Abstracts - Economie et Consommation

This article aims to describe the role of sheep farming and its contribution to the development of the Algerian steppe region. Sheep meat has a festive character, as it tends to be consumed collectively on specific occasions, whether family or religious. However, sheep production is heavily dependent on pasture resources, which remain insufficient, leading to the challenge of matching meat supply to demand. This sector is moving towards technological modernization (including digital livestock traceability) and securing supply chains for Eid al-Adha. Livestock trading by “maquignons” is the most widespread distribution channel in these steppe regions. It ensures the supply of sheep through internal networks that transport livestock from steppe production areas to urban consumption centers in the north, where slaughterhouses are located.

Meat consumption is the subject of heated societal debates involving environmental impact, human health, animal welfare, and the rise of protein alternatives. Scientific evidence is often partial or oversimplified. The book brings together updated scientific knowledge to clarify these issues through a balanced, accessible and evidence-based approach.
This article outlines the main topics addressed in the book: nutritional value of meat, its role within agro-ecological farming systems, its environmental footprint, and a critical analysis of plant-based and cultured substitutes. It provides a synthetic overview of current scientific evidence and explores prevailing misconceptions that shape public perceptions.

A study conducted by CERESCO for INTERBEV, based on projections by the Institut de l’Élevage, assesses the socio-economic, environmental, and territorial consequences of a 19% decline in the cattle population by 2030. This contraction - equivalent to the loss recorded between 1960 and 2000 - would result in a 20% reduction in finished animals, threatening 37,000 direct and indirect jobs, particularly in rural areas (Massif Central, western France). Permanent grasslands, which cover 44% of the utilized agricultural area, could lose 1.4 million hectares, risking conversion into cultivated land, urbanization, or scrubland, thus impacting landscapes, biodiversity, and carbon storage (up to 64 Mt CO₂ eq released in the most pessimistic scenario).
The trade balance would become negative (–€330 million euros compared to +€740 million euros today), driven by a disconnection between stable consumption (–4.3%) and a sharp decline in production (–18.5%), leading to an increase in meat imports. While domestic greenhouse gas emissions would decrease (–18%), those linked to imports could double (10 Mt CO₂ eq/year), cancelling out any climate gains. The reduction in cattle manure (–18% organic nitrogen) would increase reliance on mineral fertilizers (+18 kt nitrogen), and the loss of grasslands would degrade ecosystem services (biodiversity, soil quality).
This transition raises issues of food sovereignty and territorial resilience, requiring sectoral support to reconcile the ecological transition with the preservation of positive externalities of livestock farming (carbon storage, landscape maintenance).

The 4th Chinese-French International Forum on the Development of the Cattle Industry took place in July 2025 in Changchun, capital of Jilin Province, in Dongbei. The event, which marked the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Chinese-French Center for Research and Development on Cattle, welcomed various experts, researchers, and professionals. Their presentations were focused on France's experience in the production and consumption of high-quality beef, on the development of the bovine supply chain in China, on the advent of the European 3G system (Global Guaranteed Grading), on genomic testing, and on the experience of French Limousine cattle breeders.

Over the next ten years, meat consumption will continue to grow and drive global production, according to the OECD/FAO Agricultural Outlook 2025-2034. Due to rapid population and income growth, 45% of global consumption growth will occur in upper-middle-income countries. However, total per capita meat consumption is expected to grow by only 3% to reach 29.3 kg in retail edible weight (REW) per capita per year, half the increase seen in the previous decade. In most high-income countries, per capita meat consumption growth will continue to slow. Over the next ten years, poultry will strengthen its dominant position in the meat sector, accounting for 62% of the total volume of additional meat produced in the coming decade.

Questions about the consumption of meat products as part of a sustainable diet are becoming increasingly numerous. Injunctions to reduce the consumption of meat products, combined with concerns about consumer health, ecology and citizenship, are leading some consumers to opt for a more sustainable, and therefore more plant-based, diet. Nevertheless, the attachment to meat is reflected in a relatively slow erosion of consumption, due to a multiplicity of factors. The erosion of butchered meats now places poultry at the top of the list of species consumed.