Global Meat Supply Has Quadrupled – But Africa’s Plate Still Looks Thin
In a Harare township butchery, a mother buys a handful of chicken backs and bones, stretching a few dollars to flavour a pot of sadza and vegetables for six people. On the same day, a supermarket in Toronto runs a special on family-sized meat packs, stacked high in cooled aisles. Both families live in a world where global meat and animal food production has soared. Their plates tell very different stories.
A new study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) shows that global supply of terrestrial animal source food (TASF) has expanded dramatically over the past six decades, but access remains highly uneven. While some regions now enjoy abundant and diverse meat, milk, and eggs, others — including much of sub-Saharan Africa — are stuck with stagnating per capita supply.
The report, titled Drivers of supply and demand of terrestrial animal source food – An evidence and policy overview on the state of knowledge and gaps, examines how the food environment shapes both supply and demand for TASF, from small grazing herds to intensive poultry units.
Six Decades Of Growth: Poultry Leads The Charge
FAO’s analysis covers products derived from mammals, birds, and insects — everything from beef and milk to poultry, pork, eggs, and edible insects.
Between 1961 and 2022, global supply rose steeply:
- Meat: from about 71 million tonnes to 361 million tonnes;
- Milk: from approximately 342 million tonnes to 930 million tonnes;
- Eggs: from about 15 million tonnes to 94 million tonnes.
Poultry meat showed the most dramatic jump, growing by around five times over the period. Eggs and pig meat nearly doubled. Bovine meat (from cattle and related species) stayed stable or even declined in many regions.
Data on insects as food are thinner, but FAO notes that roughly 1 900 species are known to be eaten, mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
FFA Explainer:
Terrestrial animal source food (TASF) includes meat, milk, eggs, and edible insects produced on land. These foods are dense in protein and key micronutrients, and play a vital role in child growth, brain development, and maternal health when consumed in moderate amounts as part of a diverse diet.
Asia Produces The Most – But Doesn’t Eat The Most
Asia has emerged as the world’s largest producer of terrestrial animal foods, followed by Europe. Yet high production does not automatically mean generous servings on every plate.
Per capita supply — how much is effectively available per person — remains highest in Northern America. Asia, despite its leading production volumes, has relatively low availability per person because of its vast population and internal disparities.
Sub-Saharan Africa stands out for a different reason. FAO notes that per capita supply of TASF in the region has been largely stagnant, with only modest gains in a few countries. Kenya’s milk sector and South Africa’s poultry industry are cited as limited bright spots; many other countries have seen little change in average availability over decades.
For families in rural Mangwe, Murehwa, or Mchinji, that stagnation looks like meat as a once- or twice-a-week item, eggs reserved for sale, and milk diluted to stretch further. Meanwhile, rising incomes and urban lifestyles in other parts of the world have driven higher and often more regular consumption.
Food Loss, Waste, And The Cold Chain Gap
The report stresses that production is only half the picture. Food loss and waste carve away a significant portion of what farms and factories produce, including in the livestock sector.
FAO estimates that about one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted. For terrestrial animal foods, around 14 percent is lost along the chain. Because meat, milk, and eggs are highly perishable, losses are closely tied to weak cold chains and poor temperature control.
Those problems are sharpest in low- and middle-income countries — precisely where TASF consumption is already low. In parts of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique, lack of reliable refrigeration means smallholders struggle to get milk and meat to market before they spoil, while urban retailers face power cuts that can ruin stock.
FFA Explainer:
The “cold chain” is the refrigerated network that keeps perishable foods at safe temperatures from farm to plate. It includes on-farm cooling tanks, insulated transport, cold rooms at markets and shops, and reliable electricity. Weak links at any stage increase losses and food safety risks.
International trade, which might offset some of these constraints, still plays a limited role. Despite rising volumes, FAO says traded TASF accounts for only about 10 percent of global consumption, and even less in many developing countries. Most people still rely primarily on what is produced, processed, and preserved within their own borders.
The Food Environment: What Reaches The Plate, And At What Price?
FAO’s study goes beyond tonnages to look at food environments — the conditions that shape everyday dietary choices. This includes what types of animal products are sold, how they are marketed, their prices relative to incomes, and how easy they are to prepare safely.
Available evidence, though patchy, suggests a troubling pattern: higher-fat meat and dairy products are often more accessible and affordable than leaner or otherwise healthier options. Burgers, processed meats, and full-fat dairy may undercut fresh fish, lean cuts, or nutrient-focused products in both price and visibility.
Policy emphasis also differs sharply by income level:
- High- and upper-middle-income countries tend to focus on food safety, quality standards, and marketing regulation.
- Low- and lower-middle-income countries prioritise boosting production, improving availability, and lowering prices to enhance affordability and self-sufficiency.
For Zimbabwe, that second set of priorities is familiar. Under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), government is backing growth in poultry, beef, and dairy to close protein gaps, while also grappling with feed costs, disease control, and access to finance for smallholders.
Livestock’s Double-Edged Role: Nourishing People, Pressuring Planet
In their foreword to the report, FAO Deputy Director-General Godfrey Magwenzi and FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero strike a careful balance.
“The many breeds and species of livestock on our planet can thrive in a wide range of environments, particularly in areas less suited or unsuitable for crop production, and contribute to a wide variety of healthy diets,” they write.
“However, to optimize this contribution to human and planetary health, the livestock sector must address a range of challenges.”
Those challenges cover three broad fronts:
- Environmental pressures: deforestation, land-use change, greenhouse gas emissions, unsustainable land and water use, pollution, and competition between food and feed crops.
- Herd and system management: low productivity, overgrazing, and poor animal welfare in many settings.
- Health and social issues: zoonotic and foodborne diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and inequities in who benefits from livestock growth.
For African countries, these trade-offs are immediate. Expanding poultry and dairy can improve child nutrition and rural incomes, yet if done through poorly planned expansion into fragile rangelands or wetlands, it can speed up degradation and climate vulnerability.
Where Does This Leave African Farmers And Consumers?
FAO’s findings pose a hard question for governments from Pretoria to Harare to Abuja: how to increase access to nutrient-dense animal foods for those who need them most, without repeating the environmental and health mistakes seen elsewhere.
Several broad directions emerge from the report’s evidence:
- Invest in smallholder productivity, not just volume. Supporting mixed crop–livestock systems, pastoralism, and integrated poultry–crop farms can raise local supply of milk, meat, and eggs while recycling nutrients and maintaining landscapes.
- Fix the cold chain and cut losses. Targeted investment in rural chilling, slaughter facilities, and reliable power can reduce waste of scarce animal foods, especially in countries where per capita supply is already low.
- Shape healthier food environments. Public procurement (for schools and hospitals), labelling, and marketing rules can tilt demand towards safer, less-processed options, while still respecting cultural food preferences.
- Protect rangelands and water. Clear land-use planning and support for climate-smart grazing practices are essential to prevent overgrazing and protect shared resources.
For Zimbabwean farmers raising broilers in Domboshava, milking cows in Wedza, or herding cattle in Matabeleland South, the global numbers may feel distant. Yet they sit inside the same story FAO is telling: livestock is one of the fastest-growing parts of agriculture worldwide, but who benefits, and at what cost, depends entirely on the policies and investments made now.
As the world digests the fact that global meat supply has more than quadrupled in one lifetime, the quiet reality in many African homes remains a thin slice of meat in a big pot of sadza or rice. Closing that gap — wisely and sustainably — is the real challenge behind FAO’s statistics.
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