The meat industry is thriving as more Americans become health-focused, but some people are more critical of this shift.
An increasing number of Americans have reported incorporating meat-based proteins, such as pork, poultry and red meat, into their diets. The Food Industry Association revealed the numbers that have resulted in record-high sales for the meat industry, with a total of $112 billion in 2025.
From the organization:
More than 98% of American households purchase meat (Circana), and 45% of shoppers are actively trying to prepare more meals containing meat or poultry. Of the five dinners shoppers prepare at home per week on average, 90% already contain a portion of meat and/or poultry (source: 210 Analytics).
Millennials and Gen Z shoppers accounted for 67% of unit growth (Circana), and they are more likely than other shoppers to be actively trying to prepare more meals containing meat or poultry (Gen Z 50%, Millennials 57%). In 81% of households with children, kids have some level of influence on meat and poultry purchase decisions. Seventy-two percent of shoppers with teens at home say their teens request meat and poultry, far ahead of requests for protein bars, shakes and powders.
While this may sound like a good thing, health experts are cautioning people against “overfixating on protein in general and meat-based sources of it in particular,” according to NBC News.
Tufts University nutritionist Erin Hennessy is among those calling for balance.
“Protein isn’t bad for you,” she said. “But protein intake and health, especially as it relates to an individual, is not a linear relationship, and that’s the misperception that people have.”
She noted that there are groups that may require a higher protein intake, such as the elderly/aging, people on GLP-1 medications, pregnant women, and those looking to lose weight.
Yale Medicine cardiologist Dr. Sarah C. Hull says that saturated fats are a drawback commonly found in red meat.
“Saturated fat we’ve known about for decades,” she said, adding that “all mammalian meat tends to be very inflammatory.”
“More recently we’ve come to understand that the many pro-inflammatory compounds found in red meat” have negative reactions within the body, “such as deleterious interactions with the gut microbiome,” Hull noted.
While the Meat Institute has rejected the “evidence implicating meat consumption in adverse cardiometabolic outcomes” as “low quality,” Hull disagrees.
“This is the same tactic the tobacco industry used to try to undermine the overwhelming, albeit largely observational, data demonstrating the grave dangers of smoking.” Now, there is “extensive” evidence that supports “the benefits of a whole-food, plant-forward diet that reduces consumption of red meat and highly processed foods.”
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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