Meat#Religious traditions

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, 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.{{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}}{{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}}

{{further|History of agriculture}}

{{further|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}}

{{further|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.{{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 |url-status=dead}} In 1966, the United States, the United Kingdom and other industrialized nations, began factory farming of beef and dairy cattle and domestic pigs. Intensive animal farming became globalized in the later years of the 20th century, replacing traditional stock rearing in countries around the world.{{cite journal |last=Nierenburg |first=Danielle |year=2005 |title=Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry |journal=Worldwatch Paper |volume=171 |page=5 }} In 1990 intensive animal farming accounted for 30% of world meat production and by 2005, this had risen to 40%.

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.{{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}}

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

Several factors affect the growth and development of meat.

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}}

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}}

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}}

{{See also|Animal welfare labelling}}

File:Animal Abuse Battery Cage 01.jpg and other systems is debated.{{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 }}{{cite web |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 |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 }}{{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 }}]]

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.{{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 |page=211573 |doi=10.1098/rsos.211573 |pmc=9214290 |pmid=35754996|bibcode=2022RSOS....911573B }} 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.{{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 }}

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.{{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 |s2cid=52051853 |url=https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/77388/1/Aiello_et_al_revised_not_highlighted.pdf }}

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}}

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}}

Meat can be broadly classified as "red" or "white" depending on the concentration of myoglobin in muscle fiber. When myoglobin is exposed to oxygen, reddish oxymyoglobin develops, making myoglobin-rich meat appear red. The redness of meat depends on species, animal age, and fiber type: Red meat contains more narrow muscle fibers that tend to operate over long periods without rest,{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|p=93}} while white meat contains more broad fibers that tend to work in short fast bursts, such as the brief flight of the chicken.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|p=93}} The meat of adult mammals such as cows, sheep, and horses is considered red, while chicken and turkey breast meat is considered white.{{cite news |url=http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/white-meat-vs-red-meat.html |title=White Meat vs. Red Meat / Nutrition / Healthy Eating |access-date=April 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505011359/http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/white-meat-vs-red-meat.html |archive-date=May 5, 2017 |url-status=live}}

File:Blade steak (cropped).jpg|"Red" meat:
beef steak

File:Hühnerbrustfilet 20090502 001 (cropped).JPG|"White" meat:
chicken breast (flight muscle)

Muscle tissue is high in protein, containing all of the essential amino acids, and in most cases is a good source of zinc, vitamin B₁₂, selenium, phosphorus, niacin, vitamin B₆, choline, riboflavin and iron.{{cite web |url=http://www.beef.org/uDocs/whatyoumisswithoutmeat638.pdf |title=Don't Miss Out on the Benefits of Naturally Nutrient-Rich Lean Beef |access-date=January 11, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227150725/http://www.beef.org/uDocs/whatyoumisswithoutmeat638.pdf |archive-date=February 27, 2008 }} Several forms of meat are high in vitamin K.{{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 }} Muscle tissue is very low in carbohydrates and does not contain dietary fiber.{{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 }}

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. The fatty deposits near the muscle fibers in meats soften meat when it is cooked, improve its flavor, and make the meat seem juicier. 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.{{cite book |last=Horowitz |first=Roger |title=Putting Meat on the American Table: Taste, Technology, Transformation |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2005 |page=4}}

{{further|Meat industry|Meat-packing industry}}

File:World production of meat, main items.svg|World production of meat, main items{{Cite book|url=https://doi.org/10.4060/cb4477en |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2021 |publisher=FAO |year=2021 |isbn=978-92-5-134332-6 |location=Rome |doi=10.4060/cb4477en |s2cid=240163091}}

File:World production of main meat items, main producers (2019).svg|World production of main meat items, main producers (2019)

{{Bar chart|title=Land Animals Killed for Meat, 2013{{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}}|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{{Cite web|date=May 21, 2018|title=Humans just 0.01% of all life but have destroyed 83% of wild mammals – study|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study|access-date=December 30, 2022|website=The Guardian}}

|label1 =Livestock, mostly cattle and pigs

|value1 =60 |color1=blue

|label2 =Humans

|value2 =36 |color2=red

|label3 =Wild mammals

|value3 =4 |color3=green

}}

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}}

{{see also|Animal slaughter|Meat industry}}

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}}

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}}

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}}

File:Atria slaughterhouse in Nurmo Seinajoki.JPG|A slaughterhouse, Finland

File:MIN Rungis viandes de boucherie veau.jpg|Rungis International Market, France

File:Sucuk-1.jpg|The word "sausage" is derived from Old French {{Lang|fro|saussiche}}, from Latin {{Lang|la|salsus}}, "salted".{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=sausage&searchmode=none |title=Sausage |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary |date=October 16, 1920 |access-date=January 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021020552/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=sausage&searchmode=none |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |url-status=live }}

{{further|Meat spoilage|Meat preservation}}

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.{{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}}

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.{{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 }}

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.{{cite book |last1=Otter |first1=Chris |title=Diet for a large planet |date=2020 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=USA |isbn=978-0-226-69710-9 |pages=28, 35, 47}} The US was a meat importing country by 1926.

