature tolerance and others (e.g. cattle) a broad one. Static magnetic fields, for reasons still unknown, retard animal development.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=22–23}}

=== Animal nutrition ===

The quality and quantity of usable meat depends on the animal's ''plane of nutrition'', i.e., whether it is over- or underfed. Scientists disagree about how exactly the plane of nutrition influences carcase composition.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=25–30}}

The composition of the diet, especially the amount of protein provided, is an important factor regulating animal growth. Ruminants, which may digest cellulose, are better adapted to poor-quality diets, but their ruminal microorganisms degrade high-quality protein if supplied in excess. Because producing high-quality protein animal feed is expensive, several techniques are employed or experimented with to ensure maximum utilization of protein. These include the treatment of feed with formalin to protect amino acids during their passage through the rumen, the recycling of manure by feeding it back to cattle mixed with feed concentrates, or the conversion of petroleum hydrocarbons to protein through microbial action.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=25–30}}

In plant feed, environmental factors influence the availability of crucial nutrients or micronutrients, a lack or excess of which can cause a great many ailments. In Australia, where the soil contains limited phosphate, cattle are fed additional phosphate to increase the efficiency of beef production. Also in Australia, cattle and sheep in certain areas were often found losing their appetite and dying in the midst of rich pasture; this was found to be a result of cobalt deficiency in the soil. Plant toxins are a risk to grazing animals; for instance, sodium fluoroacetate, found in some African and Australian plants, kills by disrupting the cellular metabolism. Some man-made pollutants such as methylmercury and some pesticide residues present a particular hazard as they bioaccumulate in meat, potentially poisoning consumers.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=25–30}}

=== Animal welfare ===

[[File:Animal Abuse Battery Cage 01.jpg|thumb|The welfare of farm animals such as hens in battery cages and other systems is debated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-24/rspca-on-free-range-court-case/5769542 |title=RSPCA says egg industry is 'misleading the public' on free range |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=26 May 2015 |date=24 September 2014 |archive-date=1 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101051034/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-24/rspca-on-free-range-court-case/5769542 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Charles |first1=Dan |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/06/27/195639341/what-the-rise-of-cage-free-eggs-means-for-chickens |title=What The Rise Of Cage-Free Eggs Means For Chickens |website=NPR |date=June 27, 2013 |access-date=26 May 2015 |archive-date=11 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211010506/http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/06/27/195639341/what-the-rise-of-cage-free-eggs-means-for-chickens |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/23/370377902/farm-fresh-natural-eggs-not-always-what-they-re-cracked-up-to-be |title=Farm Fresh? Natural? Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up To Be |website=NPR |date=23 December 2014 |access-date=26 May 2015 |last1=Kelto |first1=Anders |archive-date=3 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103121635/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/23/370377902/farm-fresh-natural-eggs-not-always-what-they-re-cracked-up-to-be |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

Practices such as confinement in factory farming have generated concerns for animal welfare. Animals have abnormal behaviors such as tail-biting, cannibalism, and feather pecking. Invasive procedures such as beak trimming, castration, and ear notching have similarly been questioned.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bartlett |first1=Harriet |last2=Holmes |first2=Mark A. |last3=Petrovan |first3=Silviu O. |last4=Williams |first4=David R. |last5=Wood |first5=James L. N. |last6=Balmford |first6=Andrew |date=June 2022 |title=Understanding the relative risks of zoonosis emergence under contrasting approaches to meeting livestock product demand |journal=Royal Society Open Science |volume=9 |issue=6 |article-number=211573 |doi=10.1098/rsos.211573 |doi-access=free|pmc=9214290 |pmid=35754996|bibcode=2022RSOS....911573B }}</ref> Breeding for high productivity may affect welfare, as when broiler chickens are bred to be very large and to grow rapidly. Broilers often have leg deformities and become lame, and many die from the stress of handling and transport.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm_animals/poultry/meat_chickens/welfare_issues.aspx |title=Compassion in World Farming – Meat chickens – Welfare issues |publisher=Compassion In World Farming |access-date=22 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023062150/http://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm_animals/poultry/meat_chickens/welfare_issues.aspx |archive-date=23 October 2013 }}</ref>

=== Human intervention ===

Meat producers may seek to improve the fertility of female animals through the administration of gonadotrophic or ovulation-inducing hormones. In pig production, sow infertility is a common problem – possibly due to excessive fatness. No methods currently exist to augment the fertility of male animals. Artificial insemination is now routinely used to produce animals of the best possible genetic quality, and the efficiency of this method is improved through the administration of hormones that synchronize the ovulation cycles within groups of females.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=31–33}}

Growth hormones, particularly anabolic agents such as steroids, are used in some countries to accelerate muscle growth in animals.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=31–33}} This practice has given rise to the beef hormone controversy, an international trade dispute. It may decrease the tenderness of meat, although research on this is inconclusive, and have other effects on the composition of the muscle flesh.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=35–39}} Where castration is used to improve control over male animals, its side effects can be counteracted by the administration of hormones.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=31–33}} Myostatin has been used to produce muscle hypertrophy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aiello |first1=D. |last2=Patel |first2=K. |last3=Lasagna |first3=E. |title=The myostatin gene: an overview of mechanisms of action and its relevance to livestock animals |journal=Animal Genetics |date=December 2018 |volume=49 |issue=6 |pages=505–519 |doi=10.1111/age.12696 |pmid=30125951 |bibcode=2018AnGen..49..505A |s2cid=52051853 |url=https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/77388/1/Aiello_et_al_revised_not_highlighted.pdf }}</ref>

Sedatives may be administered to animals to counteract stress factors and increase weight gain. The feeding of antibiotics to certain animals increases growth rates. This practice is particularly prevalent in the US, but has been banned in the EU, partly because it causes antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic microorganisms.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=35–39}}

== Composition ==

=== Biochemical ===

The biochemical composition of meat varies in complex ways depending on the species, breed, sex, age, plane of nutrition, training and exercise of the animal, as well as on the anatomical location of the musculature involved.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|p=94–126}} Even between animals of the same litter and sex there are considerable differences in such parameters as the percentage of intramuscular fat.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|p=126}}

Adult mammalian muscle consists of roughly 75 percent water, 19 percent protein, 2.5 percent intramuscular fat, 1.2 percent carbohydrates and 2.3 percent other soluble substances. These include organic compounds, especially amino acids, and inorganic substances such as minerals.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=76–80}} Muscle proteins are either soluble in water (sarcoplasmic proteins, about 11.5 percent of total muscle mass) or in concentrated salt solutions (myofibrillar proteins, about 5.5 percent of mass).{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=76–80}} There are several hundred sarcoplasmic proteins.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=76–80}} Most of them – the glycolytic enzymes – are involved in glycolysis, the conversion of sugars into high-energy molecules, especially adenosine triphosphate (ATP).{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=76–80}} The two most abundant myofibrillar proteins, myosin and actin,{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=76–80}} form the muscle's overall structure and enable it to deliver power, consuming ATP in the process. The remaining protein mass includes connective tissue (collagen and elastin).{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=76–80}} Fat in meat can be either adipose tissue, used by the animal to store energy and consisting of "true fats" (esters of glycerol with fatty acids),{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|p=82}} or intramuscular fat, which contains phospholipids and cholesterol.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|p=82}}

=== Nutritional ===

Muscle tissue is high in protein, containing all the essential amino acids, and for example red meat is a good source of vitamin B<sub>12</sub>, selenium, niacin, vitamin B<sub>6</sub>, and iron.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Williams |first=Peter |title=Nutritional composition of red meat |journal=Nutrition & Dietetics |volume=64 |issue=s4 |date=2007 |issn=1446-6368 |doi=10.1111/j.1747-0080.2007.00197.x}}</ref> Several forms of meat are high in vitamin K.<ref name="k2 foods">{{cite journal |last1=Schurgers |first1=L.J. |last2=Vermeer |first2=C. |title=Determination of phylloquinone and menaquinones in food. Effect of food matrix on circulating vitamin K concentrations |journal=Haemostasis |volume=30 |issue=6 |pages=298–307 |year=2000 |pmid=11356998 |doi=10.1159/000054147 |s2cid=84592720 }}</ref> Muscle tissue is very low in carbohydrates and does not contain dietary fiber.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09333.html |title=Dietary Fiber |publisher=Ext.colostate.edu |access-date=May 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628045019/http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/FOODNUT/09333.html |archive-date=June 28, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The fat content of meat varies widely with the species and breed of animal, the way in which the animal was raised, what it was fed, the part of the body, and the methods of butchering and cooking. Wild animals such as deer are leaner than farm animals, leading those concerned about fat content to choose game such as venison. Decades of breeding meat animals for fatness is being reversed by consumer demand for leaner meat. Small amounts – in the range {{val|3|–|7|u=%}} – of fat deposited near the muscle fibers ("marbling") in meats can slightly improve perceived flavour, juiciness and tenderness, but contribute no more than about {{val|5|u=%}} to overall palatability.<ref>{{cite web| last = U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, ARS, USDA| title = Effect of Marbling Degree on Beef Palatability in Bos taurus and Bos indicus Cattle| publisher = USDA| date = September 9, 1994| url = https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/30400510/1994723145.pdf| access-date = September 17, 2006| archive-date = May 15, 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130515180849/http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/54380530/1994723145.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref> Fat around meat further contains cholesterol. The increase in meat consumption after 1960 is associated with significant imbalances of fat and cholesterol in the human diet.<ref>{{cite book |last=Horowitz |first=Roger |title=Putting Meat on the American Table: Taste, Technology, Transformation |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2005 |page=4}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable col2right col3right col4right col5right" |+ Nutritional content of {{convert|110|g|lb|abbr=on|frac=4}}; data vary widely with selection (e.g. skinless, boneless) and preparation |- ! Source ! Energy: kJ (kcal) ! Protein ! Carbs ! Fat |- ! Chicken breast<ref>{{cite web |title=Chicken, breast, boneless, skinless, raw |url=https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2646170/nutrients |website=FoodData Central, USDA |access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |{{convert|117|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=values}} |25 g |0 g |2 g |- ! Lamb mince<ref>{{cite web |title=Lamb, New Zealand, imported, ground lamb, raw |url=https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/172617/nutrients |website=FoodData Central, USDA |access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |{{convert|319|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=values}} |19 g |0 g |26 g |- ! Beef mince<ref>{{cite web |title=Beef, ground, 80% lean meat / 20% fat, raw |url=https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/174036/nutrients |website=FoodData Central, USDA |access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |{{convert|287|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=values}} |19 g |0 g |22 g |- ! Dog<ref>Ann Yong-Geun [http://wolf.ok.ac.kr/~annyg/report/r2.htm "Dog Meat Foods in Korea"] {{Webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20071007160723/http://wolf.ok.ac.kr/~annyg/report/r2.htm|date=October 7, 2007}}, Table 4. Composition of dog meat and Bosintang (in 100g, raw meat), ''Korean Journal of Food and Nutrition'' 12(4) 397 – 408 (1999).</ref> |{{convert|270|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=values}} |20 g |0 g |22 g |- ! Horse<ref>{{cite web |title=Game meat, horse, raw |url=https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/175086/nutrients |website=FoodData Central, USDA |access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |{{convert|146|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=values}} |23 g |0 g |5 g |- ! Pork loin<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/index.html |title=FoodData Central |website=fdc.nal.usda.gov |access-date=October 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203185131/https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/index.html|archive-date=December 3, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> |{{convert|242|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=values}} |14 g |0 g |30 g |- ! Rabbit<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/337051/nutrients |title=FoodData Central |website=fdc.nal.usda.gov |access-date=October 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025172925/https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/337051/nutrients |archive-date=October 25, 2019 }}</ref> |{{convert|215|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=values}} |32 g |0 g |9 g |}

