For the past decade, cattle ranchers and meat packers watched with despair as America's beef consumption steadily declined, ceding ground to leaner meats, vegetarian diets and lower-cost dishes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 2011 U.S. per capita beef consumption at 57.6 pounds, down 13 percent from 10 years ago and down about 25 percent from 1980. In 2012, the USDA predicts, Americans will eat 54.1 pounds of beef on average.
The beef industry is coping with these changes by developing new cuts that will satisfy appetites for steaks but at a lower cost. Also, it has benefited from a huge recovery in beef exports, particularly to Asia and Russia, where consumers are upgrading their diets and concerns about mad cow disease fade.
Beef companies such as Tyson Foods Inc., JBS SA, Cargill Inc., and National Beef Packing Co. are carving up beef carcasses in interesting new ways. Carcass portions that were once meant for ground meat or roasts, such as rounds and chucks, are now sliced into cheaper cuts of steaks.
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