Ch. 2: Characteristics Of The Food Industry Flashcards
On the basis of dollar sales, how big is the food industry?
They bring in more than $500 billion a year.
What percent of the working population in the US does the food industry employ?
25%
What percent of total consumer spending in the US goes toward food? What is this compared to others?
17% the lowest in the world.
The abundance of cheap food in the US is a result of increased efficiency of what 2 things? What are the contributing factors?
Production and processing
- Fertilizers
- Insecticides
- Farm mechanization
- Herbicides (for weeds)
- Animal and plant genetic improvements
In 1940, one farmer produced food for how many people?
In 1960?
Today?
12 people
28 people
Up to 150 people
What are the simple divisions of food industry functions? (3 segments)
- Collecting raw materials
- Processing
- Distribution to supermarkets
How does the US food dollar relate to meat, dairy, cereal, fruits/vegetables, and eggs?
Meat- 25 cents
Dairy- 12 cents
Cereal- 15 cents (nutritionally the worst bargain of the bunch)
Fruits/Vegetables- 16 cents
Eggs- 3 cents (nutritionally the best bargain of the bunch)
How much milk is produced per year? What percent is consumed in the form of which it’s produced?
190 billion pounds a year.
32%
What else is milk used to produce and what are the percents?
Cheese- 38% (10 pounds of milk for 1 pound of cheddar)
Butter- 13% ( 22 pounds of milk for 1 pound of butter)
Frozen desserts (ice cream)- 9%
Concentrated milks (condensed, sweetened condensed, evaporated, milk powder)- 1%
Farm where it’s produced- 1%
Miscellaneous (lactose- milk sugar, pills sent to pharmacy, casein- glue)- 7%
What percent of the US fish harvest goes toward human consumption? What percent spoils? What does the spoiled fish go towards?
50%- human consumption.
50%- spoils and goes toward animal and pet foods or waste.
What is fish meal?
Formally a by product (spoiled fish that goes toward cat food). It’s high in protein and has excellent potential in the form of fish flour.
What is fish flour?
Cleaned up fish meal with the fat removed.
What has the potential for supplying protein to our starving world population?
Fish flour
What are some major food products we import?
Coffee Tea Cocoa Sugar Spices Fish
What is the average per capita consumption of food consumed in the US?
1450 pounds per year
“A pint is pound __ ___ _____ ______.”
In the world around