How Much Meat do we Eat - The Reality Check

We continue to hear the message ‘reduce red meat for health’. Apparently, there is the perception Canadians are eating too much meat. However, if you look at Statistics Canada data, this is a misnomer.

In fact, most Canadians consume a quantity of red meat that is well within Canada’s Food Guide recommendations. As a refresher, the Food Guide advises teen girls and adult women have 2 servings of meat and alternatives a day, whereas it is 3 servings a day for males. A serving of fresh meat is 75 grams.

Let’s look at the data from Statistics Canada surveys to get a handle on how much red meat Canadians actually eat.

The Canadian Community Health Surveys, conducted in 2004 and 2015 using 24-hour dietary recalls, found red meat (fresh and processed) declined 14 grams from 75 grams to 61 grams. On average, Canadians are consuming red and processed meats within the amounts recommended in Canada’s Food Guide. Read Full Article>

Source: Canadian Pork Council