Beef Consumption in The Us

            For many years, beef served as the number one source of protein in the US.  However, beef consumption continues to decrease.  Americans are consuming less red meat and more poultry than they have in past decades. Convince often takes priority over nutrition when it comes to food choices. Concerns about calories, fat and cholesterol affect consumer’s choices. Many factors affect per capita beef consumption, including ethnicity, region, gender, age, and income, as well as consumer perception and meat price.  These considerations, and more, affect who eats beef and what cuts they prefer. A report by Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals analyzes 1994-96 and 1998 (the most recent available) USDA survey data on food consumption to determine key factors associated with U.S. beef product consumption.  More specifically, this analysis describes the distribution of beef consumption across different marketing channels, geographic regions, and population groups.

            Beef consumption in this study was broken into two main types; fresh meat and processed meat. Fresh meat includes ground beef, steaks, stew beef, beef dishes, and other beef cuts. Processed meats include smoked sausage, corned beef, and beef jerky. The 1994-98 CSFII data indicate that 87 percent of beef consumed was fresh and 13 percent was processed.

            Ethnicity is a factor in the consumption of beef products. When respondents are grouped by ethnicity, different patterns emerge in the composition of beef products consumed.  On average, non-Hispanic Whites and people in the Other race category ate less beef than other consumers. Blacks ate 77 pounds of beef per capita during the observation periods. Blacks ate more ground beef than they did other beef products, followed by steaks, processed beef, stew beef, beef dishes, and other beef cuts. Likewise, Whites, Hispanics, and Other races ate more ground beef per capita than they did any other single beef product. Hispanics were the dominant consumers of stew beef and other beef cuts, while Other races, ate more prepared beef dishes.

            Income also plays a role in the consumption of beef. The CSFII results indicate that low-income consumers ate 72 pounds of beef yearly—more than did middle- and high-income consumers by at least 4 pounds. Ground beef was the dominant beef product eaten per capita, regardless of income level, followed by steaks. High-income households were big consumers of steaks, while middle-income households ate relatively more stew beef.