== Production ==

<gallery class="center" mode="packed" heights="300"> File:World production of meat by main items.svg|World production of meat by main items<ref>{{Cite book |last=FAO |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd4313en |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2025 |date=2025 |publisher=FAO |isbn=978-92-5-140174-3 |language=English |doi=10.4060/cd4313en}}</ref> File:World production of main meat items by main producers (2023).svg|World production of main meat items by main producers (2023)<ref>{{Cite book |last=FAO |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd4313en |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2025 |date=2025 |publisher=FAO |isbn=978-92-5-140174-3 |language=English |doi=10.4060/cd4313en}}</ref> </gallery>

{{Bar chart|title=Land Animals Killed for Meat, 2013<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL |title=FAOSTAT |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=October 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511194947/http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL |archive-date=May 11, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>|float=right |label_type=Animals|data_type=Number Killed|bar_width=10|width_units=em|data_max=61171973510 |label1=Chickens|data1=61171973510 |label2=Ducks|data2=2887594480 |label3=Pigs|data3=1451856889 |label4=Rabbits|data4=1171578000 |label5=Geese|data5=687147000 |label6=Turkeys|data6=618086890 |label7=Sheep|data7=536742256 |label8=Goats|data8=438320370 |label9=Cattle|data9=298799160 |label10=Rodents|data10=70371000 |label11=Other birds|data11=59656000 |label12=Buffalo|data12=25798819 |label13=Horses|data13=4863367 |label14=Donkeys, mules|data14=3478300 |label15=Camelids|data15=3298266}}

{{Pie chart |caption='''Biomass of mammals on Earth'''<ref name="Carrington2018"/> |label1 =Livestock, mostly cattle and pigs |value1 =60 |color1=blue |label2 =Humans |value2 =36 |color2=red |label3 =Wild mammals |value3 =4 |color3=green }}

=== Transport ===

Upon reaching a predetermined age or weight, livestock are usually transported ''en masse'' to the slaughterhouse.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=129–130}} Depending on its length and circumstances, this may exert stress and injuries on the animals, and some may die ''en route''.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=129–130}} Unnecessary stress in transport may adversely affect the quality of the meat.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=129–130}} In particular, the muscles of stressed animals are low in water and glycogen, and their pH fails to attain acidic values, all of which results in poor meat quality.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=129–130}}

=== Slaughter ===

Animals are usually slaughtered by being first stunned and then exsanguinated (bled out). Death results from the one or the other procedure, depending on the methods employed.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=134–138}} Stunning can be effected through asphyxiating the animals with carbon dioxide, shooting them with a gun or a captive bolt pistol, or shocking them with electric current.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=134–138}} The exsanguination is accomplished by severing the carotid artery and the jugular vein in cattle and sheep, and the anterior vena cava in pigs.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=134–138}} Draining as much blood as possible from the carcass is necessary because blood causes the meat to have an unappealing appearance and is a breeding ground for microorganisms.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=134–138}}

=== Dressing and cutting ===

After exsanguination, the carcass is dressed; that is, the head, feet, hide (except hogs and some veal), excess fat, viscera and offal are removed, leaving only bones and edible muscle.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=134–138}} Cattle and pig carcases, but not those of sheep, are then split in half along the mid ventral axis, and the carcase is cut into wholesale pieces. The dressing and cutting sequence, long a province of manual labor, is being progressively automated.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=134–138}}

=== Conditioning ===

Under hygienic conditions and without other treatment, meat can be stored at above its freezing point (−1.5 °C) for about six weeks without spoilage, during which time it undergoes an aging process that increases its tenderness and flavor.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=141–146}} During the first day after death, glycolysis continues until the accumulation of lactic acid causes the pH to reach about 5.5. The remaining glycogen, about 18 g per kg, increases the water-holding capacity and tenderness of cooked meat.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|p=87}}

''Rigor mortis'' sets in a few hours after death as adenosine triphosphate is used up. This causes the muscle proteins actin and myosin to combine into rigid actomyosin. This in turn lowers the meat's water-holding capacity,{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|p=90}} so the meat loses water or "weeps".{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=141–146}} In muscles that enter ''rigor'' in a contracted position, actin and myosin filaments overlap and cross-bond, resulting in meat that becomes tough when cooked.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=141–146}} Over time, muscle proteins denature in varying degree, with the exception of the collagen and elastin of connective tissue,{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=141–146}} and ''rigor mortis'' resolves. These changes mean that meat is tender and pliable when cooked just after death or after the resolution of ''rigor'', but tough when cooked during ''rigor.''{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=141–146}}

As the muscle pigment myoglobin denatures, its iron oxidizes, which may cause a brown discoloration near the surface of the meat.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=141–146}} Ongoing proteolysis contributes to conditioning: hypoxanthine, a breakdown product of ATP, contributes to meat's flavor and odor, as do other products of the decomposition of muscle fat and protein.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|p=155}}

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=220 heights=220> File:Atria slaughterhouse in Nurmo Seinajoki.JPG|A slaughterhouse, Finland File:MIN Rungis viandes de boucherie veau.jpg|Rungis International Market, France </gallery>

=== Additives ===

When meat is industrially processed, additives are used to protect or modify its flavor or color, to improve its tenderness, juiciness or cohesiveness, or to aid with its preservation.<ref name="Mills, Additives">{{cite book |last=Mills |first=E. |title=Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences |chapter=Additives |year=2004 |publisher=Elsevier |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-12-464970-5 |pages=1–6 |edition=1st}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable" |+ Additives used in industrial meat processing<ref name="Mills, Additives"/> |- ! Additive !! Examples !! Function !! Notes |- |Salt ||n/a ||Imparts flavor, inhibits microbial growth, extends the product's shelf life and helps emulsifying finely processed products, such as sausages. ||The most common additive. Ready-to-eat meat products often contain 1.5 to 2.5 percent salt. |- |Nitrite ||n/a ||Curing meat, to stabilize color and flavor, and inhibit growth of spore-forming microorganisms such as ''Clostridium botulinum''. ||The use of nitrite's precursor nitrate is now limited to a few products such as dry sausage, prosciutto or parma ham. |- |Alkaline polyphosphates ||Sodium tripolyphosphate ||Increase the water-binding and emulsifying ability of meat proteins, limit lipid oxidation and flavor loss, and reduce microbial growth. || |- |Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) ||n/a ||Stabilize the color of cured meat. || |- |Sweeteners ||Sugar, corn syrup ||Impart a sweet flavor, bind water and assist surface browning during cooking in the Maillard reaction. || |- |Seasonings ||Spices, herbs, essential oils ||Impart or modify flavor. || |- |Flavorings ||Monosodium glutamate ||Strengthen existing flavors. || |- |Tenderizers ||Proteolytic enzymes, acids ||Break down collagen to make the meat more palatable for consumption. || |- |Antimicrobials ||lactic, citric and acetic acid, calcium sulfate, cetylpyridinium chloride, lactoferrin, bacteriocins such as nisin. ||Limit growth of meat spoilage bacteria || |- |Antioxidants || ||Limit lipid oxidation, which would create an undesirable "off flavor". ||Used in precooked meat products. |- |Acidifiers ||Lactic acid, citric acid ||Impart a tangy or tart flavor note, extend shelf-life, tenderize fresh meat or help with protein denaturation and moisture release in dried meat. ||They substitute for the process of natural fermentation that acidifies some meat products such as hard salami or prosciutto. |}

== Consumption == === Historical === A bioarchaeological (specifically, isotopic analysis) study of early medieval England found, based on the funerary record, that high-meat protein diets were extremely rare, and that (contrary to previously held assumptions) elites did not consume more meat than non-elites, and men did not consume more meat than women.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Leggett |first1=Sam |last2=Lambert |first2=Tom |date=2022 |title=Food and Power in Early Medieval England: a Lack of (Isotopic) Enrichment |journal=Anglo-Saxon England |volume=49 |pages=155–196 |doi=10.1017/S0263675122000072 |s2cid=257354036 |doi-access=free|hdl=20.500.11820/220ece77-d37d-4be5-be19-6edc333cb58e |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In the nineteenth century, meat consumption in Britain was the highest in Europe, exceeded only by that in British colonies. In the 1830s consumption per head in Britain was about {{convert|75|lb|kg|order=flip}} a year, rising to {{convert|130|lb|kg|order=flip}} in 1912. In 1904, laborers consumed {{convert|87|lb|kg|order=flip}} a year while aristocrats ate {{convert|300|lb|kg|order=flip}}. There were some 43,000 butcher's shops in Britain in 1910, with "possibly more money invested in the meat industry than in any other British business" except finance.<ref name="Otter 2020">{{cite book |last=Otter |first=Chris |title=Diet for a large planet |date=2020 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-69710-9 |pages=28, 35, 47}}</ref> The US was a meat importing country by 1926.<ref name="Otter 2020"/>

Truncated lifespan as a result of intensive breeding allows more meat to be produced from fewer animals. The world cattle population was about 600 million in 1929, with 700 million sheep and goats and 300 million pigs.<ref name="Otter 2020"/> <div style="display:inline-table; vertical-align:top;"> {{owidslider |start = 2022 |list = Template:OWID/meat supply per person#gallery |location = commons |caption = |title = |file = link=|thumb|upright=1.6|Meat supply per person |startingView = World }} </div> <div style="display:inline-table; vertical-align:top;"> {{owidslider |start = 2024 |list = Template:OWID/Meat production tonnes#gallery |location = commons |caption = |title = |language = |file = link=|thumb|upright=1.6|right|Meat production tonnes |startingView = World }}

