The Most Consumed Meat In The World Isn't Chicken Or Beef

When you think of meat, what first comes to mind? A juicy hand-cut burger or a thick ribeye served up rare? Or what about a simple but delicious roasted whole chicken? If you live in the U.S., your mind likely went there since beef and chicken are the two most-consumed meats in the country. But when taking the entire world into account, both of these sources of protein play second and third fiddle to pork.

According to the USDA, the world population eats more pork than any other meat, with pork accounting for 36% of total meat consumption. Chicken is a nearby second at 33%, with beef bringing up the rear at 24%. Goats and sheep are eaten with much less frequency, representing just 5% together of the world's total meat consumption.

If this is surprising information, you should consider that pork is the number one meat source in China, which currently has a population of 1.4 billion people, who on average are eating pork up to five times a week. This is included in dishes such as char siu pork, sweet and sour pork, and as part of the filling in dumplings and dim sum.

South Korea is another country where pork is the main meat consumed. Koreans aren't only just eating bacon or ham, either — they get creative with dishes like grilled pork belly, pork bulgogi, pork ribs, pig's feet, and even using pork in blood sausage. Another market that contributes to pork's worldwide supremacy is Italy. It's so interesting how different countries with their own culinary traditions use the same ingredient to make such vastly different dishes, and that is the case between Korea and Italy. Italians are famous for their porchetta, a fatty, salty pork roast, as well as cured, paper-thin slices of prosciutto.

Finally, while pork does come in third in the U.S. for most-consumed meats, the average American eats over 65 pounds per year. While that's nowhere close to Italy's 76 pounds per person or South Korea's 91 pounds per person. The U.S. population is 347 million, which is about five times more than Italy's, and six times larger than South Korea's. Thus, America ranks third in overall world pork consumption, though the meat still trails behind chicken and beef in popularity.