185 U.S. Food Consumption Data Is Now More Accurate (Part 1) 
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			Dynamic Chiropractic – November 7, 2005, Vol. 23, Issue 23		
		

		
	











U.S. Food Consumption Data Is Now More Accurate (Part 1)



By G. Douglas Andersen, DC, DACBSP, CCN








When I last wrote about food consumption in the United States ("U.S. Food Consumption and Obesity," Parts I-IV)1-4 in 2003, the most up-to-date statistics I could find were six years old and were based on disappearance data.
			

		 The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) Web site is where I found this information.5 The ERS has made a few changes in its presentation, the biggest of which is an estimate of the amount of food we do not eat. 
 
Disappearance Data 
 
Estimating food consumption by food disappearance statistics is accomplished as follows: Total production is added to the beginning food stocks and total imports. Farm use, industrial use, exports, and ending stocks are then subtracted. Thus, the disappearance data is the amount of food that disappears. This is greater than the amount of food actually consumed. 
 
Per-Capita Consumption 
 
There is now a rough estimation on the amount of food lost from the farm to the mouth. Losses occur at every step of production, from growing to processing, transporting, packaging, retail, restaurant, cooking, spillage, spoilage and plate waste. The USDA's ERS calculates that the above losses account for 25 percent of the disappearance data. Therefore, the numbers in the tables (below and top right) are much more accurate than the data presented in my previous four-part series. In this article, let's examine the data from 1970-1995.
   
  
  U.S. Food Supply Per-Capita Calories: Calories Per Person Per Day  
   
  Year   Calories per
 person per day		  
   
  1970   2,234  
   
  1975   2,206  
   
  1980   2,270  
   
  1985   2,431  
   
  1990   2,500  
   
  1995   2,599  
  
  
 
  
     Per-Capita Consumption Data: Food (1970-1995)  
  
  Pounds per person per year (adjusted for losses)   1970   1975   1980   1985   1990   1995  
   
  Red meat (beef, veal, pork & lamb)   80.2   76.9   76.5   75.8   67.9   68.6  
   
  Poultry (chicken & turkey)   19.3   18.8   23.4   26.1   32.4   35.7  
   
  Fish (fresh, frozen, canned & cured)   8.4   8.6   8.8   10.5   10.5   10.3  
   
  Nuts   1.5   1.6   1.5   2.1   2.0   1.6  
   
  Sugar   84.8   81.1   85.6   89.8   94.3   102.6  
   
  High-fructose corn syrup   0.4   3.5   13.5   32.2   35.3   41.0  
   
  Grain   94.5   97.0   101.0   109.3   126.0   131.6  
   
  Total vegetables   133.0   132.7   134.9   142.8   153.0   161.2  
   
  Cheese   8.8   11.0   13.3   17.0   18.2   19.6  
   
  Total fats (oils, added fats, butter, cream, etc.)   43.5   44.2   47.5   53.5   53.3   55.1  
   
  Fresh fruit   41.8   43.5   44.6   46.5   49.7   51.6  
  
 		  
  
  
 
  
     Per-Capita Consumption Data: Beverages (1970-1995)  
  
  Gallons per person per year (adjusted for loss)   1970   1975   1980   1985   1990   1995  
   
  Milk   31.3   29.5   27.6   26.7   26.8   25.7  
   
  Juice   4.8   5.7   6.1   6.2   6.2   6.5  
   
  Bottled water   N/A   1.2*   2.4   4.5   8.0   12.1  
   
  Soft drinks (diet)   2.1   3.2   5.1   7.1   10.7   10.9  
   
  Soft drinks (regular)   22.2   25.0   29.9   28.7   35.6   36.5  
   
  Alcohol   21.6   25.0   28.3   28.0   27.5   24.7  
  
  *Statistics started in 1976.		  
  
   
Like my "U.S. Food Consumption and Obesity" series, based on straight disappearance data, these new statistics, adjusted for losses, still yield the same conclusion: Blaming obesity on one food group is simply incorrect. Next month, we'll examine data from 1999-2003. 
 
 
 
References 
 
      
  1. Andersen GD. U.S. food consumption and obesity, part I. Dynamic Chiropractic, March 24, 2003: www.chiroweb.com/archives/21/07/01.html. 
    2.    
  2. Andersen GD. U.S. food consumption and obesity, part II. Dynamic Chiropractic, April 21, 2003: www.chiroweb.com/archives/21/09/02.html. 
    3.    
  3. Andersen GD. U.S. food consumption and obesity, part III. Dynamic Chiropractic, May 19, 2003: www.chiroweb.com/archives/21/11/02.html. 
    4.    
  4. Andersen GD. U.S. food consumption and obesity, part IV. Dynamic Chiropractic, June 16, 2003: www.chiroweb.com/archives/21/13/01.html. 
    5.    
  5. www.ers.usda.gov 
    6.   
   
G. Douglas Andersen, DC, DACBSP, CCN
 Brea, California
 
			
 www.andersEnchiro.com
 
Click here for previous articles by G. Douglas Andersen, DC, DACBSP, CCN.




















		






			

			


			







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