Most Popular Fruits and Veggies
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Convenience and variety count today. We can browse our neighborhood supermarket’s produce department to shop for an assortment of products from around the globe. That’s quite a change from the 1700s, when 90 percent of Americans resided on farms and grew nearly all of their own fruits and veggies. Here are some recent trends.
How Much Produce?
Each American ate 332 pounds of fresh produce in 2004—that’s 204 pounds of vegetables and 128 pounds of fruit. How does your family weigh in? Here’s what we’re buying:
Top 10 Fruits
| Fruit | % of Households Buying | # Times Purchased/Year |
| Bananas | 85 | 15 |
| Grapes | 69 | 6 |
| Apples | 68 | 6 |
| Cantaloupes | 50 | 4 |
| Oranges | 45 | 4 |
| Peaches | 46 | 3 |
| Watermelons | 40 | 3 |
| Nectarines | 32 | 3 |
| Plums | 30 | 2 |
| Berries | 26 | 3 |
Top 10 Veggies
| Vegetable | % of Households Buying | # Times Purchased/Year |
| Tomatoes | 72 | 8 |
| Onions | 72 | 6 |
| Peppers | 59 | 6 |
| Potatoes | 59 | 5 |
| Lettuce | 53 | 5 |
| Cucumbers | 52 | 5 |
| Broccoli | 42 | 5 |
| Corn | 42 | 3 |
| Cabbage | 40 | 3 |
| Celery | 37 | 3 |
Growing Organic
The number of shoppers who purchased organic produce rose to 41 percent in 2004, with tomatoes topping the list of favorites.
| Organic Produce Item |
Shoppers Purchasing (%) |
| Tomatoes | 48 |
| Lettuce | 31 |
| Apples | 27 |
| Broccoli | 23 |
| Grapes | 19 |
| Bananas | 19 |
| Potatoes | 17 |
| Onions | 17 |
| Celery | 13 |
| Carrots | 4 |
| Spinach | 1 |
| Strawberries | 1 |
Highest in Pesticides
These 12 fresh fruits and veggies are consistently found to be the most contaminated with pesticides—so consider buying organic.
- Apples
- Grapes (imported)
- Potatoes
- Bell peppers
- Nectarines
- Red raspberries
- Celery
- Peaches
- Spinach
- Cherries
- Pears
- Strawberries
For a wallet-size guide to carry with you, log on to the Environmental Working Group’s Web site at www.foodnews.org
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