Filipinos Are Eating A Lot Less Meat During the Pandemic, According to Study

The pandemic has changed a lot of things—and that includes what we've been eating these days. While food trends have surged, one that's down according to a new study is meat.

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The Global Agricultural Information Network report, prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila, says the demand for beef has gone down.

Just how significant is the drop? Very. According to the report, local beef production's slaughter rates are down by 21 percent, while inventory is up one percent. It's not all bad news, however, as beef production and imports are expected to recover in 2021 as soon as the demand from restaurants and tourism begins.

Along with meat, rice production has also suffered. But, the Philippines is still exceeding two million metric tons which isn't bad at all.

“Post lowers its forecast for MY20/21 rice imports by 13.3 percent [compared to USDA Official] to 2.6 million MT, as increased domestic production will meet a larger share of consumption. Sources note that higher prices for rice from Vietnam, the Philippines’s largest supplier, will likely bring down overall imports,” the report said.

Makes you wonder what people are eating nowadays.