Baby food provides most protein in Russia

Baby food eclipsed meat consumption​ as the primary source of protein consumed per capita per day in Russia. New data from Euromonitor International showed baby food consumption stood at 27.11 grams (g) per capita per day in 2015, while meat was at 21.23g.
However, this does not actually mean that Russians consumed more baby food than meat overall. Meat is still far more popular and Euromonitor stressed the data sets for baby food and meat are different and incomparable.

Euromonitor International has analysed the main protein sources across some of the world’s most exciting economies. And it’s not just Russia that has thrown up unexpected results; meat is not even a primary source of protein in India, the world’s second most-populous country.

Unlike other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations, which all have rates of high meat consumption per capita, India is the only country in which meat does not feature as one of the three most popular proteins consumed daily.

Despite a country with a population of 1.2 billion people and an economy growing at a rate of 7.1% annually, India’s citizens get more protein from pulses, vegetables and fish than they do from meat and poultry.

Numerous studies make a positive correlation between the level of income and the consumption of meat – essentially, the richer a country is, the more meat per capita is consumed. In Russia, Brazil and China, for example, consumption of protein per capita per day stood at least 12.2g in 2015, according to Euromonitor.

The BRIC acronym is used to describe the four nations that experts believed back in 2001 would be the world’s fastest-growing economies. And with the World Health Organization (WHO) suggesting higher incomes and meat consumption go hand in hand, Euromonitor’s new data reflects this trend.

Meat is the most popular form of protein for consumers in China​, where consumption per capita stands at 12.2g per day. Meat is also the most popular protein in Brazil, with consumption of 29.88g per day.

“Protein is an essential part of a healthy diet, providing building blocks for muscle and bone or the production of hormones and enzymes,​” said Sara Petersson, nutrition analyst at Euromonitor International​.

“The term ‘protein’ is commonly associated with foods such as meat, fish, eggs or dairy, which indeed are a high source of protein. However, combining the nutritional content of foods with the total volumes consumed paints a different picture of which foods are vital for adequate protein intake. While fresh food alone contributes 30g of protein per capita per day globally, packaged food tops it up with an additional 16g per capita per day. Some of the foods commonly targeted are salted snacks, processed meats, or pickled products.​”

As well as analysing protein consumption in BRIC nations, Euromonitor data also covered the US, Germany and the UK – and for all three, meat was the primary source of protein. US consumption per capita per day of meat was 22.57g, with 19.79g and 12.91g for Germany and the UK respectively.

“Interestingly our Passport Nutrition data shows that, for example, in Germany – one of the highest salt consumers in the world – the highest source of salt per capita per day was bread, only then followed by processed meat and seafood, and in third place, sauces, dressings and condiments,​” added Petersson.