Where there’s less consensus, however, is how to effect change. While many vegans believe Meatless Mondays and other cutting-back-consumption campaigns don’t push enough of a paradigm-shift, others argue that these are crucial first steps towards a more compassionate world.
Given that around 93 percent of people still eat meat, it’s difficult to imagine that everyone will cease doing so anytime soon. A world that eats far less meat, however, is already on the way. Meat consumption has been steadily declining in the U.S.—by 10% per capita since 2007, in fact.
In that year, for example, the U.S. raised and killed 9.5 billion land animals for food. As of 2014, that number plummeted by a whopping 400 million (to 9.1 billion — click here to view the statistics), says Paul Shapiro, Vice President, Farm Animal Protection for The Humane Society of the United States.
“What that means is that compared to 2007, last year almost half a billion fewer animals were subjected to the torment of factory farming and industrial slaughter plants–and that’s despite the increase in the U.S. population,” Shapiro explains.
“That’s more animals than are experimented on, hunted, used in circuses, puppy mills, and end up in animal shelters each year in the U.S.—all combined.”
Recent years have seen massive leaps in veg-friendly campaigns, realistic meat and dairy replacements hitting the market, and a rising awareness of the health benefits of cutting back on animal products.
The HSUS Farm Animal Protection division has an arm that focuses entirely on meat reduction campaigns in institutional environments. Started by Kristie Middleton, it’s been going strong since 2011, and is rapidly expanding. In Los Angeles, for example, the team convinced the school district to switch to Meatless Mondays back in 2012. Today, that program alone is saving more than 700,000 meat-based meals from being served each week.
“The rates of vegetarianism in our country have remained around five to eight percent for years. But the rate of meat reduction—people who aren’t vegetarians but are cutting back on their animal consumption—is what’s really fueling this trend,” Shapiro explains.
In other words, people who are eating less meat are actually saving lives.
“In fact, a 2013 Mintel study found that while more than a third of Americans buy meat alternatives like Gardein, less than 10 percent of Americans identify as vegetarians. In other words, the market for vegetarian meats is being largely driven by non-vegetarians,” he explains.
This doesn’t diminish the importance of vegans, or the impact the vegan movement is having on mainstream society, but it does demonstrate that omnivores can (and do) drive large-scale, life-saving changes to our food system.
“It’s clear that meat reduction is what is sparing astronomical numbers of animals from torment and misery,” Shapiro adds.
Just because someone isn’t 100% vegan, doesn’t mean they’re not making a difference. As recent research demonstrates, 36% of Americans are open to plant-based eating, but most of those people aren’t vegans—or even vegetarians. They are amenable to change, however, and that change is taking the form of farm animals saved. 400 million of them last year, alone.
So maybe it IS worth getting your carnivorous uncle to switch to salads a couple nights a week. Based on these numbers, it obviously adds up.
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Great post. So important to highlight the positive influence that compassionate people have. The road ahead remains long but together we will create a sustainable change. Keep on being influential!
Thanks so much! Totally agree - sustainable change is on its way.
Change is happening at last ! long queues & over 2000 went to vegan fair (Bournemouth) UK on 28th june its estimated about 40% arent vegan & I know a few who went who just waking up to the truth of the animals unbelievable suffering thanks to social media info, posts & activists like ourselves opening their eyes& hearts.a great film to show the bigger picture apart from the obvious poor animals suffering which must stop, watch Cowspiracy; joins the dots, the cover up of the true biggest cause of global warming animal factory farming.the world MUST stop abusing farming animals not just cos its totally unacceptable to torture ournother feeling cousins for human pleasure (!) but its totally unsustainable.Animals, planet, starving people & greedy people die .Simple solution; plants ! loads vegan info on FB ,youtube & everywhere online. https://youtu.be/oHfVajDbyJk
I'm vegan and I'm happy to hear this. Everyone always says what are you going to do your only one person... So far in the past 2 years I've helped 5 people go vegan and I'm working on a few more now. And another person just came to us because she's pre diabetic and is close to having heart disease and she also wants to change!!! :)
That's fabulous Lazer! Keep up the great work! ;)
Great Mr later.keep it up
VERY VERY Awesome!
This is simply awesome ... we still have a long way to go but good news indeed
This is the best news ever!!!!!!!!!!
Have you looked at the rate of meat demand? Meat production and meat demand are not the same and often meat production is more closely tied to things like drought and zoonotic diseases, which effects pricing, than to people actually wanting meat. Demand for meat is the real metric. As a vegan I want to believe vegan outreach is the answer, but I think we need to look at this issue much more closely before making that claim.
Hi Carol,
You make a very good point, but the data has consistently shown a decrease in meat consumption over the past ten years, not from lack of availability, but from decreasing demand. More and more people are choosing to eat more plant-based foods and meat substitutes as awareness grows about the issues surrounding meat production and its effect on human health (and the environment). It's a fascinating subject!
Exactly what I was thinking
Lighten up. You know exactly what point is bein g made here.
Another reason for the drop in the beef industry slaughter is that with the closing of the US's largest Glatt Kosher Slaughtering business we've been getting our meat from both Canada and South America.
That may be so Nora, but there's no question that meat consumption is also dropping, and has been consistently for the past ten years.
Fewer, but heavier chickens is mostly driving this. In 2007 the US produced 29 billion pounds of processed chicken. In 2014 the US produced 35 billion pounds of processed chicken, even with 400M fewer birds.
We've bred faster growing chickens more efficient at converting feed to meat. It's a win for animal welfare advocates in that fewer lives were taken, but the lives of the birds who are raised aren't necessarily richer, just shorter.
Wonderful! Do you have links to the actual data? I've got someone telling me this isn't quite true but I'm really hoping it is! :)
Yep Andi! :) There's actually a hyperlink in the article. Here it is: http://www.humanesociety.org/news/resources/research/stats_slaughter_totals.html
Wonderful news! Let us work to see that this continues and increases because there is no way we will avert a climate catastrophe and other environmental disasters without a major decrease in the production of meat, since the methane emitted by cows and other farmed animals is a major contributor to the warming of the planet.
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A brand new writer can cite their sources to validate their claims, an editor-in-chief must not get paid to write. Especially the EIC is usually in charge of quality assurance (saying what goes up and what doesn't) Take secondary writing again.
Actually Donell, there's a hyperlink in the story that goes directly to the statistics cited, and the primary source is listed in the article, the HSUS, and Paul Shapiro specifically.