Nearly one out of ten Italians has given up eating meat, while meat consumption in Italy is at its lowest since the beginning of the century, according to a new study.
Data published by farmers' association Coldiretti has found that purchases of fresh pork are down by 9 per cent, bovine down by 6 per cent, and chicken and sliced meats down by 1 per cent.
In 2015, meat was demoted to the status of the second-most important item in the food budgets of Italian families, after fruit and vegetables, with spending dropping to €97 per month, accounting for 22 per cent of total spend.
In comparison, meat consumption in the US is 60 per cent higher than in Italy, by 54 per cent in Australia, by 29 per cent in Spain, and by 12 per cent in France and Germany. The amount of meat on Italian tables has dropped to an average of 85 grams per day.
In an attempt to counter this negative trend, Coldiretti recently organised the National Day of Italian Meat in Turin, gathering thousands of farmers and consumers together with operators from industry, commerce, catering, tourism and science.
The lobby organisation said that the meat industry was faced with “unfounded alarmism, provocation and defamatory campaigns that target a crucial food for health that is fully part of the Mediterranean diet, which provides the essential protein contribution”.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
