Americans are eating more beef than ever – despite the vegan “trend”

Americans have given up beef! Everyone eats plants! The vegan trend is supposedly so huge these days, we’re in the midst of an identity crisis, That was recently claimed by the New York Times. “When it comes to America’s legacy of Manifest Destiny, there is perhaps no more symbolic meal than a bleeding steak. Who are we now that we consume less red meat?” the paper of records babbled.

The only problem is that such claims are 100% nonsense. Although US beef consumption has fallen from about 80 pounds per capita annually in the 1970s and early 80s to a low of 54 pounds in 2017, it has steadily recovered since then 58.6 pounds in 2021.

Yes, we eat more beef today than we did five years ago, despite being plant-based “Impossible” Meat and Beyond Burgers Taking over American menus and even McDonald’s.

Apparently, the “save your body, save the animals, save the planet” movement hasn’t impacted actual eating habits, though some zealots drink the eco-friendly Kool-Aid — ie, those who splurge on $335 (before tip). for a suite of microscopic “courses.” purely vegan Eleven Madison Park.

Note that despite reported high demand for reservations at EMP, which has a total of 80 seats, the owners of a new skyscraper, 425 Park Avenue, pulled the plug on a proposed new restaurant there by EMP chef/owner Daniel Humm because he insisted on a purely vegan menu. Humm got those too Boat from London’s Claridge’s Hotel about the same topic.

The truth is true vegans are rarer than Bernie Sanders supporters in Miami Beach.

The notion circulated by the media that Americans have gone from red meat to fake meat is a case of Park Slope speaking to Park Slope — elites who are comically out of touch with the masses.

The recent Times article, for example, cited a 2019 Gallup poll in which a quarter of respondents said they were eating less meat. But in restaurants, people’s true tastes are revealed for all to see.

Big Apple steakhouses are thriving and adding locations. Wolfgang’s has grown from a single location in Manhattan to five since 2004. In the last five years, London’s Hawksmoor, Beverly Hills’ Mastro’s and Istanbul’s Salt Bae’s Nusr-Et have opened here.

Some of the most in-demand dishes include Carbones Parmigiana with veal for $85 (which drew many for takeout during the indoor dining ban in 2020) and Carne Mares Wagyu Roast Beef with Gorgonzola for $115. A new place called Skirt Steak NYC in Chelsea does not sell anything else and is boxed all the time.

Of course, the ban-the-beef movement is part of the ban-anything-tastes-good mentality that’s prevalent in worker-than-thou circles. Two years ago, Conde Nast-owned website Epicurious complained that it would stop offering new beef recipes in the interests of “sustainability.” A Editor’s note indicated that it expected others to follow. To date, no comparable media outlet has been foolish enough to do so.

From October 31, the sale of foie gras will be completely banned in the Big Apple. The aim is to spare ducks and geese the supposed misery of being force-fed. But the real purpose is to stick it to supposedly wealthy customers. By the same “cruelty” standard, the sale of chicken and pork, consumed by people of all income levels, should also be banned.

Meanwhile, Mark Pastore, president of Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors (which sells to locations from Porter House to Shake Shack), told me that his company’s red meat sales are “growing 10 to 15 percent year over year. I also don’t see a drop in demand anywhere so quickly.”

Except perhaps in culinary-correct media circles, who have yet to learn that steak is here to say — a tough pill for elites to swallow.

scuozzo@nypost.com