ANALYSIS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING MEAT CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOUR AMONG RURAL AND URBAN HOUSEHOLDS

India remains home to the highest number of food insecure people. Over the past 50 years, meat consumption in particular has changed dramatically. The reasons are that changing meat consumption patterns have effects on the nutritional and health status of people but also on different food market. The difference in consumption and production methods correlates strongly with the overall economy of a country. The differences in food consumption exist across regions, states and in demographic situations. There is also a vast variation in the per capita consumption of meat and livestock products across the states, regions and in living situations like rural and urban areas. The study was therefore undertaken to assess the meat consumption behaviour among the rural, semi-urban and urban community by collecting information from the 90 meat consumers and 30 non-meat consumers on demographical parameters, consumer preferences on meat consumption and socio-economic factors affecting meat consumption. Semi-log regression analysis was used to analyse the socio-economic factors influencing the meat consumption of the respondents of rural, semi-urban and urban households. The analysis revealed that, out of the nine explanatory variables chosen, the four variables namely education, family income, family size and information seeking behaviour are all found to be significant in influencing the quality of meat consumed by the selected households.  For example, if the standard of education increased by one unit, the quantity of meat consumed increases by 11.6 per cent, 30.3 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively in rural, semi-urban and urban households. Keywords: Meat, socio-economic factors, urban households, consumption behaviour