Fourth of July Cookouts (By the
Numbers)
How are you going to celebrate
the holiday? Odds are it will include a cookout. Read on:
More than 1 in 4 - The
chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on the Fourth of July
originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 19.0 million hogs and pigs on
March 1, 2011. This estimate represents more than one-fourth of the nation's
estimated total. North Carolina (8.6 million) and Minnesota (7.6 million) were
also homes to large numbers of pigs. Source:
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
6.8 billion pounds - Total
production of cattle and calves in Texas in 2010. Chances are good that the beef
hot dogs, steaks and burgers on your backyard grill came from the Lone Star
State, which accounted for about one-sixth of the nation's total production.
And if the beef did not come from Texas, it very well may have come from
Nebraska (4.6 billion pounds) or Kansas (4.1 billion pounds). Source: USDA National Agricultural
Statistics Service
6 - Number
of states in which the value of broiler chicken production was $1 billion or
greater between December 2009 and November 2010. There is a good chance that one
of these states — Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi or
Texas — is the source of your barbecued chicken. Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
Over 1 in 3 - The
odds that your side dish of baked beans originated from North Dakota, which
produced 36 percent of the nation's dry, edible beans in 2010. Another popular
Fourth of July side dish is corn on the cob. Florida, California, Georgia,
Washington and New York together accounted for 68 percent of the fresh market sweet
corn produced nationally in 2010. Source:
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
Over 7 in 10 - Of the
nation's head lettuce production in 2010 that came from California. This
lettuce may end up in your salad or on your burger. Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
7 in 10 - The
chances that the fresh tomatoes in your salad came from Florida or California,
which combined accounted for 71 percent of U.S. fresh market tomato production
last year. Source: USDA
National Agricultural Statistics Service
2.5 Billion Pounds -
Florida led the nation in watermelon production last year (750 million pounds).
Other leading producers of this popular fruit included California, Georgia and
Texas, each had an estimate of more than 600 million pounds. Source: USDA National Agricultural
Statistics Service
81 million - Number
of Americans who said they have taken part in a barbecue during the previous
year. It's probably safe to assume a lot of these events took place on
Independence Day. Source:
Mediamark Research & Intelligence, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of
the United States: 2011