In 2017, Meatingplace, a journal of the meat processing industry, predicts 51.1 percent of the meat consumed in domestic markets will be beef, pork, veal and lamb, and 49.9 percent will be poultry.

The industry refers to the quantity of red meat and poultry used in domestic markets as “disappearance.” Per capita disappearance is calculated by subtracting net exports and stocks changes from production and then dividing that by the U.S. population.

For 2017, the total disappearance is projected to be 217.2 pounds per person, 2.6 pounds more than last year.

Americans consumed slightly more chicken than red meat in 2016, good news for Delaware’s chicken producers.

Although poultry production is expected to rise 2 percent this year, strong production increases of beef and pork—4.1 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively— largely explain the share of red meat consumption in 2017.