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The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) estimates per capita food consumption based on food disappearance data. These data represent the amount of food available for human use and are used as a proxy to estimate human consumption. The data may overstate what is actually eaten because they represent food supplies available in the market and do not account for waste.
Diet and health concerns, as well as changing relative prices and increasing real (adjusted for inflation) disposable income, have contributed to changes in U.S. food consumption. New products-- particularly more convenient ones-- have also influenced consumption, as have the aging population, expanded advertising campaigns, smaller households, more two-earner households, more single-person households, and an increasing proportion of ethnic minorities in the U.S. population.
The American diet has changed considerably over the past decade. Per capita beef consumption fell 14 percent between 1980-84 and 1990-94, while chicken consumption rose 37 percent and turkey, 67 percent. Egg use declined while cheese consumption increased. Consumption of fresh produce reached a record-high level in 1994.
Meat Consumption
In 1994, total meat consumption (red meat, poultry, and fish) reached a record 194 pounds (boneless, trimmed equivalent) per person, 14.5 pounds above the 1980-84 annual average (see table). Americans consumed an average of 64 pounds of beef (boneless, trimmed equivalent), 49.5 pounds of pork, 49.5 pounds of chicken,15 pounds of fish and shellfish,14 pounds of turkey, and about 1 pound each of lamb and veal. Projections indicate that annual per capita meat consumption in 1996 may reach 200 pounds.
Red meat--beef, pork, lamb, and veal-- accounted for 59 percent of the total meat supply in 1994, compared with 69 percent in 1980-84 and 74 percent in 1970-74. Chicken and turkey accounted for 33 percent of the total meat consumed in 1994, up from 24 percent in 1980-84 and 19 percent in 1970-74. In 1994, per capita consumption averaged 16 pounds less red meat, 30 pounds more poultry, and 3 pounds more fish and shellfish than in 1970-74.
In 1996, per capita consumption of beef, pork, chicken, and turkey will likely increase to match record-large production of livestock meat and poultry. Yearly changes in consumption are more likely due to changes in supply rather than changes in consumer tastes....