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.

{{further|List of countries by meat consumption|List of countries by meat production}}

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|image2=Meat Atlas 2014 meat consumption developing countries.png

|caption1=While meat consumption in most industrialized countries is at high, stable levels...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 }}

|caption2=... it is rising in emerging economies.

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|caption1=Per capita annual meat consumption by region{{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 |pages=17–41 |doi=10.1146/annurev-resource-111820-032340 |doi-access=free }}

|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

}}

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.{{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 |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 }} FAO analysis found that 357 million tonnes of meat were produced in 2021, 53% more than in 2000, with chicken meat representing more than half the increase.{{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=2023-12-13 |doi=10.4060/cc8166en|isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 }}

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.{{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 |location=UK |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=May 12, 2019 |url-status=live}}

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.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=February 26, 2013 }}, edited by Anita Regmi, May 2001. USDA Economic Research Service. Horses are commonly eaten in countries such as France,{{cite web |date=June 14, 2007 |title=France's horsemeat lovers fear US ban |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/15/france.lifeandhealth |access-date=December 30, 2022 |website=The Guardian }} Italy, Germany and Japan.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 Horses and other large mammals such as reindeer were hunted during the late Paleolithic in western Europe.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 Dogs are consumed in China,{{cite news|url=http://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}} South Korea{{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 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719054520/http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/265_podberscek.pdf |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |citeseerx=10.1.1.596.7570 }} and Vietnam.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/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}} Dogs are occasionally eaten in the Arctic regions.[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 }} Historically, dog meat has been consumed in various parts of the world, such as Hawaii,{{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}} Japan,{{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}} Switzerland and Mexico.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 Cats are sometimes eaten, such as in Peru.{{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 |url-status=dead |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=November 17, 2010 }} Guinea pigs are raised for their flesh in the Andes.{{cite news |title=A Guinea Pig for All Times and Seasons |url=http://www.economist.com/node/2926169 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=December 1, 2011 |date=July 15, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222030533/http://www.economist.com/node/2926169 |archive-date=February 22, 2012 |url-status=live}} Whales and dolphins are hunted, partly for their flesh, in several countries.{{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=June 20, 2013 |url-status=live}} Misidentification is a risk; in 2013, products in Europe labelled as beef actually contained horse meat.{{cite news |last=Castle |first=Stephen |date=April 16, 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}}

{{anchor|Processed meat}}

Meat can be cooked in many ways, including braising, broiling, frying, grilling, and roasting.{{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}} Meat can be cured by smoking, which preserves and flavors food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering wood.{{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}} Other methods of curing include pickling, salting, and air-drying.{{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 |url-status=dead }} Some recipes call for raw meat; steak tartare is made from minced raw beef.{{cite web |title=Steak tartare: Traditional Appetizer From France |website=TasteAtlas |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/steak-tartare |access-date=2023-11-03}} Pâtés are made with ground meat and fat, often including liver.{{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}}

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

{{Further|Red meat#Health effects}}

Meat, in particular red and processed meat, is linked to a variety of health risks. 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.{{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=health.gov}}

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. 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.{{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}}

{{main|Red meat#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."{{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}}[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. 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."{{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 }}

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.[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.[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.[https://progressreport.cancer.gov/prevention/red_meat "Red Meat and Processed Meat Consumption"]. progressreport.cancer.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2023. 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."{{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 }} The Canadian Cancer Society have stated that "eating red and processed meat increases cancer risk".[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.

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.{{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 |pages=129697 |date=September 2021 |pmid=33838606 |doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129697 |type=Review}}

