Overview
In 2005, total meat consumption (red meat, poultry,
and fish) amounted to 200 pounds per person, 22 pounds
above the level in 1970. Americans consumed, on average,
17 pounds less red meat (mostly less beef) than in 1970,
40 pounds more poultry, and 4 pounds more fish (data are
available through the Food
Availability (Per Capita) Data System). The types
and amounts of food an individual chooses to eat not only
affect his or her well-being, but also have implications
for society as a whole. The choices of which
foods to eat, where to eat, and when to eat are intensely
personal, influenced not only by prices and income, but
also sociological factors, family structure, time constraints,
and Federal food assistance programs, such as the Food
Stamp Program. More overview...
Features
Low-Income Households' Expenditures on Fruits and Vegetables—Americans' consumption of fruits and vegetables falls short of recommended levels. Low-income households, however, consume even lower amounts than other households. On average, low-income households spent $3.59 per capita per week on fruits and vegetables in 2000 while higher income households spent $5.02—a statistically significant difference. Findings also suggest that low-income households will allocate an additional dollar of income to other food or nonfood items, other than fruits and vegetables, such as meats, clothing, or housing, deemed more essential to the household. A two-page Research Brief highlights the report's findings.
How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?—One argument for not consuming fruits and vegetables is that they are too expensive, especially when fresh. Yet among 154 forms of fruits and vegetables priced using ACNielsen Homescan data, more than half were estimated to cost 25 cents or less per serving. Consumers can meet the recommendation of three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for 64 cents. The related data product is a collection of spreadsheets that contain all the data used in the report and are presented to show exactly how ERS arrived at the costs per serving figures.
U.S.
Per Capita Food Supply Trends: More Calories, Refined Carbohydrates,
and Fats—ERS's loss-adjusted annual per capita food supply
series suggests that average daily calorie consumption in the United
States in 2000 was 12 percent, or roughly 300 calories, above the
1985 level. Of that increase, grains (mainly refined grains) accounted
for 46 percent, added fats 24 percent, added sugars 23 percent,
fruits and vegetables 8 percent, and the meat and dairy groups together
declined 1 percent. Per capita availability of total dietary fat,
after remaining steady from 1985 to 1999, jumped 6 percent in 2000.
American diets are also low in whole grains and other nutritious
foods.
Are Americans
Turning Away From Lower Fat Salty Snacks?—Although sales
of regular versions of potato chips, pretzels, and microwave popcorn
increased 11 percent from 1995 to 1999, sales of lower fat versions
of the same salty snacks dropped 6 percent in the same period. Sales
of lower fat potato chips rose during 1995-98 mostly due to high
sales of fat-free Olean products. Lower fat versions of pretzels
and microwave popcorn, however, dropped significantly. New product
introductions of reduced- and low-fat products, including
salty snacks, also fell off, from 1,914 in 1995 to 481 in 1999.
Consumer-Driven Agriculture—Tomorrow's America will be bigger, wealthier, better educated, more ethnically diverse, and older. These changes may be subtle from day to day but over time will transform the Nation into an intrinsically different place. Economic Research Service engaged in a major research effort to study what America's food system may look like in the year 2020 in this issue of FoodReview. There's also a related Amber Waves article on the topic.
Recommended Readings
Moving Toward the Food Guide Pyramid:
Implications for U.S. Agriculture—Closing the gap between
average U.S. diets and Pyramid serving recommendations means consumers
will have to change their eating habits significantly. If the average
American were to fully adopt Pyramid recommendations, U.S. crop
acreage devoted to food and feed would need to increase by nearly
6 million acres (about 2 percent) over average levels in the early
1990's. The relatively small net adjustment in crop acreage masks
larger anticipated changes for some sectors, particularly sweeteners,
fats and oils, and citrus fruits.
