India, Bangladesh, and several African nations such as Burundi, Ethiopia, and Rwanda have the lowest per capita meat consumption, often falling below 5–10 kg per year. These low rates are primarily driven by economic constraints, religious beliefs, and dietary traditions favoring plant-based staples like beans and cassava.
More than one in five Brits are eating less meat than they were a year ago, and two-thirds are open to reducing their consumption. Beans could be a winner here. Despite the rise in meat-eating among Gen Z men, public willingness to cut back on animal proteins is growing in the UK, a new survey has found.
So, what percentage of the population is vegetarian, you may ask? According to a recent study, 22% of the global population is vegetarian. Another report says that almost 10% of Americans above 18 consider themselves vegan or vegetarian, and the number is increasing daily.
Which countries eat the most meat? According to UN Food and Agriculture Organization data reported by website World Population Review, the United States, Argentina and Australia are in the top of the global meat-eating league with more than 110 kg consumed per capita in 2022.
Blacks had the highest annual total meat consumption (64.2 kg), followed by East Asians (53.6 kg), Whites (46.9 kg), and Hispanics (35.8 kg). Blacks ate significantly more chicken than the other ethnic groups (P < 0.001), and East Asians ate significantly more pork and processed meat (P < 0.001).
Nearly all of the Muslim (99%), Christian (99%) and Buddhists/neo-Buddhist (97%) populations eat meat. Among Hindus, a little over three-quarters consume meat, while Jains and Sikhs have the highest share of vegetarians. Only one-quarter of Jains and half of Sikhs have ever eaten meat.
Albert Einstein was a proponent of vegetarianism, particularly later in life, viewing it as a path for better health, morality, and expanding compassion to all living beings, though he wasn't strictly vegan and sometimes ate animal products due to health circumstances, expressing guilt about it and feeling humans weren't naturally predators. He believed a vegetarian diet would positively influence mankind's temperament and fate, advocating for a broader circle of compassion for nature, not just humans.
India. According to the World Atlas, India has the highest rate of vegetarians in the world, with 38% of its population identifying as vegetarians. India also has one of the lowest meat consumption rates in the world. 18% are selective meat eaters, 9% are vegan, and 8% are pescatarian.
The beef hormone controversy or beef hormone dispute is a disagreement over the use of growth hormones in beef production. In 1989, the European Communities banned the import of meat that contained artificial beef growth hormones, although they were approved for use in the United States.
Eastern religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, generally agree in their support of non-violence and a meatless lifestyle, i.e. vegetarianism (11).
42% of the meat we eat is chicken, despite concerns around the way we farm and feed chickens. The largest contributor to daily meat consumption is white meat, with most of it coming from chicken.
If we changed diets to meet recommended dietary guidelines, we would produce environmental benefits worth US $234 billion per year and would save US $735 billion a year in reduced health-related costs; these savings increase as more people switch to eating less meat and more plant-based diets (Springmann et al., 2016).
At the same time, the British middle class had become larger and more prosperous, and they preferred tender lamb to tough mutton. Mutton therefore went from being a practical part of the diet of a primarily rural population to something that most people could not regularly access and that the rest did not want.
Musk used to be an herbivore, but he switched up his eating habits circa 2013. “I tried being a vegetarian but I don't really think we're designed to be vegetarians,” he told The Guardian. “Some of my best friends are vegetarians, even vegans, which is tricky when you're trying to go out for dinner.”
Gates, who is a vegetarian, wrote: “Put simply, there's no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people. Yet we can't ask everyone to become vegetarians. We need more options for producing meat without depleting our resources.”
Ellen acknowledges that she's no longer vegan “for no reason really.” But ultimately, the comic reflects positively on her past dietary choice: “I was vegan for 8 years, and I really do believe that it's great for you.
And Lizzo—who has documented her weight-loss journey on TikTok as well—explained that listening to her body has improved her health. “After tests and research,” she continued, “I found that animal proteins helped me have more energy, lose weight and helped with my mental fog.”
But one aspect of life where most Jains tend to be stringent is in their food habits and rituals. In general, they follow a vegetarian diet, strictly avoiding meat, seafood and eggs.
Pork is classified as najas, meaning it is inherently unclean and defiling. Consuming pork would compromise a Muslim's state of purity, making them unfit for certain religious activities. However, in exceptional circumstances such as excessive hunger or starvation, Muslims are permitted to eat pork.
The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest surviving religion in the world, it is also described by the 19th century term Sanātana Dharma ( lit. 'eternal dharma'). Vaidika Dharma ( lit. 'Vedic dharma') and Arya Dharma are historical endonyms for Hinduism.
