The way I thought about it while trying out vegetarianism was that if a large group of people stop buying animal products, then the demand will decrease and the producers will reduce it’s supply. Looking at a supply and demand graph, if the negative-slope demand shifts to the left, then the equilibrium point is at a smaller supply. However, some economists argue that profits determine supply, and demand is just a factor in supply. I wanted to look at data to see if there had been any difference in meat supply due to the increased amount of vegans and meat-free substitutes.
Where we live, everyone probably knows or knows of at least one vegan. I’ve considered different diets after learning about animal cruelty and the effect the meat industry has on the enviornment, but have always been asked, or asked myself, if those dairy-free, meat-free, and animal product-free diets actually make a difference.
Looking at evidence of the change in animal-product production, per capita meat may decrease from 2018 218.6 pounds to 2019 217.3 pounds. In 2004 it was 221.9 pounds. So, possibly due to the growth of vegans and veganism, the meat consumption has decreased. There are new imitation meat brands such as Impossible and Beyond that offer meat-free options, and are progressing to work on seafood as that’s very damaging to the environment. They could potentially affect the demand while looking at the price of related goods as a substitute, and they may have a correlation with the per capita decrease.
Researching about veganism theories, some vegans acknowledge that their efforts won’t change the animal product use of a generation of animals, but it will thousands of generations later. Looking at the evidence, however, the small changing demand of vegans, so far, is making a difference in supply. The theory of demand having some effect on supply should make sense, and there is evidence of progression. We also don’t have enough data yet to see if there can be generational change, but the increase of vegans and their decreased demand for animal products may already correlate with the consumption of meat, which has gone down.
https://postvegan.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/supply-and-demand/
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ReplyDeleteI like how you brought economics into the discussion of veganism. Online we don't see much of how different lifestyles can affect the market and economy. If people were to continue to eat diets including the same amount of meat, it could cost the US economy between $197 billion and $289 billion each year. Shifting to a meat-free diet would also help meet the standard global dietary guidelines. Even as simply as eating less meat would improve this cost for the US. I do think that in the future, the market will adjust to the demand for more meat-free products and less on animal products.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/03/the-economic-case-for-worldwide-vegetarianism/475524/
It was interesting to read your examination the actual affect of the vegan trend on the supply of animal products. I remember Mr. Stewart talking about this a little and he discussed how in developing countries, as income rises, people increase their consumption of meat and animal products. I wonder how this increasing consumption in developing countries affects the overall consumption as more people are joining the vegan trend.
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