In Italy meat consumption is continuing to fall across retailing to its lowest level since start of century while nearly one out of ten Italians has given up eating meat and meat producers are confident to overcome. Indeed, according to a new study published by farmers association Coldiretti, data show that purchases of fresh pork are down by 9 per cent, bovine down by 6 per cent, while chicken and cold cuts are 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 euros 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, in Australia by 54 per cent, in Spain by 29 per cent, in France and Germany by 12 per cent.
INDUSTRY TO EYE GLOBAL MARKET – The amount of meat on Italian tables dropped to an average of 85 grams per day. In an attempt to counter this negative trend, the meat industry has 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”.
