A Predicted Benefit to Future Living in Latin America: Real Meat

For those paying attention, there’s been an added focus to the consumption of meat as it relates to climate change in the US.

As I wrote here, there is very clearly a connection between increased beef consumption and climate change as more for the Amazon is cleared to have more room for cows.

And people are noticing in the US.

As you can see here, it was clearly an idea of AOC in the US to hopefully address that connection. 

Though, in her vision, it’s not something that can be done just yet but the sentiment of that story reflects also the growing pushback against broader meat consumption in the US.

As you can see here, there’s efforts to make “artificial meat” more popular among the masses.

You also have articles and videos like this one trying to push the idea of eating bugs.

Finally, as you can see in this tweet here, someone put it quite nicely as to how I think the mentality is among those who share the sentiment above.

“The future is no meat. Enjoy it while you can.”

While some random person’s tweet doesn’t have any serious policy implications, I do think it aligns well with the broader focus we see among politicians, the food industry, environmentalists and the news media.

Like this article here also pushing for a “meat tax” to reduce meat consumption.

There is very much a growing wave of people who wish for there to be less meat consumption on the planet because of their understanding of the link between that and climate change.

Consequently, I do think we’ll see, at some point in the future, legislation and changes done by big business to encourage, at the very least, more minimal meat consumption among the population.

I won’t go as far as to say they’ll push for a complete elimination of meat consumption but I could see someone arguing that with the invention of “artificial meat.”

Still, there’ll definitely be a much more massive effort in the future against meat in general once they not only bring more commercial alternatives (fake meat) to be more readily available but also change the culture behind it.

Changing the culture in the same way they changed the culture on smoking since I was a kid until now.

The result? A lot less people are smoking these days.

Mañana Time for the Change?

Still, similar to smoking, I think the changes will be more gradual in Latin America.

Especially in lesser developed countries like Nicaragua for example.

And more rural areas of more developed countries down here also.

In which, based on my prediction only as of this writing in 2020, efforts to encourage less meat consumption will be less severe down here than up there in the next 2 decades.

Though, like with everything else, much of it reaches down here eventually through good ol’ Mañana Time.

First arriving to the Latin capitals and most important cities of interest.

Mexico City, Bogota, Buenos Aires, etc.

And, like with many things cultural, gets pushed by the most important cities into the rest of their respective countries.

This is all a prediction anyhow to a potential benefit to continued living in Latin America.

I do think there’ll be a push for it in Latin America over time.

In the same way that you see other cultural changes from the US reaching Latin America in various ways.

But those same changes tend to hit harder, for obvious reasons, in the capital cities first before elsewhere.

Changes like using the words “gay” or “faggot” more liberally as I wrote here for example.

In which areas not as well developed resemble, in certain respects, life in 2005 where you heard people say things like “that’s gay” or “faggot” a little more commonly than what you’ll hear in the Polancos of Latin America.

Among other cultural changes that can be seen over time.

Similarly, I think the said could be predicted for meat consumption in Latin America where, in order to get people off meat, they’ll push it down here eventually.

But have more success in the larger cities first.

When it comes to the rest of their respective countries, I think there’ll be a pushback in more rural areas like you’d see in more rural or conservative areas of the US.

A place like some small town in Iowa might not change as quickly like New York City for example.

In that respect, we have our own Mañana Time like with anything else.

But, above all, I see much of this as a predicted benefit to continued living in Latin America in the long run.

More on Mañana Time here.

The Politics of the Time Influences it All Also

Of course, I could be wrong.

When it came to Covid, we didn’t see that much “Mañana Time” when it came to implementing Covid restrictions on daily life.

Some countries like El Salvador, Panama or Peru really going above and beyond what the US ever did when it comes to Covid restrictions.

Just because a country is poorer doesn’t mean it’s slow on literally everything when it comes to implementing changes.

Sometimes it amounts to political differences also of the times.

Where presidents like AMLO to Bolsonaro were simply the men in office of Mexico and Brazil when Covid hit.

Therefore, you had less Covid restrictions put on a federal level because of their respective politics regarding the topic.