</div> === Trends === {{further|List of countries by meat consumption|List of countries by meat production}} According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the overall consumption for white meat has increased from the 20th to the 21st centuries. Poultry meat has increased by 76.6% per kilo per capita and pig meat by 19.7%. Bovine meat has decreased from {{convert|10.4|kg|lboz|abbr=on}} per capita in 1990 to {{convert|9.6|kg|lboz|abbr=on}} per capita in 2009.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Henchion |first1=Maeve |last2=McCarthy |first2=Mary |last3=Resconi |first3=Virginia C. |last4=Troy |first4=Declan |title=Meat consumption: Trends and quality matters |journal=Meat Science |date=November 2014 |volume=98 |issue=3 |pages=561–568 |doi=10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.06.007 |pmid=25060586 |bibcode=2014MeatS..98..561H |hdl=11019/767 |url=https://t-stor.teagasc.ie/bitstream/11019/767/1/Meat%20Consumption_Trends%20and%20Quality%20Matters%20TStor%20%282%29.pdf |access-date=September 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102215030/http://t-stor.teagasc.ie/bitstream/11019/767/1/Meat%20Consumption_Trends%20and%20Quality%20Matters%20TStor%20%282%29.pdf |archive-date=November 2, 2017 |url-status=live |hdl-access=free }}</ref> 370 million tonnes were produced in 2023, 60% more than in 2000.<ref name=":14">{{cite book |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 |date=2023 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |access-date=December 13, 2023 |doi=10.4060/cc8166en |isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 }}</ref> Although many species are raised for meat, three species accounted for nearly 90% of global production between 2000 and 2023: chicken, pig and cattle. With 34.2% of the global production in 2023, chicken meat was the most produced and showed the largest growth since 2000 (+116%, or 68 million tonnes). Pig meat represented 33.7% of the total in 2023, compared with 38% in 2000.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd4313en |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2025 |date=2025 |publisher=FAO |isbn=978-92-5-140174-3 |doi=10.4060/cd4313en}}</ref>

Overall, diets that include meat are the most common worldwide according to the results of a 2018 Ipsos MORI study of 16–64 years olds in 28 countries. Ipsos states "An omnivorous diet is the most common diet globally, with non-meat diets (which can include fish) followed by over a tenth of the global population." Approximately 87% of people include meat in their diet in some frequency. 73% of meat eaters included it in their diet regularly and 14% consumed meat only occasionally or infrequently.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2018-09/an_exploration_into_diets_around_the_world.pdf |title=An exploration into diets around the world |date=August 2018 |website=Ipsos |pages=2, 10, 11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512072037/https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2018-09/an_exploration_into_diets_around_the_world.pdf |archive-date=12 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The type of meat consumed varies between different cultures. The amount and kind of meat consumed varies by income, both between countries and within a given country.<ref>Mark Gehlhar and William Coyle, [http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/293589/wrs011c_1_.pdf "Global Food Consumption and Impacts on Trade Patterns"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905083755/http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/293589/wrs011c_1_.pdf |date=September 5, 2012}}, Chapter 1 in [http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/wrs-international-agriculture-and-trade-outlook/wrs01-1.aspx Changing Structure of Global Food Consumption and Trade] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226030129/http://@ers.usda.gov/publications/wrs-international-agriculture-and-trade-outlook/wrs01-1.aspx |date=26 February 2013 }}, edited by Anita Regmi, May 2001. USDA Economic Research Service.</ref> Horses are commonly eaten in countries such as France,<ref>{{cite web |date=14 June 2007 |title=France's horsemeat lovers fear US ban |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/15/france.lifeandhealth |access-date=30 December 2022 |website=The Guardian|first=Angelique |last=Chrisafis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920142211/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/15/france.lifeandhealth |archive-date=20 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Italy, Germany and Japan.<ref>Davidson, Alan (2006). Tom Jaine, Jane Davidson and Helen Saberi. eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Food''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-280681-5}}, pp. 387–388</ref> Horses and other large mammals such as reindeer were hunted during the late Paleolithic in western Europe.<ref>Turner, E. 2005. "Results of a recent analysis of horse remains dating to the Magdalenian period at Solutre, France," pp. 70–89. In Mashkour, M (ed.). ''Equids in Time and Space.'' Oxford: Oxbow</ref> Dogs are consumed in China,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/2074073.stm |title=Programmes – From Our Own Correspondent – China's taste for the exotic |publisher=BBC |date=June 29, 2002 |access-date=February 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201234909/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/2074073.stm |archive-date=February 1, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> South Korea<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Podberscek |first1=A.L. |title=Good to Pet and Eat: The Keeping and Consuming of Dogs and Cats in South Korea |doi=10.1111/j.1540-4560.2009.01616.x |journal=Journal of Social Issues |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=615–632 |year=2009 |url=http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/265_podberscek.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719054520/http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/265_podberscek.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2011 |citeseerx=10.1.1.596.7570 }}</ref> and Vietnam.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1735647.stm |title=Asia-Pacific – Vietnam's dog meat tradition |publisher=BBC |date=December 31, 2001 |access-date=February 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722165946/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1735647.stm |archive-date=July 22, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Dogs are occasionally eaten in the Arctic regions.<ref>[http://arctic.synergiesprairies.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/viewFile/3691/3666 Francis H. Fay (June 1960) "Carnivorous walrus and some arctic zoonoses". Arctic 13, no.2: 111–22] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205404/http://arctic.synergiesprairies.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/viewFile/3691/3666 |date=July 6, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Millman |first=Lawrence |date=20 November 2021 |title=Exploratory Cuisine: Sled Dogs |website=Explorers Web |url= |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref> Historically, dog meat has been consumed in various parts of the world, such as Hawaii,<ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=Schwabe |first=Calvin W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SiBntk9jGmoC |title=Unmentionable Cuisine |date=1979 |publisher=University of Virginia Press |isbn=978-0-8139-1162-5}}</ref> Japan,<ref>{{cite book |last=Hanley |first=Susan B. |title=Everyday Things in Premodern Japan: The Hidden Legacy of Material Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7E5a9CIploC&pg=PA66 |year=1997 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-92267-9 |page=66}}</ref> Switzerland<ref name="auto"/> and Mexico.<ref>Davidson, Alan (2006). Tom Jaine, Jane Davidson and Helen Saberi. eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Food''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-280681-5}}, p. 491</ref> Cats are sometimes eaten, such as in Peru.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carapulcra de gato y gato a la parrilla sirven en fiesta patronal |url=http://www.cronicaviva.com.pe/index.php/regional/costa/3749-carapulcra-de-gato-y-gato-a-la-parilla-sirven-en-fiesta-patronal- |work=Cronica Viva |access-date=December 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117142920/http://cronicaviva.com.pe/index.php/regional/costa/3749-carapulcra-de-gato-y-gato-a-la-parilla-sirven-en-fiesta-patronal- |archive-date=17 November 2010 }}</ref> Guinea pigs are raised for their flesh in the Andes.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Guinea Pig for All Times and Seasons |url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2004/07/15/a-guinea-pig-for-all-tastes-and-seasons |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=1 December 2011 |date=15 July 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222030533/http://www.economist.com/node/2926169 |archive-date=22 February 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Whales and dolphins are hunted, partly for their flesh, in several countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whaling in Lamaera-Flores|url=http://www.profauna.net/sites/default/files/downloads/publication-2005-whaling-in-lamalera.pdf |access-date=April 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620014201/http://www.profauna.net/sites/default/files/downloads/publication-2005-whaling-in-lamalera.pdf |archive-date=20 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Misidentification sometimes occurs; in 2013, products in Europe labelled as beef actually contained horse meat.<ref>{{cite news |last=Castle |first=Stephen |date=16 April 2013 |title=Europe Says Tests Show Horse Meat Scandal Is 'Food Fraud' |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/business/global/european-study-affirms-role-of-fraud-in-horsemeat-scandal.html |access-date=December 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701033654/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/business/global/european-study-affirms-role-of-fraud-in-horsemeat-scandal.html?_r=0 |archive-date=1 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{Multiple image |direction=horizontal  |align=center |width=300 |image1=Meat Atlas 2014 -- Meat Consumption in industrialised countries.png |image2=Meat Atlas 2014 meat consumption developing countries.png |caption1=While meat consumption in most industrialized countries is at high, stable levels...<ref name="Meat Atlas">Meat Atlas 2014 – Facts and figures about the animals we eat, pp. 46–48, download as [https://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/publications/foee_hbf_meatatlas_jan2014.pdf pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708020301/https://www.foeeurope.org/meat-atlas |date=July 8, 2018 }}</ref> |caption2=... it is rising in emerging economies.<ref name="Meat Atlas"/> }}

{{Multiple image |direction=horizontal  |align=center |width=300 |image1=Per capita annual meat consumption by region.png |caption1=Per capita annual meat consumption by region<ref name="10.1146/annurev-resource-111820-032340">{{cite journal |last1=Parlasca |first1=Martin C. |last2=Qaim |first2=Matin |title=Meat Consumption and Sustainability |journal=Annual Review of Resource Economics |date=October 5, 2022 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=17–41 |doi=10.1146/annurev-resource-111820-032340 |bibcode=2022ARRE...14...17P |doi-access=free }}</ref> |image2=Total annual meat consumption by region.png |caption2=Total annual meat consumption by region |image3=Total annual meat consumption by type of meat.png |caption3=Total annual meat consumption by type of meat }} {{anchor|Processed meat}}

=== Methods of preparation ===

Meat can be cooked in many ways, including braising, broiling, frying, grilling, and roasting.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meat Cooking Methods |url=https://animalscience.unl.edu/meat-cooking-methods |publisher=University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources |access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> Meat can be cured by smoking, which preserves and flavors food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering wood.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/smoked-food-on-a-plate-9198295.html |title=Smoked food... on a plate |first=Hilly |last=Janes |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=2001-11-10 |access-date=2023-08-28 |url-status=live |url-access=registration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706132708/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/smoked-food-on-a-plate-9198295.html |archive-date=2022-07-06}}</ref> Other methods of curing include pickling, salting, and air-drying.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nummer |first=Brian A. |title=Historical Origins of Food Preservation |website=National Center for Home Food Preservation |url=https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/food_pres_hist.html |access-date=2 January 2023 |date=May 2002 |archive-date=October 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015194629/http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/nchfp/factsheets/food_pres_hist.html }}</ref> Some recipes call for raw meat; steak tartare is made from minced raw beef.<ref>{{cite web |title=Steak tartare: Traditional Appetizer From France |website=TasteAtlas |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/steak-tartare |access-date=2023-11-03}}</ref> Pâtés are made with ground meat and fat, often including liver.<ref>{{cite web |title=Demystifying French Soft Charcuterie |url=https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/features/%E6%B3%95%E5%BC%8F%E8%82%9D%E9%86%AC%E8%88%87%E8%82%89%E9%86%AC |access-date=2 July 2021 |website=MICHELIN Guide |archive-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306223240/https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/features/%E6%B3%95%E5%BC%8F%E8%82%9D%E9%86%AC%E8%88%87%E8%82%89%E9%86%AC |url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=220 heights=220 caption="Types of meat and techniques used to prepare it"> File:Janjetina i odojak na ražnju u Novalji.2 (cropped).jpg |Spit-roasting a lamb and a suckling pig File:Копчіння тушок гусей.jpg |Geese being smoked in a smokehouse File:Papaz yahnisi - cooking.jpg |Stewing mutton with vegetables File:Pan frying sausages.jpg |Frying pork sausages in a pan File:Steak Tartare in Dresden.jpg |Raw beef: steak tartare File:Duck Liver Pâté.jpg |Duck liver pâté </gallery>

