Survey: Brazil’s meat consumption plummeted 67% in pandemic; eggs are substitute

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rising food prices have forced Brazilians to juggle between meals. It has become increasingly common to reduce the consumption of some items or exchange them for less expensive ones.

This scenario was examined in a Datafolha Institute survey, released on Monday, September 20, in Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.

In the survey, conducted between September 13 and 15, 85% of Brazilians said they had reduced their consumption of foods such as beef, soft drinks, juices, and dairy products.

Instead of meat, eggs have been widely used as the main source of protein, particularly for families most impacted by the loss of income generated by the increase in unemployment during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the survey, 67% of respondents reduced their consumption of red meat; 51% of soft drinks and juices; and 46% of milk, cheese, and yogurt.

The survey also shows that the use of French bread, flat bread, and other types of bread was reduced by up to 41%.

Rice and beans, a symbol of Brazilian meals, were also impacted, with a 34% and 36% reduction in consumption, respectively. Pasta suffered an even greater drop – 38%.

Eggs, an item that has become the daily protein, registered two parallel phenomena: 50% of respondents increased their consumption of the product, and another 20% reduced it. This is indicative of the replacement of items from the basic food basket, according to the survey.

There was no major difference between the percentage of people who reduced their consumption of food items by age or education, according to Datafolha – all with an average of 85%.

By income bracket, the rates are high also in households with incomes above 10 minimum salaries: 67% said they had cut some of these products. At the bottom of the social pyramid, comprising people who earn up to 2 salaries, the rate reaches 88%.

Among the country’s regions, the rate reaches 75% in the South, and 89% in the Northeast.

The differences are also noticeable among men (82%) and women (87%); blacks (91%) and whites (82%); and among people who rate the Bolsonaro government as good (73%) and bad (89%).