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Show 1,402 Lbs. in '80 Average Yank Ate The average American ate 1,402 pounds of food last year but paid proportionately .less for it than in 1960, according lo a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture study. Consumer expenditures climbed 319 percent from 1960 to 1980, but, proportionately, food gained less than other items in the consumer's budget. In I960, about 20 cents of each dollar of disposable income went for food. Last year, food took about 16 cents of the disposable dollar, the survey showed. In the last 20 years, shifts in consumption patterns affected many products. Consumption of frozen orange juice, for example, Increased 98 percent, from 4.6 pounds per capita in 1960 to 9.1 pounds last year. Beef consumption per capita was up 21 percent, from 64.3 to 78.1 pounds. Beef consumption has been dropping each year since 1976 when it hit a record 95.7 pounds per capita. Chicken consumption also gained dramatically going from 27.8 pounds per person in 1960 to 51.2 pounds in 1980 an 84 percent increase. The biggest gainer was cheese, going from 8.3 pounds per capita to 17.9, an increase of 116 percent. But some foods lost ground. Potatoes dropped from 80.4 pounds per person in 1960 to 44.4 in 1980, a loss of 45 percent. Egg consumption declined 17 percent. |