== Red vs white meat == In the context of nutrition, ''red meat'' is defined as meat obtained from mammals, including beef, pork, lamb, mutton, veal, venison, and goat.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=26 October 2015 |title=Cancer: Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/cancer-carcinogenicity-of-the-consumption-of-red-meat-and-processed-meat |access-date=2025-09-23 |website=World Health Organization |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Micha |first1=Renata |last2=Wallace |first2=Sarah K. |last3=Mozaffarian |first3=Dariush |date=17 May 2010 |title=Red and Processed Meat Consumption and Risk of Incident Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes Mellitus |journal=Circulation |volume=121 |issue=21 |pages=2271–2283 |doi=10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.924977 |pmid=20479151 |pmc=2885952 }}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Limit consumption of red and processed meat {{!}} Recommendation evidence |url=https://www.wcrf.org/research-policy/evidence-for-our-recommendations/limit-red-processed-meat/ |access-date=2025-09-23 |website=World Cancer Research Fund |language=en-GB}}</ref> Red meat does not necessarily appear red in color.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Is Pork Red Meat? And Is It Healthy? |url=https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-pork-considered-a-red-or-white-meat |access-date=2025-09-24 |website=Cleveland Clinic |language=en}}</ref> Studies on the long-term health effects of meat often use the term ''white meat'' for poultry, including chicken and turkey.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meat and cancer |url=https://www.wcrf.org/preventing-cancer/topics/meat-and-cancer/ |access-date=2025-09-28 |website=World Cancer Research Fund |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Meinilä |first1=Jelena |last2=Virtanen |first2=Jyrki K. |date=2024-02-21 |title=Meat and meat products – a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 |url=https://foodandnutritionresearch.net/index.php/fnr/article/view/10538 |journal=Food & Nutrition Research |volume=68 |language=en |doi=10.29219/fnr.v68.10538 |issn=1654-661X |pmc=10916397 |pmid=38449706}}</ref> Some sources use the term ''white meat'' for both poultry and fish,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Xu |first1=Bin |last2=Sun |first2=Jing |last3=Sun |first3=Yunwei |last4=Huang |first4=Liya |last5=Tang |first5=Yuming |last6=Yuan |first6=Yaozong |date=2013-04-01 |title=No evidence of decreased risk of colorectal adenomas with white meat, poultry, and fish intake: a meta-analysis of observational studies |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1047279713000057 |journal=Annals of Epidemiology |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=215–222 |doi=10.1016/j.annepidem.2012.12.016 |pmid=23375344 |issn=1047-2797}}</ref> and others exclude fish.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Kyuwoong |last2=Hyeon |first2=Junghyeon |last3=Lee |first3=Sang Ah |last4=Kwon |first4=Sung Ok |last5=Lee |first5=Hyejin |last6=Keum |first6=NaNa |last7=Lee |first7=Jong-Koo |last8=Park |first8=Sang Min |date=2017-09-22 |title=Role of Total, Red, Processed, and White Meat Consumption in Stroke Incidence and Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies |journal=Journal of the American Heart Association |language=en |volume=6 |issue=9 |article-number=e005983 |doi=10.1161/JAHA.117.005983 |pmid=28855166 |pmc=5634267 |issn=2047-9980}}</ref>

In culinary contexts, the term ''white meat'' is often used more narrowly to refer to only certain cuts of poultry, particularly the breast and wings. Chicken legs and thighs are referred to as ''dark meat'' in these contexts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Gaby |date=December 10, 2024 |title=White Meat vs. Dark Meat: Which Is Healthier? |url=https://www.eatingwell.com/white-meat-vs-dark-meat-which-is-healthier-8416235 |access-date=2025-09-28 |website=EatingWell |language=en}}</ref><gallery class="center" mode="nolines" widths="275" heights="140"> File:Christmas_ham.jpg|Pork is a type of red meat even though it can appear white or pink. File:Max's_Roasted_Chicken_-_Evan_Swigart.jpg|Nutritional studies often consider all chicken meat to be white meat. </gallery>

== Health effects ==

Meat, in particular red and processed meat, is linked to a variety of health risks.<ref name="who"/><ref name="Staph"/> The ''2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans'' asked men and teenage boys to increase their consumption of vegetables or other underconsumed foods (fruits, whole grains, and dairy) while reducing intake of protein foods (meats, poultry, and eggs) that they currently overconsume.<ref>"Some individuals, especially teen boys and adult men, also need to reduce overall intake of protein foods by decreasing intakes of meats, poultry, and eggs and increasing amounts of vegetables or other underconsumed food groups." in {{Cite web |title=2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines |url=https://health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/dietary-guidelines/previous-dietary-guidelines/2015 |access-date=December 30, 2022 |website=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture |edition=8 |date=December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109170222/http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/chapter-2/a-closer-look-at-current-intakes-and-recommended-shifts/|archive-date=January 9, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Contamination ===

Toxic compounds including heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticide residues, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyl can contaminate meat. Processed, smoked and cooked meat may contain carcinogens such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.<ref name="PAHs">{{cite web |title=PAH-Occurrence in Foods, Dietary Exposure and Health Effects |url=http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out154_en.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519225348/http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out154_en.pdf |archive-date=May 19, 2011 |access-date=May 1, 2010}}</ref> Toxins may be introduced to meat as part of animal feed, as veterinary drug residues, or during processing and cooking. Such compounds are often metabolized in the body to form harmful by-products. Negative effects depend on the individual genome, diet, and history of the consumer.<ref name="Püssa">{{Cite journal |last=Püssa |first=Tõnu |date=December 1, 2013 |title=Toxicological issues associated with production and processing of meat |journal=Meat Science |volume=95 |issue=4 |pages=844–853 |doi=10.1016/j.meatsci.2013.04.032 |pmid=23660174}}</ref>

=== Cancer ===

The consumption of processed and red meat carries an increased risk of cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a specialized agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified processed meat (e.g., bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausages) as, "carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer."<ref name="who">{{cite web |title=Q&A on the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat |url=https://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/ |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=August 7, 2019 |date=October 1, 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230323222509/https://www3.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11394:iarc-evaluates-consumption-of-red-meat-and-processed-meat&Itemid=0&lang=en "IARC evaluates consumption of red meat and processed meat"]. paho.org. Retrieved March 22, 2023.</ref> IARC classified red meat as "probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A), based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect."<ref name="WHO-20151026">{{cite news |author=Staff |title=World Health Organization – IARC Monographs evaluate consumption of red meat and processed meat |url=http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf |work=International Agency for Research on Cancer |access-date=October 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026144543/http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf |archive-date=October 26, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cancer Research UK, National Health Service (NHS) and the National Cancer Institute have stated that red and processed meat intake increases risk of bowel cancer.<ref>[https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/red-meat-and-the-risk-of-bowel-cancer/ "Red meat and the risk of bowel cancer"]. nhs.uk. Retrieved March 22, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/diet-and-cancer/does-eating-processed-and-red-meat-cause-cancer "Does eating processed and red meat cause cancer?"]. cancerresearchuk.org. Retrieved March 22, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://progressreport.cancer.gov/prevention/red_meat "Red Meat and Processed Meat Consumption"]. progressreport.cancer.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2023.</ref> The American Cancer Society in their "Diet and Physical Activity Guideline", stated "evidence that red and processed meats increase cancer risk has existed for decades, and many health organizations recommend limiting or avoiding these foods."<ref>{{cite journal |title=American Cancer Society guideline for diet and physical activity for cancer prevention |journal=CA |date=2020 |doi=10.3322/caac.21591 |last1=Rock |first1=Cheryl L. |last2=Thomson |first2=Cynthia |last3=Gansler |first3=Ted |last4=Gapstur |first4=Susan M. |last5=McCullough |first5=Marjorie L. |last6=Patel |first6=Alpa V. |last7=Andrews |first7=Kimberly S. |last8=Bandera |first8=Elisa V. |last9=Spees |first9=Colleen K. |last10=Robien |first10=Kimberly |last11=Hartman |first11=Sheri |last12=Sullivan |first12=Kristen |last13=Grant |first13=Barbara L. |last14=Hamilton |first14=Kathryn K. |last15=Kushi |first15=Lawrence H. |last16=Caan |first16=Bette J. |last17=Kibbe |first17=Debra |last18=Black |first18=Jessica Donze |last19=Wiedt |first19=Tracy L. |last20=McMahon |first20=Catherine |last21=Sloan |first21=Kirsten |last22=Doyle |first22=Colleen |display-authors=6 |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=245–271 |pmid=32515498 |s2cid=219550658|doi-access=free }}</ref> The Canadian Cancer Society have stated that "eating red and processed meat increases cancer risk".<ref>[https://cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/reduce-your-risk/eat-well/limit-red-and-processed-meat "Limit red and processed meat"]. cancer.ca. Retrieved April 10, 2023.</ref> A 2021 review found an increase of 11–51% risk of multiple cancer per 100g/d increment of red meat, and an increase of 8–72% risk of multiple cancer per 50g/d increment of processed meat.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Huang Y, Cao D, Chen Z, Chen B, Li J, Guo J, Dong Q, Liu L, Wei Q |title=Red and processed meat consumption and cancer outcomes: Umbrella review |journal=Food Chem |volume=356 |article-number=129697 |date=September 2021 |pmid=33838606 |doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129697 |type=Review}}</ref>

Highly carcinogenic nitrosamines are commonly found in processed meat products.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Xie |first1=Yingfeng |last2=Geng |first2=Yaqian |last3=Yao |first3=Jinbo |last4=Ji |first4=Junfu |last5=Chen |first5=Fang |last6=Xiao |first6=Jianbo |last7=Hu |first7=Xiaosong |last8=Ma |first8=Lingjun |date=September 2023 |title=N-nitrosamines in processed meats: Exposure, formation and mitigation strategies |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2666154323001527 |journal=Journal of Agriculture and Food Research |language=en |volume=13 |article-number=100645 |doi=10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100645}}Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.</ref> Nitrosamines are also formed in the gut when heme iron is consumed; red meat is rich in heme iron.<ref name="WCRF2024">{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Meat, fish and dairy products and the risk of cancer |url=https://www.wcrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Meat-fish-and-dairy-products.pdf |access-date=2025-09-28 |publisher=World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research |page=30}}</ref> Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals formed when muscle meat, including beef, pork, fish, or poultry, is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=September 15, 2004 |title=Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats – National Cancer Institute |url=http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/heterocyclic-amines |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221034421/http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/heterocyclic-amines |archive-date=December 21, 2010 |access-date=May 1, 2010 |publisher=Cancer.gov}}Content was copied from this source, which is in the public domain.</ref> In laboratory experiments, HCAs and PAHs have been found to be mutagenic—that is, they cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer.<ref name=":0" /> Microwaving meat before finishing cooking may reduce HCAs significantly.<ref name=":0" />

