Meat Off The Menu As Economic Crisis Deepens In Lebanon

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).

Layla Ibrahim has cut down on her daily meat consumption, not because of a health fad but forced by Lebanon's bruising economic crisis.

"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.

"Out of necessity and not choice, I have almost become a vegetarian," she added.

Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis that the World Bank says is of a scale usually associated with full-scale wars.