What were the primary reasons for different livestock consumption habits of countries and cultures?
Whilst visiting a friend in Germany recently he told me that the prevalence of pork in the German diet was because the winters often killed cattle and beef was not readily available.
I began to think about the issue on a much deeper (but uniformed level) and wondered what the primary reasons were for particular meat consumption in regions.
Examples
- Beef in the UK/USA
- Pork in Germanic Countries
- Herring in Scandinavia
- Goat in Arabic countries
- Lamb in South East Asia
- Tofu or Soy based products in Far Asia
- Mixed chicken and seafood in Romance-speaking countries
Is there a deep historical reasoning for the prevalence of one product over another?
Best Answer
Id'say availability, like others have commented on.
If you have access to sea, seafood is an easy choice.
You cannot keep cattle high up in the mountains, that's why goats and sheep are more popular in e.g., Greece, where there are no plains for cattle to graze on.
Chickens and doves are easy to keep and were cheaper than pigs or cows.
Pigs are omnivores. On the one hand, they are happy in forest regions eating acorns (which cows wouldn't like). Pigs also eat kitchen trash like potato peel and leftovers. On the other hand pigs compete with humans for food (potatos, fruit).
Other animals were primarily work animals (dogs to guard, cats to catch mice, horses to pull carts and ploughs) and were hence not eaten (there are exemptions to this rule like Sauerbraten which was made from horse meat of horses that were too old to be used as work animals).
Pictures about "What were the primary reasons for different livestock consumption habits of countries and cultures?"
Why is meat consumption increasing?
Global demand for meat is growing: over the past 50 years, meat production has more than tripled. The world now produces more than 340 million tonnes each year. But the production of meat has large environmental impacts \u2013 increasing greenhouse gas emissions, agricultural land and freshwater use.Why livestock products are important to a human being?
The Role of Animals and Animal Products First, animal products are an important source of high-quality, balanced, and highly bioavailable protein and numerous critical micronutrients, including iron, zinc, and vitamins B-12 and A, many of which are deficient in a large portion of the world's population (10\u201312).What countries consume the most meat?
Countries that eat the most meat \u2013 rankedRankCountryGrams1Hong Kong SAR, China419.62Australia318.53United States315.54Argentina293.8134 more rows•Jun 29, 2019Which animal meat is consumed most in the world?
Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world accounting for over 36% of the world meat intake. It is followed by poultry and beef with about 35% and 22% respectively.The Environmental Impact of Livestock - RUVIVAL Toolbox
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