Cooking muscle meat creates heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which are thought to increase cancer risk in humans. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute published results of a study which found that human subjects who ate beef rare or medium-rare had less than one third the risk of stomach cancer than those who ate beef medium-well or well-done.{{cite web |url=http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/heterocyclic-amines |title=National Cancer Institute – Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats |publisher=Cancer.gov |date=September 15, 2004 |access-date=May 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221034421/http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/heterocyclic-amines |archive-date=December 21, 2010 |url-status=live }} While eating muscle meat raw may be the only way to avoid HCAs fully, the National Cancer Institute states that cooking meat below {{convert|212|F|C|order=flip}} creates "negligible amounts" of HCAs. Microwaving meat before cooking may reduce HCAs by 90%.{{cite web |url=http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/heterocyclic-amines |title=Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats – National Cancer Institute |publisher=Cancer.gov |date=September 15, 2004 |access-date=May 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221034421/http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/heterocyclic-amines |archive-date=December 21, 2010 |url-status=live }} Nitrosamines, present in processed and cooked foods, are carcinogenic, being linked to colon cancer. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, present in processed, smoked and cooked foods, are similarly carcinogenic.{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out154_en.pdf |title=PAH-Occurrence in Foods, Dietary Exposure and Health Effects |access-date=May 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519225348/http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out154_en.pdf |archive-date=May 19, 2011 }}

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.{{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}} 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".{{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 }}

Complete cooking and the careful avoidance of recontamination reduce the risk of bacterial infections from meat.{{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}}

Consumption of 100 g/day of red meat and 50 g/day of processed meat is associated with an increased risk of diabetes.{{cite journal |last1=Giosuè |first1=Annalisa |last2=Calabrese |first2=Ilaria |last3=Riccardi |first3=Gabriele |last4=Vaccaro |first4=Olga |last5=Vitale |first5=Marilena |title=Consumption of different animal-based foods and risk of type 2 diabetes: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of prospective studies |journal=Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice |volume=191 |date=2022 |doi=10.1016/j.diabres.2022.110071 |page=110071|pmid=36067917 }}

Diabetes UK advises people to limit their intake of red and processed meat.[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.[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.

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.{{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 |pages=109341 |doi=10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109341 |pmid=33233049 |pmc=7256495 }}{{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}} For example, avian influenza from poultry meat production is a threat to human health.{{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 |pages=461 |doi=10.3390/v10090461 |pmid=30154345 |pmc=6164301 |doi-access=free }} Furthermore, the use of antibiotics in meat production contributes to antimicrobial resistance{{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 |pages=1209 |doi=10.3390/antibiotics10101209 |pmid=34680790 |pmc=8532907 |doi-access=free }}{{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 }} – which contributes to millions of deaths{{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}} – and makes it harder to control infectious diseases.{{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 }}{{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 |page=516 |doi=10.3389/fvets.2020.00516 |pmc=7479178 |pmid=33005639 |doi-access=free}}{{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}}

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%.{{cite web |url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/jan1996/frjan96f.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=August 17, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060304100230/http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/jan1996/frjan96f.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2006 }}

File:Relative risk and 95% confidence intervals of ischemic heart disease for each 50 g per day increase in processed meat consumption.jpg

Except for poultry, at 50 g/day unprocessed red and processed meat are risk factors for ischemic heart disease, increasing the risk by about 9 and 18% respectively.{{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 }}

{{further|Environmental impacts of animal agriculture}}

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".{{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}} However, this is often ignored in the public consciousness and in plans to tackle serious environmental issues such as the climate crisis.{{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}}

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,{{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 }} ocean dead zones,{{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 }} species extinction,{{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}}{{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}} land degradation, pollution, overfishing and global warming.{{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}}{{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}}{{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 }} 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.{{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}}

Environmental effects vary among livestock production systems.Steinfeld, H. et al. 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Livestock, Environment and Development, FAO. Grazing of livestock can be beneficial for some wildlife species, but not for others.{{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 }}{{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 }} Targeted grazing of livestock is used as a food-producing alternative to herbicide use in some vegetation management.Launchbaugh, K. (ed.) 2006. Targeted Grazing: a natural approach to vegetation management and landscape enhancement. American Sheep Industry. 199 pp.

File:Cereals allocated to food, animal feed and fuel, World.png

File:Operação Hymenaea, Julho-2016 (29399454651).jpg for export.{{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 }}{{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}}{{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 }}{{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}}]]

Meat production is by far the biggest user of land, as it accounts for nearly 40% of the global land surface.{{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}} 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.{{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}} Roughly 75% of deforested land around the globe is used for livestock pasture.{{cite book |last=Nibert |first=David |editor1=Steven Best |editor2=Richard Kahn |editor3=Anthony J. Nocella II |editor4=Peter McLaren |authorlink=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://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739136973/The-Global-Industrial-Complex-Systems-of-Domination |isbn=978-0739136980}} Deforestation from practices like slash-and-burn releases {{CO2}} and removes the carbon sink of grown tropical forest ecosystems which substantially mitigate climate change.{{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 |doi=10.3389/ffgc.2022.756115 |bibcode=2022FrFGC...5.6115L |doi-access=free }} Land use is a major pressure on pressure on fertile soils which is important for global food security.{{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}}

