Is a behemoth of global beef losing its taste for meat?

The billboard in Buenos Aires shows a piglet standing forlornly by a butcher's fridge.

- Sam Meadows BUENOS AIRES

"Dónde están mis amigos?" - "where are my friends?" - it reads. Such adverts have sprung up around Argentina's capital as part of a concerted campaign by the animal rights groups Animal Save Movement and Voicot, an Argentinian organization, to promote vegan diets.

In Argentina, eating meat - and in particular, a steak - prepared on the asado, or barbecue, is a cherished national tradition. The typical Argentinian restaurant is a parrilla-a steakhouse that can serve a bewildering variety of grilled meat, with some menus offering beef 30 different ways.

Between 1914 and 2021, the average annual figure for beef consumption in Argentina was 73.4kg per person. This figure takes in the peak year, 1956, when the average Argentinian ate an astounding 100.8kg of beef, as well as the lowest year, 1920, when the figure was still a hefty 46.9kg.