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These statistics came from the new cookbook Vegetables Unleashed that I read recently. I thought they were worth considering:

Only 10% of Americans eat the recommended 1.5 cups of fruit and 2 cups of vegetables per day.

42% of Americans don’t regularly consume produce at all.

Deaths worldwide attributed to lack of fruits and vegetables: 5.2 million.

Pounds of vegetables consumed annually by the average American: 186

Pounds of meat consumed annually by the average American: 279

Americans spend 12% of their income on food.

The rest of the world spends 19% of their income on food.

Cost per day in the US for the recommended amount of produce: $2.50.

Amount of produce Americans throw away every day: 338 million.

Cost of food Americans throw away every year: $165 billion.

Food waste has increased 50% since 1990.

Amount of US taxpayer money allocated to subsidizing corn: $6.2 billion.

Percentage of processed American food that contains corn (mostly as a sweetener): 75%

40% of American kid’s vegetable consumption comes from potatoes.

How many varieties of potato are available in the average US market: 3.

How many flavors of Mountain Dew are available on the US market: 38

Number of calories $1 buys in soda: 420

Number of calories $1 buys in organic broccoli: 39

Something to think about!

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