overview
In 2002, total meat consumption (red meat, poultry, and fish) amounted to 200 pounds per person, 23 pounds above the level in 1970. Americans consumed, on average, 18 pounds less red meat (mostly less beef) than in 1970, 37 pounds more poultry, and 4 pounds more fish (get these data and more through the Food Consumption (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 by not only prices and income, but also sociological factors, family structure, time constraints, and Federal food assistance programs, such as the Food Stamp Program. More overview...

• Food supply and use
• Household food expenditures
• Individual food consumption
• Effects of food consumption choices on agriculture

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

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 Consumption (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

• Diet and health
• Food and nutrition assistance programs
• Food CPI, prices, and expenditures
• Food marketing and price spreads
• Food market structures

recent research developments
Who eats what and where—ERS, which keeps track of the supply of food produced in the United States, is now examining consumer preferences by age, income, region, race, whether people eat at home or away, and other characteristics. Our first such analysis examined the demographics of dry bean consumption. That analysis proved useful to marketers, so the concept was expanded to include garlic, cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and most recently, spinach. The spinach analysis indicates that per capita spinach consumption is greatest in the Northeast and West. About 80 percent of fresh-market spinach and 91 percent of processed spinach is purchased at retail and consumed at home. Per capita spinach use is strongest among Asians, highest among women 40 and older, and weakest among teenage girls. Analyses of watermelon, snap beans, tree nuts, potato products, apples, oranges, lettuce, sweet peppers, and sweet corn have been added.

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.

Food Guide Pyramid—Since its release, the Pyramid has been widely used by nutrition and health professionals as well as educators and the media and has helped disseminate the Dietary Guidelines message.

for more information, contact: Jean Buzby, Jay Variyam
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: August 23, 2004