I borrowed that headline from the New York Times, which directed readers to a summary of the 130th edition of the Statistical Abstract of the United States, an annual snapshot of America and Americans released by the Census Bureau each year. The accompanying link to the Abstract lists all kinds of data, more than you or I probably have time to read. So the Times surfed around and found some interesting generalities for us, putting them on its website with a graphical look. For example:
• We’re eating 30 fewer pounds of vegetables annually than we once did.
• We’re drinking 2.5 additional gallons of wine per person since 2000.
• The average American eats 108.3 pounds of red meat annually, 5.4 pounds fewer than in 2000.
• And twice as many young adults bowl as ride bicycles these days, which I take to mean that few young adults actually do either.