India - 3 kg per capita The world's second most populous, with an astonishing 1.3 billion people, India holds the distinction of consuming the least meat per capita. With its staggering population, this is even more striking, and indeed with only 3 kg of meat per capita per year consumed, no other country eats less.
Plant-based eating is deeply rooted in three of the prominent religions practiced in India – Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. All these religions believe in the concept of Ahimsa, which means kindness and non-violence towards all living things.
The most consumed type of meat worldwide is poultry, followed by beef, and lastly pork. The countries with the highest meat consumption per capita are Argentina, Israel, and Iceland, while India has one of the lowest levels of meat consumption per capita.
Cattle hold a traditional place as objects of reverence in countries such as India. Some Hindus, particularly Brahmins, are vegetarian and strictly abstain from eating meat. All of those who do eat meat abstain from the consumption of beef, as the cow holds a sacred place in Hinduism.
In India, cultural differences are also accountable for variations in meat consumption patterns. In the case of India, the Hindu tradition of non-violence is the major reason for why the country does not consume large amounts of meat (Hindu ethic of nonviolence, 1996).
India is the leading country when it comes to the share of vegetarians amongst its population. Almost a quarter of respondents from Indian were following a vegetarian diet according to four surveys carried out in 2022 and 2023.
For example, Hindu texts often praise vegetarianism, and Hindus may also avoid eating beef because cows are traditionally viewed as sacred. Muslim teachings, meanwhile, prohibit pork.
Traditionally, the Chinese do not eat beef because the cow is considered a sacred animal and a holy incarnation of the Goddess of Mercy. Much like the Hindus, they believe that the cow is a gift from the gods, providing life nourishing milk, clothing from its hide and a partner to help toil and till the land.
Australia is home to as many as 2.5 million vegans and vegetarians. 6% of the population is vegan. In the last decade, those following plant-based diets have increased by about 50% The east of Australia has the most number of vegans.
Mongolia is not at all apt for vegans and if you are out of the capital city Ulaanbaatar, you can only buy potatoes, wheat, mushrooms and wild strawberries. All the traditional food at Mongolia contains meat or milk. Animals are the only food for Mongolians.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world (36%) followed by poultry (33%), beef (24%), and goats/sheep (5%).
The country that consumes the greatest amount of chicken is the United States. Every year, the United States consumes approximately 15,000 metric tons of chicken, placing it significantly in front of the second-place region.
Sheep meat consumption
According to the OECD, the consumption of sheep's meat—including both lamb and mutton—is most popular in Kazakhstan, Australia, and Turkey.
Muslims do not eat pork or other haram (forbidden) animals. Insofar as meat products go, animals such as cows, veal, lamb, goats, turkeys, chickens, ducks, game birds, bison, and venison are acceptable for consumption, so long as they are slaughtered according to Islamic law.
Blacks had the highest annual total meat consumption (64.2 kg), followed by East Asians (53.6 kg), Whites (46.9 kg), and Hispanics (35.8 kg). Blacks ate significantly more chicken than the other ethnic groups (P < 0.001), and East Asians ate significantly more pork and processed meat (P < 0.001).
Jains nearly universally abstain from meat either fully or partially (97%). Christians and Muslims are the least likely to abide by such dietary restrictions; still, about two-thirds among these groups abstain from meat in some way, including 53% of Muslims and 46% of Christians who abstain from eating certain meats.
HappyCow reports that Melbourne is Australia's culinary capital, with 130 fully vegan establishments listed on HappyCow out of a total of 1000 listings, including non-vegan restaurants that cater to vegans.
The Sunshine Coast is one of the most vegetarian-friendly cities in the world. It has some of the best vegetarian restaurants in the world and is also home to Australia's first vegan grocery store. Vegetarianism is rising, and the Sunshine Coast is one of the best places to be a vegetarian or vegan.
In 2019 a nationally representative survey of Australians found that 35 percent of respondents were vegetarian or vegan for animal welfare reasons. The second most popular response was for health reasons.
An intriguing little detail in all this frothy commerce is that many people in China, like much of Asia, are lactose intolerant. Human children produce an enzyme that allows them to digest milk, but in much of the world, its levels taper off as they grow up.
Buddhist cuisine is an Asian cuisine that is followed by monks and many believers from areas historically influenced by Mahayana Buddhism. It is vegetarian or vegan, and it is based on the Dharmic concept of ahimsa (non-violence).
Unlike many other forms of livestock, pigs are omnivorous scavengers, eating virtually anything they come across, including carrion and refuse, which was deemed unclean. Furthermore, a Middle Eastern society keeping large stocks of pigs could destroy their ecosystem.
Why Balinesse No Eat Beef? Almost every Balinese who is Hindu, who really deepens Hindu spirituality, is very abstain from eating beef. In fact, many Hindu monks do not eat meat from all kinds of animals or lead a vegetarian life.
Sikhs also generally avoid eating beef because the cow, the buffalo and the ox are an integral part of rural Sikh livelihoods. Similarly, they avoid eating pork when they are in the company of Muslims. However, there is no religious prohibition about eating beef and pork.