JAKARTA: Aidiladha (the Islamic Day of Sacrifice) is more than just a sacred religious occasion in Muslim-majority Indonesia; it also exposes a striking food paradox.
For a few days, meat becomes widely available in millions of households. Yet, for the rest of the year, it remains an expensive luxury for many families.
While there is no definitive data tracking exactly how much meat consumption spikes during Aidiladha—as measuring dietary shifts over such a short window is notoriously difficult—the sheer volume of sacrificial animals slaughtered offers a clear window into the scale of the phenomenon.
During Aidiladha and the three days of Tashreeq this year, an estimated two million sacrificial animals were slaughtered across Indonesia.
Last year, the Religious Affairs Ministry recorded 1,856,962 sacrificial animals, consisting of 627,130 cattle and buffaloes, and 1,229,832 goats and sheep.
To put this in perspective, the number of cattle and buffaloes slaughtered during this single holiday period was equivalent to roughly 65 per cent of all cattle and buffaloes processed in official slaughterhouses nationwide throughout the entirety of 2025.
For goats and sheep, the contrast was even more staggering, reaching approximately 740 per cent of the annual number slaughtered through official facilities.
On one hand, this seasonal surge is encouraging. Aidiladha temporarily democratises access to high-quality animal protein that economic constraints or uneven supply chains otherwise block.
For vulnerable households, meat that is usually financially out of reach suddenly arrives at no cost.
On the other hand, this fleeting abundance masks the deeper structural realities of Indonesian nutrition. This short-term dietary shift does not translate into a sustained, population-wide baseline of protein intake.
This disconnect becomes clear when looking at broader national health metrics. The government recommends a daily nutritional adequacy level of 2,100 kilocalories and 57 grams of protein per capita.
According to the March 2025 National Socioeconomic Survey, average consumption patterns look healthy on paper: Average calorie intake reached 2,073 kilocalories, while average protein consumption stood at 62.78 g per capita per day.
At first glance, national protein intake comfortably exceeds the recommended baseline. However, this average hides severe regional disparities.
Several provinces in Maluku and Papua still record average protein consumption well below the 57-g threshold. Furthermore, even where intake is high, Indonesia's average remains far below the global average of 92.15 g per capita per day (as of 2023). Neighbouring Malaysia, by comparison, has already surpassed that global benchmark at 93.33 g.
The quality and sources of Indonesia's protein are also heavily skewed. Of the average 62.78 g consumed daily, 30.54 per cent comes from cereals (primarily rice), while 22.89 per cent comes from prepared or commercial foods. This means over half of the country’s protein intake relies on just two food groups.
Meanwhile, the contributions of nutrient-dense alternatives remain marginal: fish accounts for 15.39 per cent, legumes for 8.14 per cent, meat for 8.02 per cent and eggs and milk for a mere 5.32 per cent.
Consequently, the festive spikes in meat consumption during religious holidays can create a false impression of nutritional progress.
The holiday surge is a symptom of a broader challenge: It proves that Indonesian households want to consume more animal-source foods but are systematically constrained by price, local availability and logistical bottlenecks.
Beef remains a luxury reserved for special occasions. And while chicken and eggs are more woven into daily diets, their supply chains are highly vulnerable to price fluctuations driven by volatile production costs and fragmented distribution.
Achieving a stable, adequate pattern of animal protein consumption requires moving beyond seasonal charity toward systemic affordability.
This does not mean policy should obsess solely over beef. Eggs, poultry, fish, milk and other locally harvested foods are often far more realistic, cost-effective, and sustainable vehicles for upgrading daily national protein intake.
To make this happen, we have to fix two major roadblocks: expensive animal feed and poor shipping logistics.
Right now, chicken and egg prices swing wildly because we rely too much on imported feed ingredients. We need to grow more of those ingredients at home.
At the same time, because Indonesia is an island nation, we desperately need better cold-storage facilities and subsidised refrigerated shipping. Without them, fresh food spoils before it ever reaches families on outer islands, driving up prices.
These are complex, long-term structural reforms. Yet, Aidiladha offers the perfect annual moment for reflection.
The ultimate challenge for Indonesia is not merely ensuring that meat is abundant for a few days of celebration, but building a resilient food system where high-quality animal protein is equitably accessible every single day of the year.
The writer is a PhD student at Wageningen University and Research and a researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency focusing on animal production systems. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
