Picture a butcher counter in Buenos Aires on a Sunday afternoon. The line stretches out the door, everyone waiting for their share of the asado cuts that will go on the grill that night.
Now picture a similar Sunday in a country where meat barely features in the weekly shop at all. Same planet, wildly different plates.
Red meat consumption varies more by country than almost any other dietary habit, and so does the chronic disease burden that researchers have spent decades trying to untangle from it.
Some of the world’s biggest meat-eating nations also carry some of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. Others seem to defy the pattern, at least on paper, thanks to genetics, overall diet quality, or healthcare access muddying the picture.
This list pulls together consumption data from the Food and Agriculture Organization’s food balance sheets and disease outcome data referenced by the Our World in Data meat and health project, alongside national health surveys, to show which countries eat the most red meat per person and what that has coincided with health-wise.
Key Takeaways
- The countries with the highest per-capita red meat consumption cluster heavily in South America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Central Asia.
- High red meat intake correlates with elevated rates of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease in most, though not all, of these countries.
- Diet quality overall, not red meat in isolation, seems to explain some of the outliers where consumption is high but disease rates are moderate.
- Public health bodies including the WHO have classified processed red meat as carcinogenic and unprocessed red meat as probably carcinogenic, based on the accumulated evidence.
- Several governments on this list are now actively encouraging lower meat intake through official dietary guidelines, a shift covered in more detail elsewhere on this site.
How This List Was Built
Red meat here means beef, pork, lamb, and goat, tracked in kilograms per person per year using FAO food balance sheet estimates, which are the most consistent cross-country dataset available.
Health outcomes draw on age-standardised rates of colorectal cancer, ischemic heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, pulled from national and international public health reporting.
Two things worth saying up front. First, correlation is not causation.
Countries with high meat intake often also have specific patterns of smoking, alcohol use, obesity, and healthcare access that independently shape disease rates. Second, these numbers shift year to year, so treat them as a recent snapshot rather than a fixed ranking.
Even with those caveats, the overall shape of the data is consistent enough to be genuinely informative.
The 14 Countries, Ranked by Red Meat Consumption
These are ordered from highest per-capita red meat consumption downward, based on the most recent comparable FAO figures.
1. Argentina
Argentina has topped or near-topped global red meat consumption tables for decades, with per-capita intake often exceeding 40 kilograms a year, driven almost entirely by beef. Asado culture runs deep here; grilled beef is a weekly ritual, not an occasional treat.
Argentina’s cardiovascular disease mortality rate is among the higher figures in Latin America, and colorectal cancer incidence has been climbing steadily. Public health researchers there have specifically flagged red and processed meat intake as a contributing factor worth addressing in national dietary guidance.
2. Australia
Australians eat a lot of beef and lamb, with per-capita red meat consumption regularly landing in the high 30s to low 40s in kilograms annually. The barbecue is practically a national symbol.
Australia has relatively strong healthcare infrastructure, which complicates simple comparisons, but colorectal cancer incidence remains one of the highest in the world. The Australian government’s own dietary guidelines now explicitly recommend capping red meat intake, a notable shift from decades past.
3. United States
The US sits consistently near the top of consumption tables, with beef and pork intake combining for roughly 35 to 40 kilograms per person a year. Burgers, steaks, and bacon are deeply embedded in everyday American eating.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the US, and while diet is only one factor among many including inactivity and processed food intake broadly, red and processed meat consumption has been repeatedly linked to that burden in large cohort studies referenced by the American Heart Association.
4. Uruguay
Uruguay shares Argentina’s beef-heavy culinary tradition and often trails its neighbor by only a small margin in per-capita consumption, frequently landing above 35 kilograms annually.
Uruguay’s cardiovascular disease rates track closely with regional patterns, and the country has seen rising attention to colorectal cancer screening as incidence has grown alongside sustained high meat intake.
5. New Zealand
New Zealand’s per-capita red meat consumption, dominated by lamb and beef, typically sits in the low-to-mid 30s in kilograms per year, reflecting the country’s strong pastoral farming identity.
New Zealand reports some of the highest colorectal cancer rates recorded anywhere, a statistic health authorities there have publicly discussed in relation to dietary patterns, prompting updated national nutrition guidance.
6. Brazil
Brazil’s sheer population size makes its total meat consumption enormous, and per-capita figures generally sit in the high 20s to low 30s in kilograms, with churrasco barbecue culture a major driver.
Brazil shows a rising trend in cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer, particularly in urban areas where meat consumption tends to be even higher than the national average, alongside increasing intake of processed foods generally.
7. Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s traditional diet leans heavily on beef, horse meat, and mutton, with per-capita red meat consumption estimates often in the high 20s in kilograms annually, reflecting a pastoral, meat-centered food culture.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Kazakhstan, and the country has among the higher rates in Central Asia, a pattern health ministries there have connected to both dietary fat intake and smoking prevalence.
8. Chile
Chile’s per-capita red meat consumption sits in the mid-to-high 20s in kilograms, with beef and pork both prominent, and consumption has trended upward over recent decades as incomes have risen.
Chile has seen a notable rise in colorectal cancer incidence over the past twenty years, tracking alongside dietary shifts toward more meat and processed food, according to Chilean Ministry of Health surveillance data.
