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The U.S. food system touches
the lives of Americans each and every day. Along with providing
balanced food choices and meeting specific consumer demands, the
food system provides additional benefits that have a positive impact
on people and the communities where we live.
Consider the following positive contributions delivered by the food
system:
Americans spend less on food
than any other developed nation in the world.
In fact, the average percentage of disposable income spent on meat
and poultry dropped from an average of 4.1 percent in 1970 to 2
percent in 2004.
Foodborne illnesses have declined to record
lows.
Preliminary data just released by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates
the annual incidence of several foodborne illnesses decreased significantly
in 2005 when compared to the baseline years of 1996 – 1998.
The Centers’ data indicates incidences of foodborne illness
caused by E. coli declined by 29 percent, Listeria by 32 percent,
and Salmonella by 9 percent.
Livestock is cared for responsibly.
Farmers and ranchers recognize their obligation to provide for the
well-being of their herds and flocks. Healthy animals start with
proper nutrition, healthy living conditions and good veterinary
care.
The U.S. meat packing industry’s animal welfare standards
were written by one of the world’s leading welfare experts
Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University and are used around
the world to ensure livestock welfare at meat plants.
Environmental stewardship
is important to each link of the food chain.
Farmers and ranchers are the original recyclers – growing
crops, feeding the
grain to livestock and using the nutrients in livestock manure as
fertilizer to decrease reliance on petroleum-based fertilizers.
Additionally, protecting the environment is a critical part of the
operating philosophies of people and companies throughout the food
system. Innovative package design and recycling programs are important
to companies in the food system.
U.S. workers have access
to good jobs and competitive wages.
Restaurants are America’s largest private sector employer,
providing jobs for 12 and a half million people. Restaurant managers
average $44,000 per year. The beverage industry alone contributes
more than 3 million jobs and $278 billion in annual economic activity.
Hourly workers in packing plants earned $12.03 per hour on average,
or approximately $25,200 per year, according to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Communities benefit from
food industry contributions.
Companies across the food system contribute millions of dollars
each year to charities and programs that benefit local communities.
In 2005, Coca-Cola, in conjunction with the President’s Council
for Physical Fitness and Sports, the School Nutrition Association,
and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, developed
the “Live It!” program designed to help middle school
students build healthy lifestyles.
These are a few of the many examples of our food system’s
impact on your everyday life.
We invite you to visit the links on the left side of this page to
learn additional facts about the
food system’s positive contributions and the people working
in it.
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