In 1978, Chinas meat consumption of 8 million tons was one third the U.S. consumption of 24 million tons. But by 1992, China had overtaken the United States as the worlds leading meat consumer - and it has not looked back since. Now Chinas annual meat consumption of 71 million tons is more than double that in the United States. With U.S. meat consumption falling and Chinas consumption still rising, the trajectories of these two countries are deterring the shape of agriculture around the planet.