In 1985, people in China ate, on average, 20 kg of meat per head. In 2009 this figure is expected to rise to 40 kg (Economist).
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Diary of an accidental futurist – observations on current & future trends
In 1985, people in China ate, on average, 20 kg of meat per head. In 2009 this figure is expected to rise to 40 kg (Economist).
Interesting. Conflicts a little with this article (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/datablog/2009/sep/02/meat-consumption-per-capita-climate-change) in the Guardian which suggests that China was at 52kg in 2002.
Even that, though, is less than half the US so considerable room for Chinese consumption to grow and all the environmental consequences that may bring.
I was thinking eco-consequences but also what happens when oil hits $200+?
Do we get food inflation and food riots again. I suspect we might.
For Australia, I think it means a change in habits both in the foods we buy (i.e. we go local, we buy what’s in season, we learn to cook a wider variety of meals) and how we spend our income – we only spent 10.7% of our income on food in 2005.
(As an aside, amazingly the amount spent on water and sewerage only increased 0.7% between 1985 and 2005!)
For developed nations it may not be food riots that will be the issue but the health implications of a dramatic increase in the consumption of junk food which by nature of its factory approach is vastly cheaper per calorie than home-cooked food.