Meatier China and Vegetarian India

I witness the change in meat consumption after the economic reform in China in the late 1970s. When I was a child, my family could only afford meat once per week. 

Nevertheless, from the 1990s onward, with the rapid economic development of China and the wealth growth of the Chinese middle class, meat became more affordable, and meat consumption rocketed. The chart presents information about changes in meat consumption in China over the period 1991 to 2026. Overall, there is a dramatic surge in meat consumption from around 20 kilograms per capita to 50 kilograms per capita, showing a noticeable increase of 150 percent. At the same time, it is predicted to increase modestly up to 55 kilograms by the end of 2026. Moreover, the variety of meat markedly expanded. At the beginning of 1991, pork was predominant with more than three-quarters. Nonetheless, its percentage inclined to three-fifths in 2017. There is a significant upward trend in poultry, beef and sheep.

Frozen meat is common in supermarkets, while in tradition people only preferred fresh meat in the market. Nowadays, China has become the second-largest meat market in the world in terms of revenues, only second to the United States. 

On the other hand, considering the per capita consumption of meat, China still lags behind most of the developed countries, with only half of the per consumption of meat in the United States. As a matter of fact, like economic inequality is large in China, the meat consumption difference between the rich and the poor is huge. 

Notwithstanding the tantamount population of China, India is a country where the per capita consumption is the lowest in the world, possibly due to its strong religious tradition. Meat consumption in China is in fact fifteen times as much as in India. 

The map below illustrates the percentage of the vegetarian population in India. In stark contrast to China and the United States, 29 percent of Indian citizens are vegetarians. In particular, Rajasthan has the largest number of vegetarians, which account for three-quarters of its population. More than 2 in 5 persons in nine states do not consume meat. Lakshadweep is the only state where no one is vegetarian. In eight states, the vegetarian population is less than three percent. Overall, northwestern states have a higher percentage of the vegetarian population than southeastern states.

Meat consumption in China is in the “middle” of the world and is expected to continue to rise, notwithstanding the interruption of Covid-19. However, it is undeniable that excessive meat consumption still causes environmental problems and contributes to global climate change. Overall, how to balance meat consumption between "too much" and "too little" is an interesting topic to research in the future.