Let’s eat!

From this morning’s Al’s Morning Meeting:

150 million: Number of hot dogs (all varieties) expected to be consumed by Americans on the Fourth. (That’s one frankfurter for every two people.) There’s about a 1-in-4 chance that the hot dogs made of pork originated in Iowa, as the Hawkeye State had a total inventory of 16.2 million hogs and pigs on March 1, 2005. This represents more than one-fourth of the nation’s total. (Data on hot dog consumption courtesy of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.) Data on hogs and pigs at http://www.usda.gov/nass/.

6: Number of states in which the revenue from chicken broilers was $1 billion or greater in 2004. There is a good chance that one of these states – Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina, Mississippi, Texas — is the source of your barbecued chicken. http://www.usda.gov/nass/.

Better than 50-50: The odds that the beans in your side dish of baked beans came from North Dakota, Michigan or Nebraska, which produced 58 percent of the nation’s dry, edible beans in 2004. Another popular July 4 side dish is corn on the cob. California and Florida together accounted for about 45 percent of the value of sweet corn produced nationally in 2004. http://www.usda.gov/nass/.

One-half: Amount of the nation’s spuds produced in Idaho or Washington in 2004. Potato salad and potato chips are also popular food items at July 4 barbecues. http://www.usda.gov/nass/.

Nearly 69 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. See Table 1238, 2004-2005 edition.