What is the world's most popular meat?

Return to UC Cooperative Extension | Agricultural Experiment Station

I’ll bet a lot of you guessed chicken or pork. Some of you probably thought beef. Surprise! In the United States, we tend to consume chicken as our white meat of choice and beef as our red meat, but 63 percent of the world's population eats goat meat. Interestingly, more and more goat meat is being consumed in the United States and not just as an ethnic dish due to the growing ethnic population. The health-conscious consumer is also looking at the benefits of incorporating either cabrito (a delicacy meat from goats that are harvested between 1 to 3 months of age and weigh less than 50 pounds) or chevon (goats that are harvested between 6 to 9 months of age and weigh between 50 and 75 pounds). Older goat meat is also consumed but usually as sausage or in chili.

Mendocino and Lake livestock producers, especially those who want to sell local, might want to consider adding goats to their mix of cattle and/or sheep. I know some are already ahead of the curve (see our goat producer directory ). Multi-species grazing on our rangelands not only provides economic diversity for the ranch but utilizes our rangeland forages better than single-species grazing. But let’s get back to that health-conscious consumer and why demand for goat meat is growing.

The table below shows the nutrient comparison of goat meat to traditionally raised chicken, beef, pork and lamb.

Nutrient composition of goat and other types of meat^{1, 2}
Nutrient	Goat	Chicken	Beef	Pork	Lamb
Calories	122	162	179	180	175
Fat (g)	2.6	6.3	7.9	8.2	8.1
Saturated Fat (g)	0.79	1.7	3.0	2.9	2.9
Protein (g)	23	25	25	25	24
Cholesterol (mg)	63.8	76.0	73.1	73.1	78.2
¹ Per 3 oz. of cooked meat
² USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 14 (2001)

You can see that goat meat is lower in calories, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol than the other meats. Less saturated fat and less cholesterol mean healthier red meat for the health-conscious consumer. Additionally, goat meat has higher levels of iron (3.2mg) when compared to a similar serving size of beef (2.9 mg), pork (2.7 mg), lamb (1.4 mg), and chicken (1.5 mg). Comparatively, goat meat also contains higher potassium and lower sodium levels. In terms of essential amino acids, goat meat closely resembles beef and lamb.

With these benefits, it’s clear why consumers are developing an interest in eating goat meat.

Posted on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 7:29 AM

Comments: 25

Author: John M Harper

Tags: goat (1), meat (4)

Comments:

bacon is my favorite meat of all the meat there is also ham and pork and that is it.

Posted by mu on December 2, 2014 at 9:57 AM

For me pork meat is number 1.

Posted by DJ on December 25, 2014 at 4:12 AM

Goat meat is nice in a curry try it people

Posted by paul on April 13, 2015 at 11:55 AM

Goat meat is 1000times better than any othe red meats. & In all over the world it holds the position of being most famous red meat. Because there are lots & lots of people who don't consume beef or pork in their country as it is against their ethics & religion , whereas goat meat is so popular as red meat that you can see people consuming it in every corner of the world .

Posted by Sukalyan Mukherjee on July 27, 2015 at 3:37 AM

Nice article

Posted by dante on July 30, 2015 at 11:09 AM

I was looking for some lamb for Chili at a local mexican meat market and he was out but suggested Goat. Hard to tell in a Chili that has a mixture of beef, pork and goat in equal parts but it tasted good to me and my wife. After seeing the health benefits I might start using it more.

Posted by Walt Cullop on January 2, 2016 at 3:31 PM

Team pork!!!!

Posted by Jeff on May 7, 2016 at 10:47 PM

have crow meat its way better than the rest n its the best.

Posted by faizan on May 12, 2016 at 6:12 PM

have crow meat its way better than the rest n its the best.

Posted by faizan on May 12, 2016 at 6:13 PM

10.

A very tasty meat, lean and works well in most dishes but in curries it is supreme. I have heard that this animal is the only one that stores vitamin C in it's body. That needs substantiating.

Posted by David Taylor on September 30, 2016 at 12:02 AM

11.

Pork is the best meat both in terms of flavourful and taste.

Posted by Abhik on November 27, 2016 at 11:35 AM

12.

i love bacon and ham!!

Posted by Emma Kopp on December 5, 2016 at 5:46 PM

13.

Thanks for the great nutritional information!!

Posted by Charles on January 28, 2017 at 7:33 AM

14.

Goat is greatest of all time.

Posted by Martin Sculszik on June 23, 2017 at 1:42 PM

15.

Chicken is #1. I'm Muslim so I do not eat pork. Chicken bacon and chicken ham are also awesome!

Posted by Rabii on July 28, 2017 at 9:21 AM

16.