=== Bacterial contamination ===

Bacterial contamination has been seen with meat products. A 2011 study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute showed that nearly half (47%) of the meat and poultry in U.S. grocery stores were contaminated with ''S. aureus'', with more than half (52%) of those bacteria resistant to antibiotics.<ref name="Staph">{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110415083153.htm|title=US Meat and Poultry Is Widely Contaminated With Drug-Resistant Staph Bacteria|work=sciencedaily.com|access-date=March 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707081303/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110415083153.htm|archive-date=July 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2018 investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and ''The Guardian'' found that around 15 percent of the US population suffers from foodborne illnesses every year. The investigation highlighted unsanitary conditions in US-based meat plants, which included meat products covered in excrement and abscesses "filled with pus".<ref>{{cite news |last=Wasley |first=Andrew |date=February 21, 2018 |title='Dirty meat': Shocking hygiene failings discovered in US pig and chicken plants |url=https://www.theguardian.com/animals-farmed/2018/feb/21/dirty-meat-shocking-hygiene-failings-discovered-in-us-pig-and-chicken-plants |work=The Guardian |access-date=February 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223222127/https://www.theguardian.com/animals-farmed/2018/feb/21/dirty-meat-shocking-hygiene-failings-discovered-in-us-pig-and-chicken-plants |archive-date=February 23, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Complete cooking and the careful avoidance of recontamination reduce the risk of bacterial infections from meat.<ref>{{cite journal |pmc=2518970 |title=Colonic protein fermentation and promotion of colon carcinogenesis by thermolyzed casein |last1=Corpet |first1=Denis |last2=Yin |first2=Y. |last3=Zhang |first3=X. |last4=Rémésy |first4=C. |last5=Stamp |first5=D. |last6=Medline |first6=A. |last7=Thompson |first7=L. |last8=Bruce |first8=W. |last9=Archer |first9=M. |display-authors=6 |year=1995 |pmid=7603887 |doi=10.1080/01635589509514381 |volume=23 |issue=3 |journal=Nutr Cancer |pages=271–281}}</ref>

=== Diabetes ===

A 2022 umbrella review found that each 100 g of red meat consumed per day is associated with a 17% higher risk of type 2 diabetes.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=X. |display-authors=etal |year=2022 |title=Red/processed meat consumption and non-cancer-related outcomes in humans: umbrella review |journal=British Journal of Nutrition |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=484–494 |doi=10.1017/S0007114522003415 |pmid=36545687 |s2cid=255021441}}</ref> Each 50 g of processed meat is associated with a 37% higher risk of type 2 diabetes.<ref name=":1"/> Diabetes UK advises people to limit their intake of red and processed meat.<ref>[https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/what-is-a-healthy-balanced-diet/processed-and-red-meat "Red alert: processed and red meat"]. diabetes.org.uk. Retrieved March 22, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/what-is-a-healthy-balanced-diet/processed-and-red-meat "What is a Healthy, Balanced Diet for Diabetes?"]. diabetes.org.uk. Retrieved March 22, 2023.</ref>

=== Infectious diseases ===

Meat production and trade substantially increase risks for infectious diseases (zoonosis), including of pandemics, whether though contact with wild and farmed animals, or via husbandry's environmental impact.<ref name="10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109341">{{cite journal |last1=González |first1=Neus |last2=Marquès |first2=Montse |last3=Nadal |first3=Martí |last4=Domingo |first4=José L. |title=Meat consumption: Which are the current global risks? A review of recent (2010–2020) evidences |journal=Food Research International |date=November 1, 2020 |volume=137 |article-number=109341 |doi=10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109341 |pmid=33233049 |pmc=7256495 |bibcode=2020FdRI..13709341G }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Greger |first1=Michael |title=Primary Pandemic Prevention |journal=American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine |date=September 2021 |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=498–505 |doi=10.1177/15598276211008134 |pmid=34646097 |pmc=8504329}}</ref> For example, avian influenza from poultry meat production is a threat to human health.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sutton |first1=Troy C. |title=The Pandemic Threat of Emerging H5 and H7 Avian Influenza Viruses |journal=Viruses |date=September 2018 |volume=10 |issue=9 |page=461 |doi=10.3390/v10090461 |pmid=30154345 |pmc=6164301 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Furthermore, the use of antibiotics in meat production contributes to antimicrobial resistance<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Monger |first1=Xavier C. |last2=Gilbert |first2=Alex-An |last3=Saucier |first3=Linda |last4=Vincent |first4=Antony T. |title=Antibiotic Resistance: From Pig to Meat |journal=Antibiotics |date=October 2021 |volume=10 |issue=10 |page=1209 |doi=10.3390/antibiotics10101209 |pmid=34680790 |pmc=8532907 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clifford |first1=Katie |last2=Desai |first2=Darash |last3=Prazeres da Costa |first3=Clarissa |last4=Meyer |first4=Hannelore |last5=Klohe |first5=Katharina |last6=Winkler |first6=Andrea |last7=Rahman |first7=Tanvir |last8=Islam |first8=Taohidul |last9=Zaman |first9=Muhammad H |title=Antimicrobial resistance in livestock and poor quality veterinary medicines |journal=Bulletin of the World Health Organization |date=September 1, 2018 |volume=96 |issue=9 |pages=662–664 |doi=10.2471/BLT.18.209585 |pmid=30262949 |pmc=6154060 }}</ref> – which contributes to millions of deaths<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Murray |first1=Christopher JL |last2=Ikuta |first2=Kevin Shunji |last3=Sharara |first3=Fablina |last4=Swetschinski |first4=Lucien |last5=Aguilar |first5=Gisela Robles |last6=Gray |first6=Authia |last7=Han |first7=Chieh |last8=Bisignano |first8=Catherine |last9=Rao |first9=Puja |last10=Wool |first10=Eve |last11=Johnson |first11=Sarah C. |display-authors=6 |date=January 19, 2022 |title=Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis |journal=The Lancet |volume=399 |issue=10325 |pages=629–655 glish |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02724-0 |pmid=35065702 |pmc=8841637 |s2cid=246077406}}</ref> – and makes it harder to control infectious diseases.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Walker |first1=Polly |last2=Rhubart-Berg |first2=Pamela |last3=McKenzie |first3=Shawn |last4=Kelling |first4=Kristin |last5=Lawrence |first5=Robert S. |date=June 2005 |title=Public health implications of meat production and consumption |journal=Public Health Nutrition |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=348–356 |doi=10.1079/PHN2005727 |pmid=15975179 |s2cid=59196 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hafez |first1=Hafez M. |last2=Attia |first2=Youssef A. |date=2020 |title=Challenges to the Poultry Industry: Current Perspectives and Strategic Future After the COVID-19 Outbreak |journal=Frontiers in Veterinary Science |volume=7 |article-number=516 |doi=10.3389/fvets.2020.00516 |pmc=7479178 |pmid=33005639 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mehdi |first1=Youcef |last2=Létourneau-Montminy |first2=Marie-Pierre |last3=Gaucher |first3=Marie-Lou |last4=Chorfi |first4=Younes |last5=Suresh |first5=Gayatri |last6=Rouissi |first6=Tarek |last7=Brar |first7=Satinder Kaur |last8=Côté |first8=Caroline |last9=Ramirez |first9=Antonio Avalos |last10=Godbout |first10=Stéphane |display-authors=6 |date=June 1, 2018 |title=Use of antibiotics in broiler production: Global impacts and alternatives |journal=Animal Nutrition |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=170–178 |doi=10.1016/j.aninu.2018.03.002 |pmc=6103476 |pmid=30140756}}</ref>

=== Changes in consumer behavior ===

In response to changing meat prices as well as health concerns about saturated fat and cholesterol, consumers have altered their consumption of various meats. Consumption of beef in the United States between 1970 and 1974 and 1990–1994 dropped by 21%, while consumption of chicken increased by 90%.<ref>{{cite web |author=Kuo S. Huang|date=1996| url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/jan1996/frjan96f.pdf |title= Price and Income Affect Nutrients Consumed From Meats|access-date=August 17, 2015 |website=Economic Research Service US Department of Agriculture: Moving Towards Healthier Diets|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060304100230/http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/jan1996/frjan96f.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2006 }}</ref>

=== Cardiovascular disease ===

thumb|Risk of ischemic heart disease for each 50 g per day increase in processed meat consumption<ref name="10.1080/10408398.2021.1949575">{{cite journal |last1=Papier |first1=Keren |last2=Knuppel |first2=Anika |last3=Syam |first3=Nandana |last4=Jebb |first4=Susan A. |last5=Key |first5=Tim J. |date=July 20, 2021 |title=Meat consumption and risk of ischemic heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5d4dd1d6-4f33-4edc-9ae0-58c332d10c4f |journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=426–437 |doi=10.1080/10408398.2021.1949575 |pmid=34284672 |s2cid=236158918}}</ref>

A 2022 umbrella review found that each 100 g of red meat consumed per day is associated with a15 % higher risk of coronary heart disease, 14 % higher risk of hypertension, and 12% higher risk of stroke. Each 50 g of processed meat consumed per day is associated with a 27% higher risk of coronary heart disease, 17% higher risk of stroke, 8% higher risk of heart failure, and 15% higher risk of all-cause mortality.<ref name=":12">{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=X. |display-authors=etal |year=2022 |title=Red/processed meat consumption and non-cancer-related outcomes in humans: umbrella review |journal=British Journal of Nutrition |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=484–494 |doi=10.1017/S0007114522003415 |pmid=36545687 |s2cid=255021441}}</ref>

== Environmental impact ==

A multitude of serious negative environmental effects are associated with meat production. Among these are greenhouse gas emissions, fossil energy use, water use, water quality changes, and effects on grazed ecosystems. They are so significant that according to University of Oxford researchers, "a vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth... far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Petter |first1=Olivia |title=Veganism is 'single biggest way' to reduce our environmental impact, study finds |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html |work=The Independent |date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=23 November 2023}}</ref> However, this is often ignored in the public consciousness and in plans to tackle serious environmental issues such as the climate crisis.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dalton |first1=Jane |title=World leaders 'reckless for ignoring how meat and dairy accelerate climate crisis' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/climate-meat-dairy-diet-food-co2-b1951760.html |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=23 November 2023}}</ref>

