China's increased meat demand

Rising demand in China

It was reported last June that China's rapid industrialisation and increasing population were having an affect on the country. But what could be classed as more of a surprise is the fact it's the countries growing love of meat which is having the affect.

30 years ago, meat was a luxury, only brought for special occasions, now sales of meat are rising 10 percent each year, making for a booming meat market.

According to Green Living Community, if China's love of meat continues to grow, it's going to create water shortages which could have world wide repercussions in coming decades as China will have to rely on food imports to meet demands.

China is home to 21 percent of the world's population. Its economy has grown at the fastest rate in recent world history, at about eight percent per year over the last two decades, saysJunguo Liu, an environmental scientist in Switzerland.

During this period of unprecedented growth, the consumption of grains in China has remained steady, even dropping a little. But the consumption of meat in China has more than quadrupled since 1980. The production of meat requires much more water per serving than any other kind of food. Even though meat and other animal products made up only 16 percent of the typical Chinese diet in 2003, those foods accounted for more than one-half of the country's food-related water consumption, reportLiu and colleague Hubert Savenije of Delft University in an upcoming Hydrology and Earth System Sciences.

Despite the fact that the Chinese now eat on average, 53kg of meat per year, this is still half the amount of America. And the affect on water cannot be underestimated with regard to meat; National Geographic explains that it takes 1857 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef.

McDonald's in China

One of the biggest growing companies in China, is McDonalds. The firm expects to have more than 2000 stores in mainland China by the end of 2013 and 1300 at the end of 2010, Tim Fenton, McDonald's president for Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa told Reuters.

"It took us 19 years to get to 1000 and it'll take us six more years to get to 2000," Fenton said to BusinessWeek.

"Asia, Middle East and Africa is the fastest growing area in the world and of that, China is the fastest growing country," Fenton said, adding that he plans to open a total 520 new stores in the region this year.

McDonald's said in January it expects to boost its capital investment in China by about a quarter this year and open 150 to 175 restaurants in the mainland to tap the growth of the world's third-largest economy.

McDonald's will roll out between 40-50 McCafes in China this year, up from the three it currently has to capitalise on the country's increasing taste for coffee.

Quoting third party data, he added that China's fast food and casual dining industry, growing at 10 percent, could reach US$310 billion this year. That compared with US$460 billion in the US expanding at two percent, and US$470 billion in Europe, with flat growth.

"Just China alone, if you do the math, in 5-10 years, they could surpass the U.S. and or both Europe," Fenton said.

McDonald's, which has been in China for 20 years, is one of the most successful foreign businesses in China.

As more fast-food chains selling meat start to open, the sector is set to continue to boom as China discovers its hidden love for meat - and we don't mean cat and dog. On 26 January 2010 China launched its first draft proposal to protect the country's animals from maltreatment including a measure to jail people who eat dog for up to 15 days - it looks like the meat market will continue to grow.

Jodie Humphries

Jodie Humphries graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA Hons in Creative Writing in 2008. She has worked for GDS Publishing for the digital group since July 2009. She has previous experience with writing for the web, running her own website since April 2007.

Related News:

Happy animals mean better meat |Campylobacter - a growing threat to food safety |Food fraud |Rosemary and sage CO2-antioxidants extend shelf life of food

Like this article? Get the RSS feed: