The ingenuity, productivity and dedication of American producers and meat and poultry processors continue to provide American consumers with an astonishing array of product choices. Numerous flavor options and nutritional profiles are offered at extremely reasonable prices. In, fact, Americans spend less than any other developed nation in the world on meat and poultry products — about 1.7 percent of our incomes per year today down from over 4 percent in 1970.
It is amazing to think we are achieving these efficiencies while animal agriculture’s environmental footprint is shrinking and its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) has remained nearly constant since 1990. This is impressive considering U.S. increases in meat production of almost 50 percent, milk production of 16 percent and egg production of almost 33 percent. The fact that the level of GHG emissions from U.S. animal agriculture has remained relatively constant while protein production has increased dramatically reflects improved feed efficiencies, better manure-management strategies and efficient use of cropland.