Australians have a massive appetite for eating animals, in fact we are the second biggest meat eaters in the world after the United States*.
Worldwide the average person eats 34 kilograms of meat per year, but Australians consume almost three times that – just over 90 kilograms*.
In the new series For The Love Of Meat with Matthew Evans, Matthew pulls apart Australia’s love affair with meat and investigates the impact of this carnivorous enthusiasm on our health, the animals we eat, and the planet.
Former food critic and host of Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans is not out to stop people eating meat – he is a pig farmer and passionate about cooking and eating meat. Matthew wants to reconnect people to the animals they eat so they can better understand where their meat comes from – from the paddock to the supermarket shelf, all the way to their dinner plate.
Over three weeks beginning Thursday 20 October 7.30pm on SBS, Matthew looks at Australia’s favourite meats; chicken, pork and beef.
Last year Australians ate 600 million chickens – that’s ten times more chicken than 50 years ago**. How does Australia sustain this demand – and at what cost? In the first episode, Matthew visits several farms to better understand the conditions under which our chicken is produced. Determined to effect real change, he embarks on a mission to persuade a large fast food brand to start serving free range chicken to their customers.
As a boutique free-range pig farmer himself, Matthew Evans wants to know how the majority of pigs are farmed in Australia. In episode two, Matthew discovers the pressure our love of pork is having on Australian pigs, and takes a pig farrowing crate to Federation Square in Melbourne for a social experiment.
Hero of the Aussie barbie, steak is the quintessential Aussie meat. In the final episode, Matthew follows a cow’s journey from the paddock to the plate. Matthew also explores the scale of cattle farming in Australia and investigates the true cost to our environment.
In For the Love of Meat, Matthew discovers that eating meat ethically and sustainably is more complicated than it seems. Matthew’s mission is to get Australians to really look behind the farm gate and find out where our meat comes from, so that we can make informed decisions and choices about the meat we eat.
For The Love of Meat with Matthew Evans is produced by EQ Media for SBS.
The meat journey continues online at www.sbs.com.au/fortheloveofmeat
This dedicated site will feature an Eating Guide for Conscious Carnivores. This constantly-updated collection of delicious recipes are curated by Matthew Evans, with helpful ideas from Matthew on how to eat less meat, better meat and sometimes no meat at all.
SBS Digital Creative Labs is collaborating with EQ Media to produce an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience, A Pig’s Life with Matthew Evans. Filmed in 360°, host of For The Love of Meat Matthew Evans takes viewers on a virtual reality journey to experience life as a pig in Australia’s meat trade.
A Pig’s Life with Matthew Evans will be available through the SBS On Demand VR app from 11 October and can be accessed via smartphone. For more details, visit: sbs.com.au/vr
Eat out and make a difference with the For The Love of Meat Dining Campaign. One hundred chefs across Australia, including some of Australia’s leading restaurateurs; Peter Gilmore (Quay/Bennelong) Colin Fassnidge (4Fourteen), Matt Wilkinson (Pope Joan) Jarrod Huey (The Merriweather Cafe) have created a bespoke For The Love of Meat dish, available on their menus across the three weeks of the series.
Join the conversation: #ForTheLoveOfMeat