The livestock sector may be the largest source of water pollution (due to animal wastes, fertilizers, pesticides), and it contributes to emergence of antibiotic resistance. It accounts for over 8% of global human water use. It is a significant driver of biodiversity loss and ecosystems, as it causes deforestation,<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://ourworldindata.org/drivers-of-deforestation |title=Drivers of Deforestation |last=Ritchie |first=Hannah |author1-link=Hannah Ritchie |date=February 9, 2021 |journal=Our World in Data |access-date=March 20, 2021 }}</ref> ocean dead zones,<ref>{{cite news |last=Milman |first=Oliver |date=August 1, 2017 |title=Meat industry blamed for largest-ever 'dead zone' in Gulf of Mexico |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/01/meat-industry-dead-zone-gulf-of-mexico-environment-pollution |work=The Guardian |access-date=August 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119112425/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/01/meat-industry-dead-zone-gulf-of-mexico-environment-pollution |archive-date=January 19, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> species extinction,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/meat-eaters-may-speed-worldwide-species-extinction-study-warns |title=Meat-eaters may speed worldwide species extinction, study warns |first=Virginia |last=Morell |date=August 11, 2015 |work=Science |access-date=January 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220105327/http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/08/meat-eaters-may-speed-worldwide-species-extinction-study-warns |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2015/oct/20/the-four-horsemen-of-the-sixth-mass-extinction |title=How humans are driving the sixth mass extinction |first=Jeremy |last=Hance |date=October 20, 2015 |work=The Guardian |access-date=January 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204223902/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2015/oct/20/the-four-horsemen-of-the-sixth-mass-extinction |archive-date=December 4, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> land degradation, pollution, overfishing and global warming.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Steinfeld |first1=Henning |last2=Gerber |first2=Pierre |last3=Wassenaar |first3=Tom |last4=Castel |first4=Vincent |last5=Rosales |first5=Mauricio |last6=de Haan |first6=Cees |date=2006 |title=Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/climatechange/doc/FAO%20report%20executive%20summary.pdf |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |isbn=978-92-5-105571-7 |page=xxiii |access-date=May 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210012108/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/climatechange/doc/FAO%20report%20executive%20summary.pdf |archive-date=December 10, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Machovina 2015 419–431">{{cite journal |first1=B. |last1=Machovina |first2=K.J. |last2=Feeley |first3=W.J. |last3=Ripple |year=2015 |title=Biodiversity conservation: The key is reducing meat consumption |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume=536 |pages=419–31 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.022 |pmid=26231772 |bibcode=2015ScTEn.536..419M}}</ref><ref name="10.1038/s43016-021-00358-x">{{cite journal |last1=Xu |first1=Xiaoming |last2=Sharma |first2=Prateek |last3=Shu |first3=Shijie |last4=Lin |first4=Tzu-Shun |last5=Ciais |first5=Philippe |last6=Tubiello |first6=Francesco N. |last7=Smith |first7=Pete |last8=Campbell |first8=Nelson |last9=Jain |first9=Atul K. |display-authors=6 |title=Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods |journal=Nature Food |date=September 2021 |volume=2 |issue=9 |pages=724–732 |doi=10.1038/s43016-021-00358-x |pmid=37117472 |hdl=2164/18207 |s2cid=240562878 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Cattle farming was estimated to be responsible for 80 per cent of Amazon deforestation in 2008 due to the clearing of forests to grow animal feed (especially soya) and cattle ranching.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unsustainable Cattle Ranching |url=https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/amazon/amazon_threats/unsustainable_cattle_ranching/? |website=wwf.org |publisher=World Wildlife Fund |access-date=23 November 2023}}</ref>

Environmental effects vary among livestock production systems.<ref>Steinfeld, H. et al. 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Livestock, Environment and Development, FAO.</ref> Grazing of livestock can be beneficial for some wildlife species, but not for others.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Holechek |first1=J. L. |display-authors=etal |year=1982 |title=Manipulation of grazing to improve or maintain wildlife habitat |journal=Wildlife Society Bulletin |volume=10 |pages=204–10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Strassman |first1=B.I. |year=1987 |title=Effects of cattle grazing and haying on wildlife conservation at National Wildlife Refuges in the United States |url =https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48162/1/267_2005_Article_BF01867177.pdf |journal=Environmental Management |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=35–44 |doi=10.1007/bf01867177 |bibcode=1987EnMan..11...35S |hdl=2027.42/48162 |s2cid=55282106 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Targeted grazing of livestock is used as a food-producing alternative to herbicide use in some vegetation management.<ref>Launchbaugh, K. (ed.) 2006. Targeted Grazing: a natural approach to vegetation management and landscape enhancement. American Sheep Industry. 199 pp.</ref>

=== Land use ===

thumb|Cereal-use statistic showing an estimated large fraction of crops used as animal feed (red)

[[File:Operação Hymenaea, Julho-2016 (29399454651).jpg|thumb |Meat production is a main driver of tropical deforestation, in the Amazon largely due to beef production for export.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rajão |first1=Raoni |last2=Soares-Filho |first2=Britaldo |last3=Nunes |first3=Felipe |last4=Börner |first4=Jan |last5=Machado |first5=Lilian |last6=Assis |first6=Débora |last7=Oliveira |first7=Amanda |last8=Pinto |first8=Luis |last9=Ribeiro |first9=Vivian |last10=Rausch |first10=Lisa |last11=Gibbs |first11=Holly |last12=Figueira |first12=Danilo |display-authors=6 |title=The rotten apples of Brazil's agribusiness |journal=Science |date=July 17, 2020 |volume=369 |issue=6501 |pages=246–248 |doi=10.1126/science.aba6646 |pmid=32675358 |bibcode=2020Sci...369..246R |s2cid=220548355 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Amazon soya and beef exports 'linked to deforestation' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53438680 |work=BBC News |date=July 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=zu Ermgassen |first1=Erasmus K. H. J. |last2=Godar |first2=Javier |last3=Lathuillière |first3=Michael J. |last4=Löfgren |first4=Pernilla |last5=Gardner |first5=Toby |last6=Vasconcelos |first6=André |last7=Meyfroidt |first7=Patrick |title=The origin, supply chain, and deforestation risk of Brazil's beef exports |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=December 15, 2020 |volume=117 |issue=50 |pages=31770–31779 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2003270117 |pmid=33262283 |pmc=7749302 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11731770Z |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=McCoy |first1=Terrence |last2=Ledur |first2=Júlia |title=How Americans' love of beef is helping destroy the Amazon rainforest |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2022/amazon-beef-deforestation-brazil/ |access-date=May 27, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>]]

Meat production is by far the biggest user of land, as it accounts for nearly 40% of the global land surface.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/12/world/sutter-vanishing-help/ |title=How to stop the sixth mass extinction |first=John D. |last=Sutter |date=December 12, 2016 |publisher=CNN |access-date=January 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112083004/http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/12/world/sutter-vanishing-help/ |archive-date=January 12, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Just in the contiguous United States, 34% of its land area ({{convert |654 |e6acre |e6ha |order=flip |abbr=off |disp=or}}) are used as pasture and rangeland, mostly feeding livestock, not counting {{convert |391 |e6acre |e6ha |order=flip |abbr=off}} of cropland (20%), some of which is used for producing feed for livestock.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-us-land-use/ |title=Here's How America Uses Its Land |last=Dave Merrill and Lauren Leatherby |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225232852/https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-us-land-use/ |archive-date=February 25, 2020}}</ref> Roughly 75% of deforested land around the globe is used for livestock pasture.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nibert |first=David |editor1=Steven Best |editor2=Richard Kahn |editor3=Anthony J. Nocella II |editor4=Peter McLaren |author-link=David Nibert |editor1-link=Steven Best |editor4-link=Peter McLaren |date=2011 |title=The Global Industrial Complex: Systems of Domination |chapter=Origins and Consequences of the Animal Industrial Complex |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=206 |url= https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/global-industrial-complex-9780739136980/ |isbn=978-0-7391-3698-0}}</ref> Deforestation from practices like slash-and-burn releases {{CO2}} and removes the carbon sink of grown tropical forest ecosystems which substantially mitigate climate change.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lawrence |first1=Deborah |last2=Coe |first2=Michael |last3=Walker |first3=Wayne |last4=Verchot |first4=Louis |last5=Vandecar |first5=Karen |title=The Unseen Effects of Deforestation: Biophysical Effects on Climate |journal=Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |year=2022 |volume=5 |article-number=756115 |doi=10.3389/ffgc.2022.756115 |bibcode=2022FrFGC...5.6115L |doi-access=free }}</ref> Land use is a major pressure on pressure on fertile soils which is important for global food security.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Borrelli |first1=Pasquale |last2=Robinson |first2=David A. |last3=Panagos |first3=Panos |last4=Lugato |first4=Emanuele |last5=Yang |first5=Jae E. |last6=Alewell |first6=Christine |last7=Wuepper |first7=David |last8=Montanarella |first8=Luca |last9=Ballabio |first9=Cristiano |display-authors=6 |title=Land use and climate change impacts on global soil erosion by water (2015–2070) |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=August 20, 2020 |volume=117 |issue=36 |pages=21994–22001 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2001403117 |pmid=32839306 |pmc=7486701 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11721994B |s2cid=221305830 |doi-access=free }} * News article: {{cite news |title=Climate change and land use are accelerating soil erosion by water |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-08-climate-soil-erosion.html |access-date=September 7, 2020 |work=phys.org}}</ref>

=== Climate change ===

[[File:Environmental-impact-of-food-by-life-cycle-stage.png|thumb |Life-cycle assessment of GHG emissions for foods. Beef is the food with the largest carbon footprint, mainly due to methane production from cows.]]

The rising global consumption of carbon-intensive meat products has "exploded the global carbon footprint of agriculture," according to some top scientists.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weston |first=Phoebe |date=January 13, 2021 |title=Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future of mass extinction' and climate disruption |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe |work=The Guardian |access-date=January 14, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Corey J. A. |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |last3=Beattie |first3=Andrew |last4=Ceballos |first4=Gerardo |last5=Crist |first5=Eileen |last6=Diamond |first6=Joan |last7=Dirzo |first7=Rodolfo |last8=Ehrlich |first8=Anne H. |last9=Harte |first9=John |last10=Harte |first10=Mary Ellen |last11=Pyke |first11=Graham |last12=Raven |first12=Peter H. |last13=Ripple |first13=William J. |last14=Saltré |first14=Frédérik |last15=Turnbull |first15=Christine |last16=Wackernagel |first16=Mathis |last17=Blumstein |first17=Daniel T. |display-authors=6 |year=2021 |title=Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future |journal=Frontiers in Conservation Science |volume=1 |article-number=615419 |doi=10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 |bibcode=2021FrCS....1.5419B |doi-access=free }}</ref> Meat, dairy, and egg production are responsible for 57% of the greenhouse gases attributable to food production, and 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions.<ref name="Milman 2021">{{cite news |last1=Milman |first1=Oliver |title=Meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from food production, study finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/13/meat-greenhouses-gases-food-production-study |work=The Guardian |date=13 September 2021 |quote=Source: Xu, et al., 2021, 'Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods'}}</ref>

Some nations show very different impacts to counterparts within the same group, with Brazil and Australia having emissions over 200% higher than the average of their respective income groups, driven by meat consumption.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Behrens |first1=Paul |last2=Jong |first2=Jessica C. Kiefte-de |last3=Bosker |first3=Thijs |last4=Rodrigues |first4=João F.D. |last5=Koning |first5=Arjan de |last6=Tukker |first6=Arnold |date=December 19, 2017 |title=Evaluating the environmental impacts of dietary recommendations |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=114 |issue=51 |pages=13412–17 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1711889114 |pmid=29203655 |pmc=5754780 |bibcode=2017PNAS..11413412B |doi-access=free}}</ref>

