[10] Where’s the beef?

No weekend in Buenos Aires would be complete without the rich smell of grilled meat in the afternoon air. Asado, Argentines' famous barbecues, are popular all over the country. They are cooked in anything from a fancy purpose-built structure with an adjustable grill to a rack over half an oil barrel on a street corner.

Argentina has often had the world's highest per-capita beef consumption. From the country's iconic gauchos, the horseback cowboys and their enormous herds on the pampas, to premium leather handbags, Argentinian culture is closely linked to cattle farming.

However, according to the Rosario Board of Trade, beef consumption in Argentina has been falling — in 2021, it reached 47.8 kilograms per person for that year, the lowest figure since 1920. Less beef is being produced, too. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that Argentina produced 3.02 million tonnes of beef and veal in 2022 — a drop of more than five per cent compared to 2020.

Meat-free diets are growing in popularity around the world, also in Argentina. The Buenos Aires Province College of Nutritionists estimated that 12 per cent of the country's adult population was vegan or vegetarian in 2020, up three percentage points from 2019. Since 2017, the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, has offered meat-free Mondays in the canteen, and in August 2022, the government announced improved labelling rules for vegetarian and vegan foods.

A question of economics

However, interest in vegetarianism is not the main reason why Argentines are eating less beef. Actually, surveys suggest that many are turning to other sources of animal protein, such as chicken and fish. The real reason is a much more worrying trend: an increasing number of Argentines are poor and cutting back on meat because they can't afford it any more. In the second half of 2020, during one of the world's longest Covid lockdowns, the poverty rate passed 42 per cent, up from 25.7 per cent just three years earlier. These numbers reflect a deep recession that began well before the pandemic.

Since the worst of the year 2020, the economy has recovered somewhat, but its continued recovery depends on sticking to a 30-month plan to repay a record $44 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This involves some deeply unpopular measures, such as the removal of subsidies for basic goods and a freeze on public-sector hiring.

In an effort to bring down the price of beef, the government has banned the export of certain meat cuts until 2024. With annual inflation over 100 per cent early in 2023, that makes little difference. However, despite these challenges, the aroma of asado continues to fill the streets of Buenos Aires — and it seems unlikely that this scent will disappear any time soon.