Similarly, it’s a question of how that will play also when it comes to the changes regarding meat consumption in Latin America.

Whenever a leftist president comes into office in any country down here in the future, I could see some extra steps taken occasionally to push the matter onto the masses.

Similar to Organic Food?

And don’t think Latin America is above it.

It’s like the question of organic food, no?

Plenty of gringos talk nicely of Latin America regarding how “nice it is that the food here is so organic!”

Yet don’t realize that Latin America does use a lot of GMOs and pesticides to produce food just like anywhere else.

Little do they realize that – big business practices for non-organic food production are well-implemented down here also.

So I don’t see, in the long run, Latin America being against the idea of more widespread selling of fake meat to the masses over time.

Generational Difference?

Also, it’s generational.

Perhaps like others, I’m not at all interested in fake meat or insects for consumption.

I could definitely see future generations more open to eating both of the above if they are introduced to it at an earlier age.

But those same cultural shifts will likely also be a little bit behind those in the US when it comes to getting younger people more adjusted to eating fake meat.

A Predicted Benefit?

But remember much of what is written here is simply shot from the hip.

I’m simply putting down what makes most sense to me as to how things might play out in the future.

A prediction.

Nothing more.

And, after years living down here, I can only best predict that these changes (cultural, political and economic) pushing people away from meat will take more time to be implemented down here than up there.

And that, to me, is a predicted benefit to continued living down here.

An extra decade or two (depending on where you live) behind the US when it comes to measures against meat consumption.

Like how a “tax on smoking” is higher in NYC than Iowa.

A “tax on meat” will likely be lower down here (broadly speaking) then the US.

Among other changes that’ll go more slowly down here as I predict based on what makes most sense to me.

Above all, perhaps making it where those of us who live in Latin America (mileage varies by exact location) will have more time than those back home to enjoy meat with more limited restrictions.

But it’s also a question to me of which countries would be slowest to implement any anti-meat measures?

The Most Preferable Countries?

Again, I’m simply just guessing as to what makes the most sense to me.

But, if I had to guess, I’m going to say the following countries would be the slowest on any anti-meat measures: Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

For the last two countries (Argentina and Uruguay), they simply have such a strong meat culture that it’s hard to see them being entirely 100% anti beef.

Like this video here of the largest barbecue in the world being in Uruguay.

My T Levels have gone up 9000% seeing that video.

Then you have Brazil, which from my understanding, also has a strong meat culture.

But, on top of that, you also have one of the largest agricultural industries in Latin America being in Brazil.

It’s quite a heavyweight when it comes to meat production as I said before.

It’s my opinion that countries with stronger domestic industries that produce a lot of meat will be slower to implement changes because it’s typical for industries with plenty of money behind them to carry more political weight in their respective countries.

Be it by bribing politicians or campaign donations (the difference?).

And also just bringing more economic activity to the country simply means politicans are typically more cautious to acting against them with policies like a meat tax and whatever else.

Not that any of the above makes changes impossible but simply slower to implement and implemented in ways that are not as drastic.

Therefore, there’d be deep financial pockets, in theory, campaigning against too many changes being put against their industry to produce real meat in Brazil specifically.

You can read a small article about the farm lobby and its relation to Brazilian politics here.

And, if I recall right, I think Argentina has plenty of meat production also.

However, in any of the countries above, you can never put it above a future president of the left doing whatever they can against meat someday.

Changes do happen.

But, if I had to take a wild guess, I’d say maybe those countries will be most resistant to changes.

Especially when taking into account the predicted actions of financial elites in important domestic industries.

Thus, giving you cheaper and more available real meat to enjoy than what you might get back home in the future.

Whenever the future might be in relation to this subject – 10 or 20 years into the future?

Final Thoughts?

Anyway, that’s all I got to say.

Just a random thought that came to mind.

Above all, I don’t want to overemphasize this predicted benefit to living in the US.

I think we’ll always have real meat available to us in the US or Latin America – just with more restrictions or policies against it overtime along with a cultural shift.

If you have any comments, drop them below in the comment section.

And follow my Twitter here.

Thanks for reading.

Best regards,

Matt