The Amount of Meat Consumed Has Increased

According to the article: Americans’ meat consumption set to hit a record in 2018

“The average consumer will eat 222.2 pounds of red meat and poultry this year (2018), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, surpassing a record set in 2004.”

Also, according to the statistics found here:

Per Capita Consumption of Poultry and Livestock, 1965 to Estimated 2019, in Pounds

Consumption of most meats has increased since 1965 while beef consumption has fallen off some from its peak in 2002.\

The Number of Vegans Has Increased

The data found here: Statistics suggests a steady growth in the number of vegans worldwide since 2002 and claims:

• Demand for meat-free food increased by 987% in 2017 and going vegan was predicted to be the biggest food trend in 2018. Sources: [1] , [2]
• Vegan trend quadrupled in the 5 years between 2012 and 2017, according to Google search. It now gets almost 3 times more interest than vegetarian and gluten-free searches

An immediate conclusion is that the number of meat eaters may have fallen since the early 2000s, however, the amount of meat consumed by each non-vegan has increased. If true, whether or not that trend indicates a strengthening of the meat industry is questionable. If the meat industry's marketing strategy includes increasing the amount of meat consumed by each meat eater there campaigns have been a success. If, however, the increased of meat consumed by each meat eater is incidental to their efforts, or if their overall strategy has been to increase the number of meat eaters their efforts may considered a failure.

Summing Up

In my circle of Family and Friends there has been an observable lessening of meat consumption. Some friends have moved to a vegetarian diet, others have decreased the amount of meat the eat as part of a general plan to eat healthier. I also encounter more instances of people sharing publicly their consideration of moving away from consuming meat than I have in the past.

I am certain we are no where near a "meat-free" society, however, I think that the concept that a healthy diet must include meat that may have permeated the mind set of consumers a generation ago is much less prevalent today. Celebrity vegans, vegan athletes and other influencers continually grow in ranks. The impact of corporate farming on the environment is a more widely talked about. All of which adds up to the potential for people to eat meat without any thought of its impact on their health and the world around them being diminished and possibly the weakening of the "everyone eats meat - it's just what to do" messaging of the meat industry.