Then and Now: How the American diet has changed

Protein:
Between 1970 and 1995, Americans red meat consumption fell 13%, while Poultry rose 86% and fish and shellfish-27%.
The fish and poultry we now eat make up 25% total fat and 37% of the saturated fat in our diets compared to 35% and 37% in 1970.
In 1996, each individuals meat consumption averaged 191 lb/ year. That average now is around 200.

Dairy Products:
Replaced by the availability of soft drinks, milk intake has gone down 22% whole milk, in particular is down 45% since 1970. Whole milk, in 1970 represented 81% of all milk consumed. It has now dropped to represent only 36%. Thought to be largely due to the increasingly popular pizza, cheese intake has gone up about 250% (excluding cottage cheese) since 1970.

Cream products have declined 36% from averaging 9.1 lb/ year, to 5.9 lb/ year.
Eggs have shown a decrease from 403 eggs per person per year in 1945, to 309 in 1970, to 236 in 1997.

Grains:
Since the FDA has been keeping record, was in 1909 when the average American ate a record breaking 300 lb. of grains per year. In 1970 that number was 135, 147 lb in the mid 80’s, and 192 lb by the mid 90’s.
75% of our grains come from wheat, though in 1985 we ate 6% more wheat than we do now.

Fats and Sugars:
The average American eats 150 lb of caloric sweeteners now. Compare that to the 122 lbs consumed on average in the 70’s.  
from 1970 to 1994, Americans doubled their coffee intake.

1970- your typical caloric intake for any given day: 3,300. 1994- your typical caloric intake for any given day: 3,800. The suggested caloric intake per day is around 2,000 per day to maintain a healthy weight. That is a lot of extra calories.

Overall, the size of the American diet has increased 22% since 1970. Think about it. Today, our meals are 22% bigger, we eat 22% MORE food than we did 40 years ago. That says a lot about our waistbands.
In 1993 there were 1,755 farmers markets, by 1995 that number increased to 2,116. Way to go local America!