Household Animal Production and Meat Consumption in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Promotion of household (HH) animal production has been suggested as a strategy to improve diet quality among undernourished, rural populations by increasing meat consumption. This study examines the relationships between animal production and HH‐level meat consumption among 360 HHs with young children in rural Bangladesh. HH consumption of different types of meat and fish was modeled as a function of demographic and socio‐economic factors and animal production. Consumption of each type of meat among producers of the corresponding animal was modeled as a function of socio‐economic and demographic factors and descriptors of animal production. 85% of HHs produced at least one type of animal, including chicken (62%), cows (41%) and fish (37%). 81% of HHs consumed some meat or fish on the days of observation, but the quantities consumed were low (mdn 59 g/capita, IQR 113 g/capita). Adjusting for other HH traits, fish production was positively associated with fish consumption (p=0.05), but there were no significant relationships between production and consumption for other types of animal. HH wealth and the type of animal produced are related to meat consumption among animal producing HHs. With the possible exception of fish production, promoting animal production in rural Bangladesh may not be an effective means of increasing meat consumption. Research supported by the HarvestPlus Challenge Program.