Argentinians are Latin America's Top Carnivores
Argentines consume 110kg of meat annually, #3 globally, fueled by their unique Asado culture.
Argentinians eat more meat than any other country in Latin America, and more than twice as much as their Uruguayan neighbors.
An average Argentinean consumes 110 kilograms of meat annually, or 300 grams per day. This is enough to make them the #1 carnivore in Latin America and #3 in the world. Why is this the case? They have one of the most prominent and unique meat cultures in the world.
Argentinean barbecues are called "Asados," a word they use to refer to both the gathering and the meal itself. Asados are famously abundant, with men eating around 800g of meat and women around 600g, meaning that ample kilos of meat are cooked in every Asado.
This being said, we can only imagine hundreds of thousands of Asados will take place all over Argentina during the world cup final this Sunday.
The tradition goes back hundreds of years, with Spanish conquistadors introducing old-world cattle into the region in the 16th century. Such livestock needed tending, giving rise to gauchos, the Argentinean version of cowboys. Gauchos mastered the art of grilling and gave birth to the Asado culture in their itinerant campfires across modern-day Argentina.
Nowadays, Argentina exports an estimated 1.8B pounds of meat a year. This comprises 7.6% of the world's meat exports and makes them the 5th largest exporter and the 2nd largest in Latin America, only behind Brazil, the #1 exporter in the world and a much larger country.
So, who produces all of this meat? Production is carried out by small, independent ranchers, mostly. There are around 100K meat producers in the country, and the 15 biggest account for only 6% of the total production.