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Introduction
The dramatic rise in meat prices in the Western world over the past several years has attracted great attention. Meat consumption is changing at an incredible pace (Sahin et al., 2014), particularly with the rapid emergence of new trends; as a result, the landscape of meat provisioning appears to be in constant flux, particularly beef and pork. Beef is considered a luxury in the family of animal protein products, whereas pork’s price point is more financially affordable. For consumers in developed economies, meat is arguably one of the most sought after and valued food in history, yet meat remains one of the most ambiguous and morally problematic items in any human diet (Beardsworth and Bryman, 2004). Some suggest that our growing demand for meat products is unsustainable (de Bakker and Dagevos, 2012; Revell, 2015), and that the reduction of our meat consumption appears unavoidable. Despite that, there is an extensive body of evidence that suggests the importance of meat as an element in the diet of consumers.
Meat consumption in mature markets has a rich history that dates back centuries. In the Western world, meat was historically a luxury item. With increasing affluence, meat consumption expanded progressively from the end of the Second World War to the early 1970s (Charlebois and MacKay, 2010). From that point onwards, however, consumption has gradually declined (Miele, 1999). In Canada, beef consumption per capita since 1980 has dropped by more than 45 percent. Over the last decade, many emerging markets have experienced a similar consumption cycle, replicating what has happened here and in the Western world half a century later but with a vastly larger population than North America had as it worked through the cycle. Given the size of populations in emerging markets, this shift has affected global animal protein systems (Ortega et al., 2009; Hupkova and Bielik, 2010). Revell (2015) concludes that economic and population growth to 2050 without any mitigation measures will lead to a 21 percent increase in per capita meat consumption in some emerging markets. In addition to stresses due to climate change and animal protein production, particularly with cattle, prices at farm-gate and retail are likely only to increase (Charlebois and Labrecque, 2009).
More than ever before, beef is perceived...