According to the ''Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production'' report produced by United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) international panel for sustainable resource management, a worldwide transition in the direction of a meat and dairy free diet is indispensable if adverse global climate change were to be prevented.<ref name="TG-20100602">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet |title=UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet |last=Carus |first=Felicity |date=June 2, 2010 |work=The Guardian |access-date=June 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303145344/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> A 2019 report in ''The Lancet'' recommended that global meat (and sugar) consumption be reduced by 50 percent to mitigate climate change.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gibbens |first=Sarah |date=January 16, 2019 |title=Eating meat has 'dire' consequences for the planet, says report |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/commission-report-great-food-transformation-plant-diet-climate-change/ |work=National Geographic |access-date=February 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203030847/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/commission-report-great-food-transformation-plant-diet-climate-change/ |archive-date=February 3, 2019 }}</ref> Meat consumption in Western societies needs to be reduced by up to 90% according to a 2018 study published in ''Nature''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Willett |first1=Walter |last2=Rockström |first2=Johan |last3=Tilman |first3=David |last4=Godfray |first4=H. Charles J. |last5=Fanzo |first5=Jess |last6=Loken |first6=Brent |last7=Rayner |first7=Mike |last8=Scarborough |first8=Peter |last9=Zurayk |first9=Rami |date=October 2018 |title=Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits |journal=Nature |volume=562 |issue=7728 |pages=519–525 |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0594-0 |pmid=30305731 |bibcode=2018Natur.562..519S |s2cid=52954514 |url=https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_22704 }}</ref> The 2019 special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called for significantly reducing meat consumption, particularly in wealthy countries, in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change.<ref name="10.1038/d41586-019-02409-7">{{cite journal |last=Schiermeier |first=Quirin |date=August 8, 2019 |title=Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02409-7 |journal=Nature |volume=572 |issue=7769 |pages=291–292 |access-date=August 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809164640/https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02409-7 |archive-date=August 9, 2019 |url-status=live |doi=10.1038/d41586-019-02409-7 |pmid=31409926 |bibcode=2019Natur.572..291S |s2cid=199543066 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Biodiversity loss ===

Meat consumption is a primary contributor to the sixth mass extinction.<ref name="Machovina 2015 419–431"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/meat-eaters-may-speed-worldwide-species-extinction-study-warns |title=Meat-eaters may speed worldwide species extinction, study warns |first=Virginia |last=Morell |date=August 11, 2015 |work=Science |access-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220105327/http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/08/meat-eaters-may-speed-worldwide-species-extinction-study-warns |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> A 2017 study by the World Wildlife Fund found that 60% of global biodiversity loss is attributable to meat-based diets, in particular from the use of land for feed crops, resulting in large-scale loss of habitats and species.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smithers |first=Rebecca |date=October 5, 2017 |title=Vast animal-feed crops to satisfy our meat needs are destroying planet |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/05/vast-animal-feed-crops-meat-needs-destroying-planet |work=The Guardian |access-date=October 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303143952/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/05/vast-animal-feed-crops-meat-needs-destroying-planet |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Livestock make up 60% of the biomass of all mammals on earth, followed by humans (36%) and wild mammals (4%).<ref name = "Carrington2018">{{cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=May 21, 2018 |title=Humans just 0.01% of all life but have destroyed 83% of wild mammals – study |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study |work=The Guardian |access-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911035201/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study |archive-date=September 11, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1073/pnas.1711842115 |pmid=29784790 |pmc=6016768 |title=The biomass distribution on Earth |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=115 |issue=25 |pages=6506–11 |year=2018 |last1=Bar-On |first1=Yinon M. |last2=Phillips |first2=Rob |last3=Milo |first3=Ron |bibcode=2018PNAS..115.6506B |doi-access=free}}</ref> In November 2017, 15,364 world scientists signed a Warning to Humanity calling for a drastic reduction in per capita consumption of meat and "dietary shifts towards mostly plant-based foods".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ripple |first1=W.J. |display-authors=etal |title=World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice |journal=BioScience |date=November 13, 2017 |volume=67 |issue=12 |pages=1026–1028 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix125 |doi-access=free |hdl=11336/71342 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> The 2019 ''Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services'' recommended a reduction in meat consumption to mitigate biodiversity loss.<ref>{{cite news |last=Watts |first=Jonathan |date=May 6, 2019 |title=Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report |work=The Guardian |access-date=May 18, 2019 |quote=Over the past week, representatives from the world's governments have fine-tuned the summary for policymakers, which includes remedial scenarios, such as "transformative change" across all areas of government, revised trade rules, massive investments in forests and other green infrastructure, and changes in individual behaviour such as lower consumption of meat and material goods. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518041123/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report |archive-date=May 18, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> A 2021 Chatham House report asserted that a shift towards plant-based diets would free up land for the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity.<ref name="Carrington2021">{{cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=February 3, 2021 |title=Plant-based diets crucial to saving global wildlife, says report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/03/plant-based-diets-crucial-to-saving-global-wildlife-says-report |work=The Guardian |access-date=February 5, 2021}}</ref>

Meat consumption is predicted to rise as the human population increases and becomes more affluent; this in turn would increase greenhouse gas emissions and further reduce biodiversity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Godfray |first1=H. Charles J. |last2=Aveyard |first2=Paul |display-authors=etal |year=2018 |title=Meat consumption, health, and the environment |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:cc174e1d-0e3e-43ce-9d3b-ad7e204d0845 |journal=Science |volume=361 |issue=6399 |article-number=eaam5324 |doi=10.1126/science.aam5324 |pmid=30026199 |bibcode=2018Sci...361M5324G |s2cid=49895246 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Reducing environmental impact ===

The environmental impact of meat production can be reduced on the farm by conversion of human-inedible residues of food crops.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=D.C. |year=1978 |title=Use of cereal residues in beef cattle production systems |journal=J. Anim. Sci. |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=849–61 |doi=10.2527/jas1978.463849x }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Elferink |first1=E.V. |last2=Nonhebel |first2=S. |last3=Moll |first3=H.C. |year=2008 |title=Feeding livestock food residue and the consequences for the environmental impact of meat |journal=J. Clean. Prod. |volume=16 |issue=12 |pages=1227–33 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2007.06.008|bibcode=2008JCPro..16.1227E }}</ref> Manure from meat-producing livestock is used as fertilizer. Substitution of animal manures for synthetic fertilizers in crop production can be environmentally significant, as between 43 and 88 MJ of fossil fuel energy are used per kg of nitrogen in manufacture of synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers.<ref>Shapouri, H. et al. 2002. The energy balance of corn ethanol: an update. USDA Agricultural Economic Report 814.</ref>

=== Reducing meat consumption ===

The IPCC and others have stated that meat production has to be reduced substantially for any sufficient mitigation of climate change and, at least initially, largely through shifts towards plant-based diets where meat consumption is high.<ref name="10.1038/d41586-019-02409-7"/><ref name="10.1038/s43016-021-00431-5">{{cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Zhongxiao |last2=Scherer |first2=Laura |last3=Tukker |first3=Arnold |last4=Spawn-Lee |first4=Seth A. |last5=Bruckner |first5=Martin |last6=Gibbs |first6=Holly K. |last7=Behrens |first7=Paul |title=Dietary change in high-income nations alone can lead to substantial double climate dividend |journal=Nature Food |date=January 2022 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=29–37 |doi=10.1038/s43016-021-00431-5 |pmid=37118487 |s2cid=245867412 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357723207 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="10.1146/annurev-resource-111820-032340"/> Meat can be replaced by, for example, high-protein iron-rich low-emission legumes and common fungi, dietary supplements (e.g. of vitamin B<sub>12</sub>) and fortified foods,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Craig |first1=Winston J. |last2=Mangels |first2=Ann Reed |last3=Fresán |first3=Ujué |last4=Marsh |first4=Kate |last5=Miles |first5=Fayth L. |last6=Saunders |first6=Angela V. |last7=Haddad |first7=Ella H. |last8=Heskey |first8=Celine E. |last9=Johnston |first9=Patricia |last10=Larson-Meyer |first10=Enette |last11=Orlich |first11=Michael |display-authors=6 |title=The Safe and Effective Use of Plant-Based Diets with Guidelines for Health Professionals |journal=Nutrients |date=November 19, 2021 |volume=13 |issue=11 |page=4144 |doi=10.3390/nu13114144 |pmid=34836399 |pmc=8623061 |doi-access=free }}</ref> cultured meat, microbial foods,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Humpenöder |first1=Florian |last2=Bodirsky |first2=Benjamin Leon |last3=Weindl |first3=Isabelle |last4=Lotze-Campen |first4=Hermann |last5=Linder |first5=Tomas |last6=Popp |first6=Alexander |title=Projected environmental benefits of replacing beef with microbial protein |journal=Nature |date=May 2022 |volume=605 |issue=7908 |pages=90–96 |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-04629-w |pmid=35508780 |bibcode=2022Natur.605...90H |s2cid=248526001 |url=https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_27105_5/component/file_27634/27105oa.pdf }}<br/>News article: {{cite news |title=Replacing some meat with microbial protein could help fight climate change |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/meat-microbial-protein-climate-change-deforestation-fungi-algae |access-date=May 27, 2022 |work=Science News |date=May 5, 2022}}</ref> mycoprotein,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bhuvaneswari |first1=Meganathan |last2=Sivakumar |first2=Nallusamy |title=Fungi in Sustainable Food Production |chapter=Fungi: A Potential Future Meat Substitute |series=Fungal Biology |year=2021 |pages=181–195 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-64406-2_11 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-64405-5 |s2cid=234315964 }}</ref> meat substitutes, and other alternatives,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Hyun Jung |last2=Yong |first2=Hae In |last3=Kim |first3=Minsu |last4=Choi |first4=Yun-Sang |last5=Jo |first5=Cheorun |title=Status of meat alternatives and their potential role in the future meat market – A review |journal=Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences |date=October 1, 2020 |volume=33 |issue=10 |pages=1533–1543 |doi=10.5713/ajas.20.0419 |pmid=32819080 |pmc=7463075 }}</ref> such as those based on mushrooms,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sirimuangmoon |first1=Chirat |last2=Lee |first2=Soh-Min |last3=Guinard |first3=Jean-Xavier |last4=Myrdal Miller |first4=Amy |date=2016 |title=A Study of Using Mushrooms as a Plant-based Alternative for a Popular Meat-based Dish |url=https://so01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/APST/article/view/62602 |journal=Asia-Pacific Journal of Science and Technology |publisher=Khon Kaen University |volume=21 |issue=16 |pages=156–167 |doi=10.14456/KKURJ.2016.15 |s2cid=113606865}}</ref> legumes (pulses), and other food sources.<ref name="10.1016/j.appet.2020.105058">{{cite journal |last1=Onwezen |first1=M. C. |last2=Bouwman |first2=E. P. |last3=Reinders |first3=M. J. |author3-link=Marlies Reinders |last4=Dagevos |first4=H. |title=A systematic review on consumer acceptance of alternative proteins: Pulses, algae, insects, plant-based meat alternatives, and cultured meat |journal=Appetite |date=April 1, 2021 |volume=159 |article-number=105058 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2020.105058 |pmid=33276014 |s2cid=227242500 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Land previously used for meat production can be rewilded.<ref name="10.1038/s43016-021-00431-5"/><ref name="10.1038/s43016-021-00358-x"/> The biologists Rodolfo Dirzo, Gerardo Ceballos, and Paul R. Ehrlich state that it is the "massive planetary monopoly of industrial meat production that needs to be curbed" while respecting the cultural traditions of indigenous peoples, for whom meat is an important source of protein.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dirzo |first1=Rodolfo |last2=Ceballos |first2=Gerardo |last3=Ehrlich |first3=Paul R. |year=2022 |title=Circling the drain: the extinction crisis and the future of humanity |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B |volume=377 |issue=1857 |article-number=20210378 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2021.0378 |pmid=35757873 |pmc=9237743 |quote=Although among many Indigenous populations, meat consumption represents a cultural tradition and a source of protein, it is the massive planetary monopoly of industrial meat production that needs to be curbed}}</ref>