{{See also |Livestock's Long Shadow}}

File:Environmental-impact-of-food-by-life-cycle-stage.png 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.{{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}}{{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 |doi=10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 |doi-access=free }} Meat production is responsible for some 35% of global emissions of greenhouse gases, and 60% of the greenhouse gases attributable to food production.{{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'}}

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.{{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}}

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.{{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}} A 2019 report in The Lancet recommended that global meat (and sugar) consumption be reduced by 50 percent to mitigate climate change.{{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 |url-status=dead}} Meat consumption in Western societies needs to be reduced by up to 90% according to a 2018 study published in Nature.{{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 }} 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.{{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 }}

Meat consumption is a primary contributor to the sixth mass extinction.{{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}} 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.{{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}} Livestock make up 60% of the biomass of all mammals on earth, followed by humans (36%) and wild mammals (4%).{{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 }}{{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}} 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".{{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}} The 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services recommended a reduction in meat consumption to mitigate biodiversity loss.{{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}} A 2021 Chatham House report asserted that a shift towards plant-based diets would free up land for the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity.{{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}}

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.{{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 |doi=10.1126/science.aam5324 |pmid=30026199 |bibcode=2018Sci...361M5324G |s2cid=49895246 |doi-access=free}}

The environmental impact of meat production can be reduced on the farm by conversion of human-inedible residues of food crops.{{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 }}{{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 }} 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.Shapouri, H. et al. 2002. The energy balance of corn ethanol: an update. USDA Agricultural Economic Report 814.

{{Main |Sustainable consumption#Sustainable food 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.{{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}} Personal carbon allowances that allow a certain amount of free meat consumption per person would be a form of restriction, meat taxes would be a type of fiscal mechanism. Meat can be replaced by, for example, high-protein iron-rich low-emission legumes and common fungi, dietary supplements (e.g. of vitamin B₁₂) and fortified foods,{{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 |pages=4144 |doi=10.3390/nu13114144 |pmid=34836399 |pmc=8623061 |doi-access=free }} cultured meat, microbial foods,{{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 }}
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}} mycoprotein,{{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 }} meat substitutes, and other alternatives,{{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 }} such as those based on mushrooms,{{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}} legumes (pulses), and other food sources.{{cite journal |last1=Onwezen |first1=M. C. |last2=Bouwman |first2=E. P. |last3=Reinders |first3=M. J. |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 |pages=105058 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2020.105058 |pmid=33276014 |s2cid=227242500 |doi-access=free }} Land previously used for meat production can be rewilded. 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.{{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 |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}}

Meat is part of the human diet in most cultures, where it often has symbolic meaning and important social functions.{{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 }} 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.

{{Main|Ethics of eating meat}}

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.{{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}}

The founders of Western philosophy disagreed about the ethics of eating meat. Plato's Republic has Socrates describe the ideal state as vegetarian.{{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}} 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. Conversely, Aristotle's Politics assert that animals, as inferior beings,{{cite book |last1=Aristotle |title=The Politics |last2=Jowett |first2=B. |location=Ancient Greece |page=I. 8. 1256b |orig-date=355-323 BCE}} exist to serve humans, including as food. Augustine drew on Aristotle to argue that the universe's natural hierarchy allows humans to eat animals, and animals to eat plants. 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. 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.

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. Modern eaters, according to Noëlie Vialles, demand an "ellipsis" between meat and dead animals. 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.

{{main|Vegetarianism and religion}}

File:Florenz fleischtheke.jpg 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.{{cite book |last=Tähtinen |first=Unto |title=Ahimsa: Non-Violence in Indian Tradition |year=1976 |location=London |publisher=Rider |pages=107–111}}{{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}} Some Sikh groups oppose eating any meat.{{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}} Jewish Kashrut dietary rules allow certain (kosher) meat and forbid other (treif) meat.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/kashrut.html|title=Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws|encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library|accessdate=February 3, 2025}} 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.{{cite web |title=Definition of Halal |publisher=Halal Monitoring Committee U.K.|accessdate=February 3, 2024 |url=https://halalhmc.org/resources/definition-of-halal/}}

{{main|Psychology of eating meat}}

Research in applied psychology has investigated meat eating in relation to morality, emotions, cognition, and personality.{{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}} Psychological research suggests meat eating is correlated with masculinity,{{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}} and reduced openness to experience.{{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}} Research into the consumer psychology of meat is relevant both to meat industry marketing{{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}} and to those advocating eating less meat.{{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 }}{{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 }}

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. 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). 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.

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• 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}}

{{reflist}}

{{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

}}

• {{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}}

{{Commons category|Meats}}

{{Wikiquote}}

{{cookbook}}

{{Wikivoyage}}

• [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 }}

{{Meat}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Types of food

Category:Agricultural products