China To Cut Meat Consumption in Half by 2030

The Chinese government recently announced a dramatic new plan to decrease the entire country’s meat consumption by 50 percent by the year 2030. The policy change comes after a period of exponential growth in China’s meat market during which many Chinese saw their incomes rise, leading to an increase in the meat-and-dairy-based Standard American Diet. Today, with a population of 1.3 billion, China consumes four times as much meat as it did just three decades ago, and more than twice as much as the entire United States. If successful, the government’s plan would greatly improve the health of China’s citizenry and save millions of lives while radically reducing the country’s carbon footprint.