9. Spain
Spain’s per-capita red meat intake, especially pork through jamón and chorizo traditions, typically lands in the mid-20s in kilograms annually, though it’s often offset by high fish, olive oil, and vegetable intake within the broader Mediterranean pattern.
Spain’s cardiovascular disease mortality is comparatively lower than many countries on this list despite high meat intake, a divergence researchers frequently attribute to the protective elements of the wider Mediterranean diet rather than red meat itself being harmless.
10. Germany
Germany’s pork-heavy diet puts per-capita red meat consumption in the mid-20s in kilograms per year, with sausages and cold cuts forming a daily staple in many households.
Germany has moderate-to-high colorectal cancer incidence by European standards, and national health bodies have specifically cited processed pork products as an area of dietary concern in recent public guidance.
11. Israel
Israel’s red meat consumption has risen substantially in recent decades and now sits in the low-to-mid 20s in kilograms per person, alongside high poultry intake that remains the more dominant meat overall.
Israel has seen increasing rates of colorectal cancer and metabolic syndrome that health officials have partly linked to broader dietary westernization, including rising red and processed meat intake alongside sugar consumption.
12. Russia
Russia’s per-capita red meat consumption sits around the low 20s in kilograms annually, with beef and pork both common, though intake dipped sharply after the Soviet collapse before recovering over the 2000s and 2010s.
Russia continues to report some of the highest cardiovascular disease mortality rates in the world, a burden researchers attribute to a combination of diet, high alcohol consumption, and smoking rather than meat intake alone.
13. South Africa
South Africa’s red meat consumption, mostly beef, sits in the high teens to low 20s in kilograms per person, with braai culture playing a similar cultural role to Argentina’s asado.
South Africa faces a rising double burden of both cardiovascular disease and diet-related type 2 diabetes, with public health researchers there noting increasing red meat and processed food intake as part of a broader nutrition transition in urban populations.
14. Canada
Canada rounds out this list with per-capita red meat consumption generally in the high teens to low 20s in kilograms, beef and pork both featuring prominently in the national diet.
Canada’s rates of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease are moderate by global standards, but Canadian dietary guidelines revised in recent years now explicitly recommend shifting toward plant-based protein sources, citing both health and other considerations.
What the Pattern Actually Shows
Line up all fourteen countries and a rough trend emerges: nations with sustained high red meat intake generally report elevated colorectal cancer incidence, and many also carry a heavier cardiovascular disease burden than lower-consumption peers.
The World Health Organization’s own assessment classifies processed red meat as carcinogenic to humans and unprocessed red meat as probably carcinogenic, based on the weight of accumulated epidemiological evidence, not a single study.
But Spain is the clear exception worth sitting with. High pork consumption paired with comparatively low cardiovascular mortality suggests that the surrounding dietary pattern, in this case the broader Mediterranean framework of olive oil, legumes, vegetables, and fish, matters enormously.
Red meat intake doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens inside a whole eating pattern, and that pattern can amplify or blunt the associated risks considerably.
It’s also worth noting how many governments on this list have already responded. Several countries have moved from suggestion to formal policy, revising national dietary guidelines to actively recommend less red meat, not just as an environmental measure but as a direct response to this chronic disease data.
Why Consumption Keeps Climbing Despite the Data
Given the associations outlined above, it might seem strange that global red meat consumption is still rising overall, even as awareness of the health data grows. Rising incomes in middle-income countries, cultural traditions tied to meat as a marker of prosperity, and the sheer convenience of meat-centered fast food all play a role.
Our related piece on the reasons global meat consumption keeps rising unpacks this tension in more depth.
For readers looking to shift the balance on their own plate without losing flavour or protein, plant-based staples like lentils are an easy starting point.
They’re inexpensive, freeze well, and take on flavour easily; our guide to microwaving lentils and this red lentil soup recipe are both practical entry points if you’re building more plant-forward meals into a weekly rotation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is red meat consumption the sole cause of the disease rates listed here?
No. Every country on this list has its own combination of smoking rates, alcohol consumption, overall diet quality, physical activity levels, and healthcare access, all of which shape chronic disease outcomes alongside red meat intake. The data shows a strong association in most cases, not a single isolated cause.
Why does Spain have high meat consumption but comparatively better cardiovascular outcomes?
Researchers generally attribute this to the surrounding Mediterranean dietary pattern, which is high in olive oil, legumes, vegetables, and fish, and appears to offset some of the cardiovascular risk associated with meat intake elsewhere. It doesn’t mean red meat is risk-free in that context, just that the whole diet matters.
How is red meat different from processed meat in this kind of research?
Red meat refers to unprocessed beef, pork, lamb, and goat, while processed meat includes items like bacon, sausages, and deli meats that have been cured, smoked, or salted. The World Health Organization classifies processed meat as carcinogenic and unprocessed red meat as probably carcinogenic, treating them as related but distinct categories.
Which country actually eats the most red meat per person?
Based on the most recent comparable FAO food balance sheet data, Argentina consistently ranks at or near the top globally, driven by its deeply embedded beef and asado culture.
Are any of these countries actively trying to reduce red meat consumption?
Yes. Several, including Australia, Germany, and Canada, have revised national dietary guidelines in recent years to recommend lower red meat intake, citing both chronic disease evidence and other considerations.