Food Spending in American Households—Average yearly spending on food in urban households changed little between 1997 and 1998. The typical household spent $1,767 per person in 1997 versus $1,773 in 1998. Of this amount, $1,126 was spent on food eaten at home and $641 on food eaten away from home. In 1998, slightly less, $1,094, was spent on food at home and slightly more, $679, on food away from home. Detailed tabulations are presented for 133 food categories and 10 household socioeconomic characteristics for 1997 and 1998. The data are from the Consumer Expenditure Diary Surveys prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Household Food Spending by Selected
Demographics in the 1990s—Per person food expenditures,
adjusted for inflation, fell from $2,189 in 1990 to $2,037 in 1998,
about 7 percent. Price-adjusted food spending reflects changes in
the real price of food and quantity purchased, but the national
average masks the fact that some population subgroups spent significantly
more or less on food than average. For example, while food spending
declined for all demographic groups except female-headed and Black
households, these two groups still had the lowest per capita spending.
In contrast, per capita food spending was greatest for households
in the highest income quintile, for one-person households, and for
households with heads ages 55-64.
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
Food Availability (Per
Capita) Data System—ERS annually calculates the
amount of food available for human consumption in the
United States. This series tracks historical national
aggregate consumption of several hundred basic commodities.
It is the only continuous source of data on food and nutrient
availability in the United States and provides data back
to 1909 for many commodities. See also the related report,
Food Consumption, Prices,
and Expenditures, 1970-97.
How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?—ERS has calculated total pounds or pints purchased at retail, total dollars spent, average retail price, serving size, servings per pound or pint, and dollars per serving for each form of 57 fruits and vegetables in the report. The collection of spreadsheets contain all the data used in the report and show exactly how ERS arrived at the costs per serving figures. Each table also includes a short narrative that complements the statistics for each fruit and vegetable, detailing the nutritional benefits of each fruit and vegetable and divulging little known facts (or trivia) as well. This information should provide users with a clearer understanding of the costs of produce, the nutrient density of most fruits and vegetables, and their contributions to a healthy diet.
Related Briefing Rooms
Recent Research Developments
Who eats what and where—ERS keeps track of the supply of food produced in the United States and examines consumer preferences by age, income, region, race, whether people eat at home or away, and other characteristics. Because such analyses proved useful to marketers, the concept was expanded to include a wide variety of food. The most recent analysis for carrots indicates that per capita carrot consumption is greatest in the East and Central regions of the U.S. About 80 percent of fresh-market carrots are purchased at retail and consumed at home, with the majority consisting of fresh-cut (including baby) carrots. Per capita use of fresh carrots is strongest among Asians, with per capita use of both fresh and frozen carrots greatest among upper income households. See Who Eats What and Where…
Beverages are replacing milk in children's diets—Children
and adolescents in the United States are increasingly choosing to
drink soft drinks rather than milk or more nutritious juice. ERS
analyzed data from the USDA's Continuing Survey of Food Intakes
by Individuals (CSFII) and found that consumption of soft drinks
increases and consumption of milk decreases as a child becomes older.
On average, for each 1-ounce reduction in milk consumption, a child
consumes 4.2 ounces of soft drinks, resulting in a net gain of 31
calories and a loss of about 34 milligrams of calcium. Therefore,
changes in beverage consumption among children may have contributed
to the increased prevalence of obesity and overweight conditions
among children. Further, girls are less likely to consume milk and
also consume less milk than boys, a finding consistent with observations
among policymakers that calcium deficiency is particularly severe
among female adolescents. For more information, see the summary
of the article in ERS
Elsewhere, or contact Biing-Hwan
Lin for a reprint.
Related Links
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey—Consists
of two surveys (the quarterly Interview survey and the Diary survey)
that provide information on the buying habits of American consumers,
including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit
(families and single consumers) characteristics.
Dietary Guidelines
for Americans—The Federal dietary guidelines are intended
to help consumers choose diets that improve health, reduce their
risk for diet-related chronic disease, and meet their nutritional
needs. These guidelines summarize the most current scientific evidence
on diet and health into recommendations for healthy Americans age
2 and older and serves as the basis for Federal nutrition and education
programs.
MyPyramid—The
original Food Guide Pyramid has been replaced by the MyPyramid
food guidance system. The system provides information
specifically for nutrition and health professionals and
provides many options to help Americans make healthy food
choices.
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