Meat is a sad food group especially when a lot of people do not like to eat animals. However the consumption of goat over chicken is an amazingly scientific discover.

Posted by David Allen West on July 28, 2017 at 1:16 PM

17.

Insects are the most healthy,nutrient rich and tastiest food sources on the planet.

Posted by INSECTA on October 20, 2017 at 8:02 PM

18.

Goat meat is healthier than most other meats. It's a remedy for weakness of the body. And people associated with sports should have it once in a week or two. It's good for keeping them and their bones healthy and strong.

Posted by Kamakhi Priya Dutta on January 27, 2018 at 2:15 AM

19.

How about fish, or is it just a lot less popular than these other meats? I believe it's very nutritious with a lot less of the bad things than these other meats.

Posted by TequilaMockingbird on August 7, 2018 at 6:21 PM

20.

So delicious. growing up they used to tear Our coats and clothes. I’ve should of ate them first

Posted by Got Goat on January 14, 2019 at 4:59 PM

21.

myth busted • goat meat is not the most consumed meat in the world • neither is goat meat eaten by the most people in the world • nor is goat milk the most consumed milk in the world … there simply are not that many goats in the world, not by the longest stretch of the imagination • Susan Schoenian • the world’s leading expert on goats (and sheep) University of Maryland Extension, USA

Posted by dirk steyn on July 6, 2019 at 1:51 PM

22.

Hi Dirk,

Thanks for your comment. My blog article was not about goat meat being the "most" consumed meat in the world nor was it about it being the "most" eaten in the world. (Goat meat is one of the more popular meats consumed in developing countries).The purpose of the article was to stimulate interest in goat meat, especially in developed countries like the US. I also wanted to offer opportunities for US livestock producers to reap benefits of multi-species grazing as well as looking at a growing niche meat market. Finally I wanted to offer some information on the nutrient content of goat meat for both consumers and producers.

You'll notice that in my title and introductory paragraph I used the word "popular". The first definition for the word popular is: "liked, admired, or enjoyed by many people or by a particular person or group." (Source: Google Dictionary)

You'll also notice that I wrote "... 63% (2010 numbers, btw) of the world's population eats goat meat." This is based on a couple of references.

First, "Sixty per cent of the global population lives in Asia (4.4 billion), 16 per cent in Africa (1.2 billion), 10 per cent in Europe (738 million), 9 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean (634 million), and the remaining 5 per cent in Northern America (358 million) and Oceania (39 million). China (1.4 billion) and India (1.3 billion) remain the two largest countries of the world, both with more than 1 billion people, representing 19 and 18 per cent of the world’s population, respectively. (Source: UN Population Division).

Second, "The goat belt stretches through Africa, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean. Goats are a staple in the developing world; according to the USDA, three quarters of the global goat population is found in developing countries."

Third, "The largest goat meat consuming country is China at 2.4 million tonnes in 2018 (tonnes is a metric ton, btw) and represents 40% of total consumption. India ranks second, and Pakistan, third. In 2018, the global production of goat meat totaled 5.9 million tonnes. Per capita consumption (kg per 1000 persons) for China in 2018 was 1,628. (Source: World- Goat Meat - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights 2019 Edition (basic). The source cited here is a fascinating and a recommended read and copies can be purchased on-line at: https://www.indexbox.io/blog/which-countries-consume-the-most-goat-meat/.

Again thanks for your comments as it gave me an opportunity to revisit some of the statistics and restate my article's objectives.

BTW, Susan Schoenian is a great resource. Glad you have her in your area. Wish she'd come to California!

Posted by John M Harper on July 10, 2019 at 3:55 PM

23.

It's a misleading click bait. You say "most popular meat in the world" which means not much. if something it's almost totally consumed in china india and pakistan and some other developing countries you can say that it's the most popular meat consumed in THOSE places ( even though the number of chickens and pigs down easily dwarfs the number of goats. Even in those countries, so it's a really tricky prospective the one that you try to sustain). because by number of populations, the rest of the world almost doesn't give a damn about goats.

Ergo, if you want to point out something about goats, just talk about goats without trying to trick people.

Posted by Marco Adreani on July 20, 2019 at 1:49 AM

24.

What about fish?

Posted by Jay on February 25, 2020 at 7:13 AM

25.

Saturated fats and cholesterol are not the problem, your assumptions stem on outdated and misleading science

Posted by Rahul on March 8, 2020 at 9:51 PM

26.

I love ❤️ 🐐 meat! Especially in curries!

Posted by Keri on January 23, 2021 at 5:00 PM

You are currently not signed in. If you have an account, then sign in now! Anonymously contributed messages may be delayed.

Name (required)