I've been reading through a USDA publication, " Profiling Food Consumption in America(pdf)". It shows the general increase in food consumption over the past 50 years.
What's amazing is that consumption of almost everything has gone up: meats, fruits, vegetables, added fats, grains, and sugars. Take meat consumption for example. Here's the table:
(click to enlarge)
It shows an annual increase of 55 pounds of meat per person. What's driving this increase? I find it hard to believe that people were meat-deprived in the 1950s.
Most likely, I think that the increase in meat (particulary chicken) is driven by the processing of chicken - adding breading, fat, dipping sauces, etc. It may be that these added ingredients are driving the consumption of chicken (or other food groups for that matter) rather than an actual increase in the need for animal protein.
