Beef consumption
Introduction
30% of the world's total ice-free surface is used to raise food livestock, Almost four Liter of gasoline is required to produce a pound of grain-fed beef and half the water consumed in the U.S. is used to grow grain for cattle feed.
The total worldwide cattle population is approximately 1.3 billion.
Interview
Beef consumption causes a lot of ecological problem. Therefore we interviewed 10 people and asked them 4 questions about their beef and milk consumption. After the interview we gave those recommendations to live more sustainable by choosing carefully their beef. Then we asked them what they think about their consumption and if they change it.
1. Are you aware of the origins of the beef that you buy?
If it´s viewable on the package they mostly decide for regional resp. national meat. Swiss people are considering that Swiss meat is produced under fair conditions and sustainable. In restaurants or other places where people consume meat, the origin of the product does in most cases not affect the decision making process. Only a few people are aware of the damage to the environment of beef production. Therefore the interviewed person do not separate different meat only because of sustainable reasons.
2. How important is the price when you buy beef?
The importance of the price depends mostly on the budget of the person. People with low budgets depend a lot of a low price, because on one hand they want to consume the meat on the other hand they don´t have the money to consider the origin and quality of the meat. People with a higher budget are willed to expense more money for meat, which was produced under fair conditions in Switzerland.
3. How often do you consume beef in a week?
On average the people consume between 5-6 times per week beef.
4. How much milk do you consume in a week?
On average the people consume between 3-4 times per week milk.
Recommendation
What do recommend to sensitize people about their beef consumption.
A lot of people are not conscious anymore about the origin of a piece of meat when they eat it (e.g. a piece of ham in a sandwich). Therefore kids should already be sensitised in school how the slaughter process looks like
Display of the origin (e.g. which farmer and where) should be clearly visible on the packages of meat
Emphasis on localness and goodness of being local
Inform consumer about the problems caused by beef consumption on the packages or through information videos
Label “Less but good”. Motivate consumer to eat only once per week a piece of meat. The weekly piece of meat should be bought from a regional butcher or farmer. This can be done through advertisement videos and influencer on Social Media
List reasons for local products on the packages of local products
Sources:
Explorebeef.com
