The economists have been telling us for more than a year that the recession is finished, but no one believed them. The media and the Obama Administration have been claiming for months that the economy is getting better, but unemployment remains high.

Finally, some news that may truly indicate that economic times are improving and that consumer confidence is slowly returning. The proof cannot be found in Labor Department statistics or stock market averages, but can rather be found at the meat case in your local grocery store. Net spending at the grocery meat counter is rising for the first time in three years, according to the sixth annual The Power of Meat Study released last week.

In 2009, more than 50 percent of shoppers said they had cut back on meat purchases or changed the kind and cuts of meat they bought because of worsening economic conditions. In this latest study, that figure dropped to 36 percent.

The number of consumers who were cutting back on meat purchased at both grocery stores and restaurants fell by 17 percent from a year earlier. But, the recession seems to have had some impact on consumer choices. While the meat buyers are back, they have changed their buying habits.
According to the report, shoppers are paying attention to the Country of Origin labels. The program has been in effect for three years, and the labels are impacting meat choices.

Price has always been a primary driver of meat choices, but today it is a bigger factor than ever. Fully three-quarters of shoppers reported that they research meat deals either before going to the store by means of a circular or specials posted online or in the store.

Something that is not impacting meat buying is the fad of “meatless Mondays.”
Less than 20 percent said they would be willing to give up meat in a meal as part of a healthy lifestyle choice. When asked how they planned to make healthier choices, the majority indicated reducing portion sizes and looking for low-salt alternatives.

The report indicated that shoppers prepare an average of four home-cooked meals containing a meat or poultry item per week. But while home-cooked meals made a strong comeback, shoppers don’t necessarily know how to cook meat and poultry. Less than half consider themselves very knowledgeable in areas such as cooking meat, poultry and seafood; and significant numbers admit room for improvement on things like picking sides that match the meat’s flavor. Many indicated they were not sure what the USDA grading system for meat meant.

While “foodies” get a lot of attention and food and cooking networks have big audiences, the truth is there are still a lot of people who are clueless about what to do in the kitchen.

As their discretionary meat dollars increase, consumers are not opting for more expensive “organic” or “natural” cuts of meat. The research indicated that 1 in 5 shoppers bought organic or natural meat products believing they were healthier. This number, however, has not changed from last year.
Consumers have, however, made changes in what meat they buy.
Chicken consumption remains strong. U.S. chicken consumption rebounded last year as chicken companies increased output and U.S. chicken exports ran into a number of roadblocks, most notably in Russia.

U.S. per capita chicken consumption in 2010 was about 82 pounds.
Chicken often does well during tough economic times, but as the economy comes back beef and pork sales continue to lag.

U.S. per capita beef consumption in 2010 was 59.7 pounds, the lowest level since1955. U.S. per capita pork consumption fell by 2.2 pounds in 2010 to 48.0 pounds, according to the CME Daily Livestock Report.

That’s the lowest annual figure since 1997. The pork industry is launching a new consumer advertising program this week, so hopefully this will begin to make an impact on U.S. pork sales.

Food decisions are about the most basic economic decisions we make every day. These choices are made partly on information and partly on emotion. Watching what people buy and how people buy food is a real clue as to what is really going on in our economy.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.