America's changing diet: Interactive maps show how US families have lost appetite for red meat, fatty dairy and potatoes as chicken, greens and low-fat milk take over
- Public health advice against fat and red meats has changed tastes
- Chicken and greens are now more popular than beef and whole milk
- Avocados enjoyed a recent surge, though still small in numbers
Milk, red meat and potatoes were once staples of the American diet.
But in the period between 1970 and 2013, all three relatively vanished from family kitchens, replaced with chicken, vegetables and two per cent milk.
It mirrors a shift in public health advice, recommending less fat, more vegetables and leaner meat.
Meanwhile, perhaps predictably, avocados have had a surge in popularity over the last few years since becoming something of a trend food.
To make sense of the information from the US Census Bureau, Flowing Data has compiled each food group into a set of interactive graphs.
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Back then: The start of each graph shows how popular each food item was with Americans in 1971
Changing: Over time public health announcements warned against red meats and fats - and tastes changed
The biggest transitions: Whole milk plummeted out of favor, as did beef, as chicken and dark greens took over
Each food item shifts up or down the scale as it becomes more or less popular.
For example, chicken rockets to the top of the meat column between 1970 and 2013 as poultry became a dietary staple. Whole milk, on the other hand, slumps to the bottom of the dairy table.
MEAT
Chicken is now the family favorite, overtaking beef and pork, as Americans favor leaner meat.
Chicken In 1970, chicken was the nation's third-favorite meat after beef and pork. In 1987, pork fell into third place, and finally in 2004 beef was usurped as the family favorite.
In 1970, the average amount of chicken consumed per person per day was 0.98 ounces. In 2013, Americans eat roughly 2.03 ounces of chicken a day.
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Beef Red meat was a feature of almost every American dining table in the 1970s. In 1976, beef peaked, with each person consuming an average of 2.98 ounces a day.
But from that year there was a steady decline, until 2013 when people consumed 1.8 ounces a day on average.
Pork, veal and lamb All three have barely changed in sales since 1970, but slipped slightly.
Pork is head and shoulders above the other two, with Americans consuming 1.58 ounces a day in 1970 and 1.29 a day in 2013.
Veal dropped from 0.05 ounces a day to 0.01 ounces a day. Lamb dropped from 0.06 to 0.02.
Seafood Fish has enjoyed a steady rise, though figures remain marginal.
DAIRY
The dairy industry transformed in 40 years.
Whole milk Amid public health warnings about fat, whole milk rapidly dropped in favor, from 0.76 cups a day in 1970 to 0.16 in 2013.
Cheese Though milk sales plummeted, the dairy industry has still thrived thanks to an increased appetite for cheese - particularly Italian which went from 0.04 cups a day to 0.27.
Others milks There has been no real replacement for whole milk, though. Despite an increase in sales of two per cent milk, the figures are nothing compared to what whole milk once was (0.11 cups a day in 1970, 0.21 in 2013).
Start of new health fads: The 1980s saw the rise of dark greens in the American diet
More greens: In 1985 dark greens, such as broccoli and collard greens, shot up from 0.04 cups per person per day to 0.09 cups per person per day. By 2013, the average amount was 0.23 cups a day - a huge increase
Slump of whole milk: In the mid-90s, whole milk fell into second place behind cheese in the dairy column
VEGETABLES
Dark greens have soared in popularity as potatoes drop out of favor.
Spinach, kale, collard greens, broccoli The taste for dark greens really began in the 1980s when figures started to climb rapidly.
Prior to 1983, these food items were almost non-existent in the American diet, with about 0.03 cups consumed per person per day.
In 1985 it shot up from 0.04 to 0.09. By 2013, the average amount was 0.23 cups a day - a huge increase.
Potatoes This root vegetable steadily declined from 0.65 cups a day per person in 1970 to 0.56 in 2009. In the wake of the financial crisis there was a slight uptick. By 2013, the figure was more like 0.59 cups a day.
FAT
Butter up, margarine down, cooking oil soaring.
Cooking oil As Flowing Data points out, the way data was collected for cooking oil consumption changed in the 1980s, causing a swift uptick. However, the numbers continued to climb rapidly as families shunned butter in cooking for oil instead.
Butter and margarine Amid a decline in margarine production, butter has taken over as the fat of choice in households.
Shortening Americans got a sudden and fleeting taste for shortening between 2000 and 2004.
The room-temperature cooking fat, such as Crisco, rocketed from 13.4 cups a day to 20.1 in just one year from 1999 to 2000.
But by 2005 it started to plummet amid health concerns about trans-fatty acids, which were linked to a slew of illnesses. Shortening contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oils that have trans-fatty acids.
Despite Crisco's attempts to create a low trans fat version, Americans' taste for shortening had gone sour. By 2013, it was down to 9.8 cups a day per person.
Lard Once popular pig fat is now basically non-existent in American fridges, down from 1.6 cups a day to 0.6.
New food trend: Americans got a sudden and fleeting taste for shortening between 2000 and 2004
By 2005 shortening sales started to plummet amid health concerns about trans-fatty acids, which were linked to a slew of illnesses. Shortening contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oils that have trans-fatty acids
Rise of chicken: Chicken is now overwhelmingly the most popular meat among Americans over beef or pork
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