Is there an Animal Food Kuznets Curve, and does it matter?

Proteins from animal sources, including meat, and plant-based foods are essential for a healthy human diet. However, animal-based proteins have significantly higher environmental impacts (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and water usage) and health risks (e.g., obesity, type 2 diabetes, kidney stones and cardiovascular diseases) compared to plant-based proteins. The consumption patterns of these pro-teins are strongly influenced by income levels. This study introduces the concept of an Animal Food Kuznets Curve by systematically analyzing the relationship between income and animal-based protein consumption. Utilizing a novel panel dataset span-ning 28 years and covering 79 countries, we uncover an inverted U-shaped relation-ship between income and the consumption of animal-based and meat proteins. Our findings indicate that the turning points occur around 43,000-45,000 US$, correspond-ing to the 90th and 95th percentiles of the per capita income distribution in the sam-ple. At these income levels, protein consumption is estimated at approximately 25 g/day for meat and 52 g/day for animal-based proteins, as compared to recommended total protein intake of 45-56 g/day. These insights highlight the critical need for tar-geted policy interventions, such as taxes, nudges, and informational campaigns to pro-mote sustainable dietary choices across all income levels. Our study provides empiri-cal evidence for the importance of integrating economic and environmental policies to enhance global food sustainability.