Join us for a free one-day workshop for educators at the Japanese American National Museum, hosted by the USC U.S.-China Institute and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. This workshop will include a guided tour of the beloved exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community, slated to close permanently in January 2025. Following the tour, learn strategies for engaging students in the primary source artifacts, images, and documents found in JANM’s vast collection and discover classroom-ready resources to support teaching and learning about the Japanese American experience.
Pork consumption in China
June 18, 2007
By Pou In Kuan
ON AN AVERAGE DAY in China, approximately 1,703,975 pigs are consumed. According to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture, Chinese consumed 51 million metric tons of pork in 2006, roughly half of the world’s total pig consumption. The report also states that United States consumed around 8.6 million metric tons last year.
The average weight of a pig is 82 kg, so in 2006, Chinese ate about 621,951,219 pigs. Each of China’s 1.3 billion people consumed, on average, under half a pig. Americans ate 104,878,048 pigs in 2006. With a population of 301,844,000, the average American ate the equivalent of about one-third of a pig during the year.
Pork is such an important part of Chinese diets that a rapid increase in pork prices in spring 2007 lifted May consumer prices 3.4%. Meat, mainly pork, prices rose 26.5% (MacDonald).
Meat consumption has risen dramatically in China over the past two decades. Just since 2003, pork consumption has risen 19% (Du). Pork's centrality to Chinese cooking is reflected in the fact that when people refer to meat, by default they mean pork. On a menu, dishes with pork simply say "meat." If the meat isn't pork, then an additional qualifier (cow - meat for beef, for example) is required.
Sources:
Wayne Du, "Pork Consumption, Production, Import and Export in Selected Countries 1998-2002," Canadian Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, July 2003, <http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/swine/facts/info_qs_selectcountry.htm>.
Joe MacDonald, "Soaring pork prices lift Chinese inflation," San Jose Mercury News, June 11, 2007.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Livestock and Poultry: World Markets & Trade,” April 2007: < http://www.fas.usda.gov/dlp/circular/2007/livestock_poultry_04-2007.pdf> accessed June 18, 2007.
Pou In Kuan is a Journalism student from Washington State University after which she intends to pursue a career in magazines or online media.
Featured Articles
October 20, 2024
October 20, 2024
Please join us for the Grad Mixer! Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, Enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow students across USC Annenberg. Graduate students from any field are welcome to join, so it is a great opportunity to meet fellow students with IR/foreign policy-related research topics and interests.
RSVP link: https://forms.gle/1zer188RE9dCS6Ho6
Events
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 - 3:00pm
Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow international students.
Thursday, November 7, 2024 - 4:00pm
Join us for an in-person conversation on Thursday, November 7th at 4pm with author David M. Lampton as he discusses his new book, Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War. The book examines the history of U.S.-China relations across eight U.S. presidential administrations.