A new study has found that 12% of Americans are responsible for eating half of all beef consumed on a given day… Those 12% – most likely to be men or people between the ages of 50 and 65 – eat what researchers called a disproportionate amount of beef on a given day…
— from a 2023 article by Andrew Yawn on the Tulane University website.
In other words, approximately 1 out of every 8 Americans is eating half of all beef.
A pretty darn small crew. But dedicated to the necessary work. And obviously, hungry.
Although we will note, with a slight smirk, that “what researchers call a disproportionate amount of beef” is 4 ounces per day. Like, a small hamburger.
Speaking as a person who is a man, and also a person between the ages of 50 and 65, I salute my fellow meat lovers for keeping the beef industry viable.
What the heck is everyone else eating? Carrots? Doughnuts? God forbid, tofu? They have left the difficult and somewhat time-consuming job of eating half the nation’s available beef to a mere 12% of the population. This just doesn’t seem right.
But it’s apparently true.
The study in question was done by four food experts at Tulane University and was published in the journal Nutrients. They analyzed data from the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which tracked the meals of more than 10,000 adults over a given 24-hour period.
“We focused on beef because of its impact on the environment, and because it’s high in saturated fat, which is not good for your health,” said the study’s senior professor Diego Rose, nutrition program director at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
The report doesn’t state that the researchers are a bunch of vegetarian environmentalists, but I think we’re safe making that assumption, based on the above quote.
They could have studied the number of people who eat tofu. But they didn’t. Reading their report — which you can find here — you get the distinct impression that they were doing this research primarily in hopes of finding effective ways to convince people — especially older men — to eat more yogurt and granola.
Not going to happen. We’re older… we’re men… and we like meat. Don’t try to change us.
It just so happens that the 12% of older men who eat half of all the beef consumed in America are those of us who are also working out in the gym, and require enormous quantities of protein.
You simply cannot build massively attractive muscles without protein, as any nutrition program director should know very well but maybe doesn’t.
Another quote from Professor Rose:
“There’s hope in the younger generation, because it’s their planet they’re going to inherit. I’ve seen in my classes that they’re interested in diet, how it impacts the environment, and what can they do about it.”
Maybe the younger generation knows something about the planet’s future that the rest of us are ignoring?
I’m thinking specifically about the price of beef.
Beef prices have risen 11.8% over the past year, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ground beef prices were up 12.4% from a year ago, while beef roasts were up 13.8% and steaks were up 11.4% in that period.
I guess I’ll be eating more steak, since that’s the beef that’s increased the least.
It’s not just older men who are getting hit with higher prices, however. The food industry is also getting hammered.
Tyson Foods noted the challenges in its beef business in its earnings in August, with CEO Donnie King saying, “Beef hasn’t performed the way we expected, and we’re not pretending otherwise.”
I didn’t know that beef performed? I thought it just sat there on the grill and got brown.
Also, the U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest level in over 70 years. Ranchers are blaming the shortage of cows on “drought” and rising “operating costs” like feed, labor, fuel, and such, but I suspect they are just goddamn tired of getting jerked around by Congress and the President.
Presumably, the same young people who are refusing to eat their fair share of whatever beef is still available, are the same young people who don’t want to grow up and become ranchers.
We can understand why.
Beef is not performing. Just ask Tyson Foods.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.