Hungry, Hungry Customers

The world’s growing appetite for meat fuels animal ag’s appetite for soy.

A growing number of people around the world are eating more meat today than in years past. As the global population and individual incomes rise, so, too, does demand for meat, which translates into more demand for quality animal feed such as U.S. soybean meal.

“Soy is the leading source of protein used in animal diets,” explains Laura Foell, a United Soybean Board (USB) farmer-leader from Schaller, Iowa. “Other countries are working to increase their livestock and poultry industries to meet demand, so the U.S. soy industry will benefit from exports of soybean meal to other countries.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), for every extra dollar an individual in a developing country earns nearly 40 cents go to diet improvement. This often translates to including meat in the diet and eating it more often.

“Global meat demand has been increasing probably 3 to 4 percent a year, but gains in developing countries have been approximately 60 percent of that demand,” says Nancy Morgan, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) liaison to the World Bank and senior livestock economist. “Food consumption is increasing more than population growth because of growing incomes increasing the demand for food. And demand for livestock products is growing faster than almost any other agricultural commodity.”

The FAO estimates that in 2010 global meat demand reached 290 million tons and predicts demand will rise by 20 percent over the next decade. In addition, the FAO projects global meat demand to increase by 70 percent by 2050, as the global population could reach 9 billion.

“We have the strongest growth in meat and dairy consumption in Asia,” explains Morgan. “Interestingly enough, their production was really keeping pace with consumption gains. The challenge for China is that the resource base isn’t conducive to the expansion in feed grains. So the question is whether they are going to import their feed or their meat products.”

U.S. meat and egg exports will be needed to fill the gap as these developing countries work to meet demand for quality poultry and meat. And U.S. soybeans will be needed to provide a reliable source of protein in feed for poultry and livestock both here in the United States and abroad.

“The U.S. soybean industry will need to work with poultry and livestock producers globally to make sure that we continue to provide abundant protein for a growing global population”, adds Foell.