<p>Layla Ibrahim has cut down on her daily meat consumption, not because of a health fad but forced by Lebanon's bruising economic crisis.</p>.<p>"I used to eat a slice of meat, chicken or fish every day, but the prices of these items have become ridiculous," the 44-year-old mother of two told AFP.</p>.<p>"Out of necessity and not choice, I have almost become a vegetarian," she added.</p>.<p>Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis that the World Bank says is of a scale usually associated with full-scale wars.</p>.<p>The currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value on the black market, more than 80 percent of the population lives in poverty, and prices have skyrocketed.</p>.<p>The price of imported red meat has increased fivefold, with some cuts costing more than the monthly minimum wage of 675,000 Lebanese pounds ($33).</p>.<p>As a result, dietary habits have changed and plant-based dishes -- a popular part of Lebanon's Mediterranean cuisine -- are now a main course in many households.</p>.<p>For Ibrahim and her family, meat is served only once a week and even then in small portions.</p>.<p>"We started using smaller quantities of minced meat in stuffings and stews," Ibrahim said.</p>.<p>"Even the Sunday family barbecue has been scrapped."</p>.<p>Nabil Fahed, head of the syndicate of supermarket owners, said customers are opting for poultry or grain as a cheaper alternative.</p>.<p>Chicken is almost three times cheaper than beef and sells at around 120,000 pounds ($5) a kilo.</p>.<p>The demand for red meat has plummeted since the government lifted subsidies on certain food imports in March 2021, Fahed said.</p>.<p>Sales dropped by around 70 percent in large supermarkets and the decline is even steeper in popular markets frequented by people with low incomes, he said.</p>.<p>Nancy Awada, a food inspector working with the Beirut municipality, has noticed a change in supply.</p>.<p>"The quantities of meat stored in a butcher's refrigerator... today are a quarter or a third of what they used to be," she said.</p>.<p>"Instead of slaughtering two or three calves a day, butchers make do with only one."</p>.<p>Lebanon's cash-strapped government is struggling to afford fuel imports to feed its power plants, causing outages that last up to 22 hours a day in most parts of the country.</p>.<p>To safeguard stocks, traders and distributors have to pay for expensive generator subscriptions to power refrigerators, said meat importer Imad Harouk of the Fed Distribution company.</p>.<p>A spike in transport costs due to the lifting of fuel subsidies last year has also raised the overall meat bill, Harouk told AFP.</p>.<p>Adjusting to demand, importers have sized down on stocks.</p>.<p>"Lebanon used to import 70 containers of frozen meat every month, but now the number is nearly 40," Harouk said.</p>.<p>Tony al-Rami, head of the restaurant owners' union, said inflation has altered ordering habits even in cheap fast-food chains.</p>.<p>"Demand has dropped for meat shawarma sandwiches, with consumers leaning more towards chicken," he said.</p>.<p>This trend has played out at the Kababji grill house, a restaurant famous for its wide selection of meat skewers.</p>.<p>"The economic crisis combined with the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a significant decline in overall sales, especially of meat-based dishes," said Hala Jebai, the manager of Kababji's customer service department.</p>.<p>"The high-quality meat that we offer is imported and paid for in dollars... which has led to a significant decline in demand," she added.</p>.<p>In a Beirut department store, Charles Nassour approached the butcher's counter to purchase minced meat.</p>.<p>The 62-year-old used to put in a standard order of one kilo (two pounds) before the crisis but now he asks for an amount worth just under $2.</p>.<p>"A lot of consumers are buying limited quantities based on what they can afford," Harouk, the meat importer, told AFP.</p>.<p>"Even the well-off can't consume the way they used to."</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>
<p>Layla Ibrahim has cut down on her daily meat consumption, not because of a health fad but forced by Lebanon's bruising economic crisis.</p>.<p>"I used to eat a slice of meat, chicken or fish every day, but the prices of these items have become ridiculous," the 44-year-old mother of two told AFP.</p>.<p>"Out of necessity and not choice, I have almost become a vegetarian," she added.</p>.<p>Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis that the World Bank says is of a scale usually associated with full-scale wars.</p>.<p>The currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value on the black market, more than 80 percent of the population lives in poverty, and prices have skyrocketed.</p>.<p>The price of imported red meat has increased fivefold, with some cuts costing more than the monthly minimum wage of 675,000 Lebanese pounds ($33).</p>.<p>As a result, dietary habits have changed and plant-based dishes -- a popular part of Lebanon's Mediterranean cuisine -- are now a main course in many households.</p>.<p>For Ibrahim and her family, meat is served only once a week and even then in small portions.</p>.<p>"We started using smaller quantities of minced meat in stuffings and stews," Ibrahim said.</p>.<p>"Even the Sunday family barbecue has been scrapped."</p>.<p>Nabil Fahed, head of the syndicate of supermarket owners, said customers are opting for poultry or grain as a cheaper alternative.</p>.<p>Chicken is almost three times cheaper than beef and sells at around 120,000 pounds ($5) a kilo.</p>.<p>The demand for red meat has plummeted since the government lifted subsidies on certain food imports in March 2021, Fahed said.</p>.<p>Sales dropped by around 70 percent in large supermarkets and the decline is even steeper in popular markets frequented by people with low incomes, he said.</p>.<p>Nancy Awada, a food inspector working with the Beirut municipality, has noticed a change in supply.</p>.<p>"The quantities of meat stored in a butcher's refrigerator... today are a quarter or a third of what they used to be," she said.</p>.<p>"Instead of slaughtering two or three calves a day, butchers make do with only one."</p>.<p>Lebanon's cash-strapped government is struggling to afford fuel imports to feed its power plants, causing outages that last up to 22 hours a day in most parts of the country.</p>.<p>To safeguard stocks, traders and distributors have to pay for expensive generator subscriptions to power refrigerators, said meat importer Imad Harouk of the Fed Distribution company.</p>.<p>A spike in transport costs due to the lifting of fuel subsidies last year has also raised the overall meat bill, Harouk told AFP.</p>.<p>Adjusting to demand, importers have sized down on stocks.</p>.<p>"Lebanon used to import 70 containers of frozen meat every month, but now the number is nearly 40," Harouk said.</p>.<p>Tony al-Rami, head of the restaurant owners' union, said inflation has altered ordering habits even in cheap fast-food chains.</p>.<p>"Demand has dropped for meat shawarma sandwiches, with consumers leaning more towards chicken," he said.</p>.<p>This trend has played out at the Kababji grill house, a restaurant famous for its wide selection of meat skewers.</p>.<p>"The economic crisis combined with the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a significant decline in overall sales, especially of meat-based dishes," said Hala Jebai, the manager of Kababji's customer service department.</p>.<p>"The high-quality meat that we offer is imported and paid for in dollars... which has led to a significant decline in demand," she added.</p>.<p>In a Beirut department store, Charles Nassour approached the butcher's counter to purchase minced meat.</p>.<p>The 62-year-old used to put in a standard order of one kilo (two pounds) before the crisis but now he asks for an amount worth just under $2.</p>.<p>"A lot of consumers are buying limited quantities based on what they can afford," Harouk, the meat importer, told AFP.</p>.<p>"Even the well-off can't consume the way they used to."</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>