ABSTRACT
World livestock production, as measured by the number of head, approximately doubled from 1925 to 1969/1970, and increased another 15 percent over the next 15-plus years. Red meat production is a worldwide enterprise. Trends for cattle numbers and meat production have both moved upward since the post-Depression days, with cattle numbers reaching their peak about 1975. The trends have, of course, not been smooth due to factors such as production cycles and external influences ranging from war to price controls. There is an apparent discontinuity in the meat production trend about 1952: it is notably higher in the post-1952 period than before. Overall, the decline of the sheep industry in the United States must be attributed to a notable disinclination to consume lamb compared to competing red meat and poultry products. Hogs are the most difficult to track because data on the major producer, The People's Republic of China, are missing for the early period.
