A Study On Meat Consumption Among The Chinese Youth

This dissertation aims to explore the nature,determinants,and dynamics of meat consumptions of the Chinese university students as youth consumers.Since the beginning of the 1978 economic reforms,China has gone through a process of structural transformations.There has been a radical socioeconomic and demographic shift in China.One of the key areas for such transformation is the agriculture.In this regard,the livestock sector is not an exception.Animal meats and meat products are the important sources of proteins for the large segments of the Chinese populations.There has reportedly been a ‘meat industry revolution' in China.More specifically,the meat sector has witnessed a radical change in its scale,effects and levels of production,consumption and trade.This study is about the determinants and dynamics of consumptions of pork,beef,chicken and mutton.To demonstrate why the meat consumptions of the youth deserve special academic attention,it must be put in its appropriate context.Because of income growth,urbanization,and industrial development,dietary structure of many emerging countries such as China have changed.The direction of such change is from rice and wheat-based cereals to animal-based proteins and meats products consumptions.since the 2007-2008 global economic recessions,China has been going through a slow economic growth,a phenomenon commonly known as the ‘new normal' growth.Through the execution of the 13 th Five-year plan(2016-2020),China is making efforts to get rid of the economic slowdown.The ‘new normal' has become an essential logic in the overall situation and the entire process.Also,China has the problems of poverty,income inequality,southern-northern disparities and rural-urban gaps.Against this backdrop,in 2013,China introduced the ‘Belt and Road' Initiative(BRI)that is composed of two major components including the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21 century Maritime Silk Road.This study contributes to the literature by exploring the factors that are crucial in understanding the attitude and behaviors of the Chinese youth.We collected data from the direct interviews of 360 students situated in a couple of universities at the northern province of Shaanxi.The empirical results revealed that the main factors were intrinsic attributes: taste,color,flavor,and appearance;while the extrinsic attribute was the price of meats.China's demography,urbanization,socioeconomic status,family structure,religion,and habits-all these emerged as the key drivers.The youth consumers were found to be aware of the health hazards related to the consumptions of meats.High fat,obesity,fatigue,blood pressure,cancer,diabetics,and cardiovascular diseases are the chief public health concerns and risks.Furthermore,we collected the data from a relatively larger sample size up to 833 consumers through an online questionnaire.Consumers' age,marital status,family income,household size,price,and cultural values were sorted out as the important extrinsic attributes.The majority of the surveyed youth consumed the various kinds of animal meats on a daily basis,and felt ‘pleasant' whenever they consumed meats.A section of the youth consumers expressed their grave concerns for environmental pollutions in connections to the rearing of animals,human health hazards,and animal welfare issues.Nonetheless,their nutritional knowledge appeared to be insufficient and younger males seemed to prefer meats to females did.A few health-conscious consumers prefer vegetables rather than animal products.The conclusion paves the way for future research in the fields of agricultural and consumer economy.