So far, beef consumption remains steady, analysts said.
Dormant laws in Indian states banning cow-slaughter and beef consumption are now being enforced.
This year, a cow died of B.S.E. and started a panic that has cut beef consumption.
Luxembourgers, who top this chart, are second only to Argentinians in beef consumption.
Beef consumption has been falling in the US since the 1970s, although chicken consumption is way up.
Over the last quarter-century, Japanese beef consumption has tripled -- to about 21 pounds per person annually.
Beef consumption has picked up in Europe and in Canada after initially dropping with the discovery of mad cow disease.
He was talking about his country's declining beef consumption, and its fall as one of the top beef exporters.
Though beef consumption spiked upward during the flush 90's, the longer-term trend is down, and many people will tell you they no longer eat the stuff.
But even the enduring popularity of the hamburger is not enough to counteract the long-term decline in national beef consumption.
And that's just not as compelling as taking a dramatic stand and halting beef consumption in the face of a brain-rotting disease.
