Ten Kilograms More Meat Per Person Drives a Shift Toward Raw Diets
US meat consumption is projected to sit roughly ten kilograms higher per capita by 2025 compared to a historic low in 2014, Women’s Health reported. This rising demand coincides with a growing wellness movement favoring animal-heavy meal plans like the all-meat carnivore diet, the Raw Primal approach featuring uncooked items, and the lion diet restricted to ruminant meat, water, and salt.
Raw Buffalo Brains and Amish Farms Supply Extreme Diets
Adherents of extreme raw animal diets bypass conventional supermarkets by sourcing provisions directly from farms and consuming items without cooking. Thirty-year-old electrical engineer Kelly Pi travels multiple times a month to an Amish farm in Pennsylvania to buy unpasteurized dairy and meat, carrying items like buffalo brains in her handbag to eat raw, The New York Times Magazine reported. Pi turned to raw animal foods after experiencing chronic migraines and seizures in her early twenties that standard medication failed to resolve. Her regimen includes viscera, egg yolks, and roadkill, reflecting a rejection of processed foods despite acknowledged health hazards.
Dark Nutrition Communities Question Conventional Medicine
This dietary shift forms part of what The New York Times Magazine calls “dark nutrition,” a loose network of online forums, podcasts, and social media accounts united by deep distrust of conventional medical authorities and food regulators. Events like the Meatstock convention in Tennessee draw crowds who celebrate meat consumption and share personal recovery stories after abandoning veganism or struggling with chronic illnesses like Crohn’s disease. Max Kane, diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age twelve, told the publication that changing his diet restored his personal autonomy after years of standard medical treatments failed to provide relief.
Political Movements and Public Skepticism Fuel Alternative Eating
A KFF survey cited by The Guardian found that 64 percent of US adults consider pesticide regulation insufficient, while 75 percent feel the same way about food additives. This widespread distrust aligns with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement championed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which combines food industry critiques with the promotion of ancestral diets and skepticism toward official health guidance.
Unpasteurized Milk Sales Rise Alongside Foodborne Illness Outbreaks
Unpasteurized milk has emerged as a central product in the raw food movement, even as public health officials record rising contamination events. Data from Circana cited by The Guardian shows that raw milk sales increased by 17.6 percent in 2024. Without pasteurization, the beverage can harbor dangerous pathogens. NPR reported that more than 100 people fell ill and 11 were hospitalized after consuming unpasteurized milk during the summer of 2026, prompting the American Academy of Pediatrics to call for an outright ban on its commercial sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do people switch from veganism to all-meat diets?
Adherents often seek relief from chronic health conditions after standard medical treatments fail, finding community and simple rules among groups sharing a distrust of food processing and conventional medicine, according to reporting by The New York Times Magazine.
What specific health risks are associated with unpasteurized milk?
Unpasteurized milk can transmit dangerous microorganisms that cause foodborne illness, leading to more than 100 reported illnesses and 11 hospitalizations in the summer of 2026, as documented by NPR.
How much did US per capita meat consumption change between 2014 and 2025?
After hitting a historic low in 2014, average US meat consumption was projected to rise by approximately ten kilograms per person by 2025, according to figures reported by Women’s Health.
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