Carrot Consumption Varies With Age, Income, and
Race
Biing-Hwan Lin
and Gary Lucier
People choose which vegetables to eat based
on vegetable prices and individual incomes and preferences,
which reflect certain demographic characteristics,
such as people’s age, education, race/ethnicity,
and where they live. These demographically shaped
preferences are noticeable in the consumption patterns
for one long-time American favorite—the carrot.
Carrots are a favorite American
vegetable because of their versatile culinary uses
and rich nutritional content. They are a common
ingredient in stews, soups, stir-fry dishes, and
salads. The development of convenient, fresh-cut
carrot products, such as baby carrots, has helped
secure the carrot’s place as a healthy snack
option and lunchbox mainstay. A recent ERS study
examines where and how many fresh and processed
carrots are eaten and links this consumption to
various economic, social, and demographic characteristics
of consumers.
In 2006, the amount of carrots
available for U.S. consumption stood at 12.0 pounds
per person—8.7 pounds of fresh carrots and
3.3 pounds in canned, frozen, or other processed
uses. For both fresh and processed carrots, retail
sales for at-home consumption dominated. The away-from-home
market accounted for 2.2 pounds per person, with
more than half of that consumed at sit-down restaurants.
Using data from nationally representative
surveys, ERS researchers found that preferences
for carrots vary by race and ethnicity, age, and
income. Non-Hispanic Whites ate 10.7 pounds of carrots
per person at home in 2005, and Asian Americans
ate 10.3 pounds per person. Asian Americans ate
the most fresh carrots among the racial/ethnic groups
(9.0 pounds per person). Non-Hispanic Blacks consumed
3.2 pounds per person of fresh carrots but were
the second largest consumers of processed carrots
at 1.7 pounds per person.
At-home carrot consumption rises
with age and income. For example, those 65 and older
ate 13.3 pounds of carrots per person in 2005, compared
with 6.8 pounds per person for those younger than
40. Households with incomes over 350 percent of
the Federal poverty level consumed 11.1 pounds of
carrots per person, compared with 7.8 pounds per
person in households with incomes below 185 percent
of the poverty level.
America’s appetite, like
its population, is always changing. The country
is becoming more ethnically diverse, with an influx
of Hispanic Americans who tend to eat fewer carrots
than the national average. At the same time, the
U.S. population is growing wealthier, older, and
more educated, factors which bode well for greater
carrot consumption.
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