== Cultural aspects ==

Meat is part of the human diet in most cultures, where it often has symbolic meaning and important social functions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leroy |first1=Frédéric |last2=Praet |first2=Istvan |title=Meat traditions. The co-evolution of humans and meat |journal=Appetite |date=July 2015 |volume=90 |pages=200–211 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2015.03.014 |pmid=25794684 |s2cid=23769488 }}</ref> Some people choose not to eat meat (vegetarianism) or any food made from animals (veganism). The reasons for not eating all or some meat may include ethical objections to killing animals for food, health concerns, environmental concerns or religious dietary laws.{{cn|date=November 2025}}

=== Ethical issues ===

Ethical issues regarding the consumption of meat include objecting to the act of killing animals or to the agricultural practices used in meat production. Reasons for objecting to killing animals for consumption may include animal rights, environmental ethics, or an aversion to inflicting pain or harm on sentient animals. Some people, while not vegetarians, refuse to eat the flesh of certain animals for cultural or religious reasons.<ref name="Sandler 2014">{{cite book |chapter=3. Should we eat animals? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XXZBAAAQBAJ |title=Food Ethics: The Basics |last=Sandler |first=Ronald L. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-135-04547-0 |location=London |access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref>

The founders of Western philosophy disagreed about the ethics of eating meat. Plato's ''Republic'' has Socrates describe the ideal state as vegetarian.<ref name=Buscemi>{{cite book |last1=Buscemi |first1=Francesco |title=From Body Fuel to Universal Poison: Cultural History of Meat: 1900–The Present |date=2018 |publisher=Springer International Publishing AG |isbn=978-3-319-72085-2 |pages=10–16}}</ref> Pythagoras believed that humans and animals were equal and therefore disapproved of meat consumption, as did Plutarch, whereas Zeno and Epicurus were vegetarian but allowed meat-eating in their philosophy.<ref name=Buscemi/> Conversely, Aristotle's ''Politics'' assert that animals, as inferior beings,<ref name=Aristotle>{{cite book |last1=Aristotle |title=The Politics |last2=Jowett |first2=B. |location=Ancient Greece |page=I. 8. 1256b |orig-date=355-323 BCE}}</ref> exist to serve humans, including as food.<ref name=Aristotle/><ref name=Buscemi/> Augustine drew on Aristotle to argue that the universe's natural hierarchy allows humans to eat animals, and animals to eat plants.<ref name=Buscemi/> Enlightenment philosophers were likewise divided. Descartes wrote that animals were merely animated machines, while Kant considered them inferior beings for lack of discernment: means rather than ends.<ref name=Buscemi/> But Voltaire and Rousseau disagreed; Rousseau argued that meat-eating is a social rather than a natural act, because children are not interested in meat.<ref name=Buscemi/>

Later philosophers examined the changing practices of eating meat in the modern age as part of a process of detachment from animals as living beings. Norbert Elias, for instance, noted that in medieval times cooked animals were brought to the table whole, but that since the Renaissance only the edible parts are served, which are no longer recognizably part of an animal.<ref name=Buscemi/> Modern eaters, according to Noëlie Vialles, demand an "ellipsis" between meat and dead animals.<ref name=Buscemi/> Fernand Braudel wrote that since the European diet of the 15th and 16th century was particularly heavy in meat, European colonialism helped export meat-eating across the globe, as colonized peoples took up the culinary habits of their colonizers.<ref name=Buscemi/>

=== Religious traditions ===

[[File:Florenz fleischtheke.jpg|thumb|Catholic nuns buying meat in Italy]]

Among the Indian religions, Jainism opposes the eating of meat, while some schools of Buddhism and Hinduism advocate but do not mandate vegetarianism.<ref name="Tähtinen 1976">{{cite book |last=Tähtinen |first=Unto |title=Ahimsa: Non-Violence in Indian Tradition |year=1976 |location=London |publisher=Rider |pages=107–111}}</ref><ref name="Walters Portmess 2001">{{cite book |last1=Walters |first1=Kerry S. |author-link=Kerry S. Walters |last2=Portmess |first2=Lisa |title=Religious Vegetarianism From Hesiod to the Dalai Lama |year=2001 |location=Albany |publisher=State University of New York Press |pages=37–91}}</ref> Some Sikh groups oppose eating any meat.<ref name="Takhar2005">{{cite book |last=Takhar |first=Opinderjit Kaur |title=Sikh identity: an exploration of groups among Sikhs |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aeKWQzesOc4C&pg=PA51 |access-date=November 26, 2010 |year=2005 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=978-0-7546-5202-1 |page=51 |chapter=2 Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha}}</ref> Jewish ''Kashrut'' dietary rules allow certain (''kosher'') meat and forbid other (''treif'') meat.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/kashrut.html|title=Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws|encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=February 3, 2025}}</ref> Similar rules apply in Islamic dietary laws: The Quran explicitly forbids meat from animals that die naturally, blood, and the meat of pigs, which are ''haram'', forbidden, as opposed to ''halal'', allowed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of Halal |publisher=Halal Monitoring Committee U.K.|access-date=February 3, 2024 |url=https://halalhmc.org/resources/definition-of-halal/}}</ref>

===Psychology===

Research in applied psychology has investigated meat eating in relation to morality, emotions, cognition, and personality.<ref name=Loughnan2014>{{cite journal |last1=Loughnan |first1=Steve |last2=Bastian |first2=Brock |last3=Haslam |first3=Nick |title=The Psychology of Eating Animals |journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science |year=2014 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=104–108 |doi=10.1177/0963721414525781 |s2cid=145339463 |url=https://foodethics.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/inst_ethik_wiss_dialog/Loughnan__S._2014_And_Bastian._..The_Psychology_of_Eating_Animals._In._CURRENT_DIRECTIONS_IN_PSYCHOLOGICAL_SCIENCE.pdf |access-date=August 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930183806/https://foodethics.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/inst_ethik_wiss_dialog/Loughnan__S._2014_And_Bastian._..The_Psychology_of_Eating_Animals._In._CURRENT_DIRECTIONS_IN_PSYCHOLOGICAL_SCIENCE.pdf |archive-date=September 30, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Psychological research suggests meat eating is correlated with masculinity,<ref name=Rozin2012 >{{cite journal |last1=Rozin |first1=Paul |last2=Hormes |first2=Julia M. |last3=Faith |first3=Myles S. |last4=Wansink |first4=Brian |title=Is Meat Male? A Quantitative Multimethod Framework to Establish Metaphoric Relationships |journal=Journal of Consumer Research |date=October 2012 |volume=39 |issue=3 |doi=10.1086/664970 |pages=629–43}}</ref> and reduced openness to experience.<ref name="Keller2015">{{cite journal |last1=Keller |first1=Carmen |last2=Seigrist |first2=Michael |title=Does personality influence eating styles and food choices? Direct and indirect effects |journal=Appetite |date=January 2015 |volume=84 |pages=128–138 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2014.10.003 |pmid=25308432 |s2cid=34628674}}</ref> Research into the consumer psychology of meat is relevant both to meat industry marketing<ref name=Richardson1994>{{cite journal |last=Richardson |first=N.J. |title=Consumer Perceptions of Meat |journal=Meat Science |year=1994 |volume=36 |issue=1–2 |pages=57–65 |doi=10.1016/0309-1740(94)90033-7 |pmid=22061452 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> and to those advocating eating less meat.<ref name="Klöckner 2014">{{cite journal |last1=Zur |first1=Ifat |last2=Klöckner |first2=Christian A. |title=Individual motivations for limiting meat consumption |journal=British Food Journal |volume=116 |issue=4 |year=2014 |pages=629–42 |doi=10.1108/bfj-08-2012-0193 }}</ref><ref name="Schösler">{{cite journal |last1=Schösler |first1=Hanna |last2=Boer |first2=Joop de |last3=Boersema |first3=Jan J. |title=Can we cut out the meat of the dish? Constructing consumer-oriented pathways towards meat substitution |journal=Appetite |volume=58 |issue=1 |year=2012 |pages=39–47 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2011.09.009 |pmid=21983048 |s2cid=10495322 |url=https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/54385240-11c1-41fd-86a4-25c10ac6f23a }}</ref>

=== Gender ===

Unlike most other foods, meat is not perceived as gender-neutral; it is associated with men and masculinity. Sociological research, ranging from African tribal societies to contemporary barbecue, indicates that men are much more likely to participate in preparing meat than other food.<ref name=Buscemi/> This has been attributed to the influence of traditional male gender roles, in view of what Jack Goody calls a "male familiarity with killing", or as Claude Lévi-Strauss suggests, that roasting (meat) is more violent than boiling (grains and vegetables).<ref name=Buscemi/> In modern societies, men tend to consume more meat than women, and men often prefer red meat whereas women tend to prefer chicken and fish.<ref name=Buscemi/>

== See also ==

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}  * Bushmeat * Culinary name * Cartilage (also called gristle) * List of meat dishes * Meat on the bone * Meat-free days * Mechanically separated meat * Mystery meat {{div col end}}

== References ==

== Sources ==

{{Free-content attribution |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 |author=FAO |publisher=FAO |documentURL=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |license statement URL=https://commons.wikimedia.org/whttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Food_and_Agriculture_-_Statistical_Yearbook_2023.pdf |license=CC BY-SA IGO 3.0 }}

{{Free-content attribution | title = World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2025 | publisher = Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | documentURL = https://openknowledge.fao.org/bitstreams/1c056d73-8b8a-40a8-b988-0a0809a14fba/download | license statement URL = https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/8871cfb8-396d-4e24-be8e-4f4a3debe7e2 | license = CC BY 4.0 }}

* {{cite book |last1=Lawrie |first1=R.A. |last2=Ledward |first2=D. A. |title=Lawrie's meat science |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |location=Cambridge |year=2006 |edition=7th |isbn=978-1-84569-159-2}}

== External links ==

* [https://meatscience.org/ American Meat Science Association website] * [http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Monographs-Q&A.pdf IARC Monographs Q&A] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005091719/http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Monographs-Q%26A.pdf |date=October 5, 2018 }} * [http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Monographs-Q&A_Vol114.pdf IARC Monographs Q&A on the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123082730/http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Monographs-Q%26A_Vol114.pdf |date=November 23, 2018 }}

Category:Meat Category:Types of food Category:Meat industry Category:Agricultural products