The cost of red and processed meat

A research paper by Zero Carbon Analytics (ZCA) examines the economic and health costs of red and processed meat consumption in high-income countries. The analysis finds that wealthy nations in Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania face a substantial disease burden from meat consumption, with some countries spending heavily to treat preventable conditions rather than investing in primary prevention. The report argues that shifting toward dietary interventions could significantly reduce healthcare spending and improve public health outcomes.

• Global meat consumption increased by nearly 20% between 2002 and 2022. Between 1990 and 2018, per-head consumption of red meat rose by 88.1% and processed meat rose by 152.8%.
• The health-related costs of red and processed meat consumption globally were estimated at USD 285 billion in 2020, encompassing direct medical costs and indirect costs like loss of productivity.
• Processed meat is linked to higher risks of type II diabetes and colorectal cancer, with a 2025 analysis indicating that consuming 50g of processed meat daily increases the risk of type II diabetes by 30% and colorectal cancer by 26%.
• Certain high-income countries achieve better-than-expected health outcomes despite high meat consumption by spending heavily on treatment. Switzerland spends up to USD 99,000 to avert one disability-adjusted life year (DALY) for processed meat and USD 76,000 for red meat.
• A 30% reduction in the disease burden caused by processed meat could result in significant annual healthcare savings: USD 21 billion in the US, USD 2.2 billion in Germany, USD 1.4 billion in the UK, and nearly USD 1 billion in France.
• In the US, reducing the red meat disease burden by 30% could save up to USD 12.5 billion annually, while a 30% reduction in processed meat burden could save USD 21 billion, potentially funding 247,000 hospital nurses.
• European countries show a strong trend of prioritizing treatment over prevention; between 2014 and 2019, less than 3% of total EU health expenditure was dedicated to prevention.
• Research in the Netherlands suggests that if the health costs of meat overconsumption were added to purchase prices, red meat would cost EUR 7.50 more per kilogram and processed meat EUR 4.30 more per kilogram.

APA

Team, Z. (2025). The cost of red and processed meat. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/nature/the-cost-of-red-and-processed-meat/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. The cost of red and processed meat. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2025. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/nature/the-cost-of-red-and-processed-meat/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=The cost of red and processed meat |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=30 September 2025 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/nature/the-cost-of-red-and-processed-meat/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2025cost, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{The cost of red and processed meat}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/nature/the-cost-of-red-and-processed-meat/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }