"We eat a lot of meat in this country; per person, more than almost anywhere else on Earth. (Here's a helpful map of global meat-eating.) But why? What makes an American eat ten or twelve times more meat than the average person in Mozambique or Bangladesh? Reason #1: Dollars and cents. Mark Rosegrant, an economist with the International Food Policy Research Institute, pulls out a graph that shows the typical trajectory of meat consumption, in country after country. "All countries eat more meat when their incomes grow and they have the economic wherewithal to eat more meat," he says. The pattern is so consistent, economists now treat it almost like a law of human behavior. "It seems to be a preference that's built in to people," says Rosegrant." - John (bird whisperer) from Bookmarklet

"Almost two centuries ago, he says, meat was one reason why immigrants found America so amazing. "When the Irish come in the 1840s, they write letters back saying 'I eat meat every day,'" Horowitz says. "And they get letters back saying, 'You must be kidding. It can't be true.'" Back in Europe, says Horowitz, the growing of livestock was often organized and regulated in a way that funneled meat straight to the wealthy or the landed aristocracy. In the new world, though, meat was much easier to find. Grazing lands were close to cities; sometimes right inside cities. Farmers quickly realized that raising animals was a good business. Cities set up markets for them. "And the result is a flourishing of the livestock industry, very early in American history." As a result, when new technology came along, like railroads and refrigeration, American entrepreneurs were able to jump right in and use it to turn beef into a centralized, national industry." - John (bird whisperer)

"Now, though, there's a sense that things may be changing. Each year, for the last four years, Americans have been eating less meat per person. There's no consensus on why. Economist Jayson Lusk believes that it's due mostly to the recession and high food prices. Ground beef is 30 percent more expensive today than it was just two years ago. "If something increases in price by 30 percent, we'd certainly expect consumers to buy a whole lot less of it," he says. Yet there's also some evidence that tastes are actually changing. In a new poll conducted by NPR and Truven Health Analytics, just out this week, 39 percent of the respondents say they're eating less meat than they did three years ago — and the main reason, they say, is a desire to eat heathier food. " - John (bird whisperer)