<P> Beef is the third most widely consumed meat in the world, accounting for about 25% of meat production worldwide, after pork and poultry at 38% and 30% respectively . In absolute numbers, the United States, Brazil, and the People's Republic of China are the world's three largest consumers of beef; Uruguay, however, has the highest beef and veal consumption per capita, followed by Argentina and Brazil . According to the data from OECD, the average Uruguayan ate over 42 kg (93 lb) of beef or veal in 2014, representing the highest beef / veal consumption per capita in the world . In comparison, the average American consumed only about 24 kg (53 lb) beef or veal in the same year, while African countries, such as Mozambique, Ghana, and Nigeria, consumed the least beef or veal per capita . </P> <P> Cows are considered sacred in the Hinduism and most observant Hindus who do eat meat almost always abstain from beef . </P> <P> In 2015, the world's largest exporters of beef, (including buffalo meat), were India, Brazil and Australia . Beef production is also important to the economies of Uruguay, Canada, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina, Belarus and Nicaragua . </P> <P> The word beef is from the Latin bōs, in contrast to cow which is from Middle English cou (both words have the same Indo - European root * gwou -). After the Norman Conquest, the French - speaking nobles who ruled England naturally used French words to refer to the meats they were served . Thus, various Anglo - Saxon words were used for the animal (such as nēat, or cu for adult females) by the peasants, but the meat was called boef (ox) (Modern French bœuf) by the French nobles--who did not often deal with the live animal--when it was served to them . This is one example of the common English dichotomy between the words for animals (with largely Germanic origins) and their meat (with Romanic origins) that is also found in such English word - pairs as pig / pork, deer / venison, sheep / mutton and chicken / poultry . Beef is cognate with bovine through the Late Latin bovīnus . </P>

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