Does this measure how much Americans actually eat?

No. USDA ERS food availability is a supply-side proxy for consumption — production plus imports minus exports and non-food or loss uses — divided by population. It is not a measured intake and it does not account for plate waste. Read every figure as pounds available per person, not pounds eaten.

Is any of this a price?

No. Every figure is a physical quantity in pounds per person per year. There are no dollars in this dataset; it is the volume companion to a value-based read, never a cost.

Did chicken really pass beef?

In 2010, for the first time in the tracked record, the U.S. had more chicken than beef available per person — about 58 pounds of chicken to 57 of beef. Chicken rose from 10.4 lbs in 1909 to 68.1 in 2021 while beef, which peaked at 88.8 lbs in 1976, has shed roughly a third. This is a supply-side proxy for consumption, not a measured intake.

Why do a cut like ribeye and the parent Beef show the same number?

USDA ERS publishes availability at the commodity level. Individual cuts and varieties are not measured separately, so a cut carries its parent commodity's per-capita figure. That is why 71 tracked foods map to 50 commodity series.

Why does a food's line start partway through the century instead of at zero?

Coverage begins in different years by commodity group — 1909 for meats and eggs, 1960 to 1970 for most produce, later for niche items. Years before a commodity's series begins are true absence of data, shown as an explicit gap and never filled in with zero, which would be a false reading.

The American Plate — a century of US per-capita food availability (USDA ERS)

Ranked cross-section — 50 commodities by pounds available per person (latest year)

Interactive views — a rank ribbon, a scrubbable plate, a century slopegraph, and per-food walk-throughs — load with JavaScript. The full data table below is always available and citable.

US per-capita food availability by commodity, ranked by latest-year pounds per person, with span and first-to-latest change. Source USDA ERS. A supply-side proxy for consumption, not a measured intake.
#	Commodity	Group	Lbs/person (latest)	Span	First → latest (lbs)	Change
1	Total chicken (3 cuts/varieties)	Meat & poultry	68.10	1909..2021	10.4 → 68.1	▲ +552.9% (rose)
2	Beef (5 cuts/varieties)	Meat & poultry	56.18	1909..2021	51.1 → 56.2	▲ +9.9% (rose)
3	Pork (4 cuts/varieties)	Meat & poultry	47.50	1909..2021	41.1 → 47.5	▲ +15.4% (rose)
4	Eggs: Per capita availability	Eggs	36.04	1909..2021	37.2 → 36.0	● -3% (flat)
5	potatoes (2 cuts/varieties)	Vegetables	28.41	1960..2022	81.0 → 28.4	▼ -64.9% (fell)
6	bananas	Fruit	26.86	1970..2021	17.4 → 26.9	▲ +54.5% (rose)
7	onions (3 cuts/varieties)	Vegetables	19.17	1970..2022	10.1 → 19.2	▲ +89.1% (rose)
8	tomatoes (field and hothouse) (2 cuts/varieties)	Vegetables	19.03	1960..2022	12.6 → 19.0	▲ +51.6% (rose)
9	apples	Fruit	15.81	1970..2021	17.2 → 15.8	▼ -8.2% (fell)
10	watermelon	Fruit	14.39	1970..2021	13.5 → 14.4	▲ +6.7% (rose)
11	romaine and leaf lettuce (3 cuts/varieties)	Vegetables	12.70	1985..2022	3.3 → 12.7	▲ +288.4% (rose)
12	Turkey	Meat & poultry	12.07	1909..2021	0.8 → 12.1	▲ +1427.8% (rose)
13	bell peppers	Vegetables	11.06	1960..2022	2.1 → 11.1	▲ +431.7% (rose)
14	head lettuce (2 cuts/varieties)	Vegetables	10.34	1960..2022	21.4 → 10.3	▼ -51.7% (fell)
15	grapes	Fruit	8.50	1970..2021	2.9 → 8.5	▲ +191.1% (rose)
16	avocados	Fruit	8.45	1970..2021	0.5 → 8.4	▲ +1777.8% (rose)
17	carrots	Vegetables	8.38	1960..2022	7.2 → 8.4	▲ +16.1% (rose)
18	oranges and temples	Fruit	8.25	1970..2022	16.1 → 8.3	▼ -48.7% (fell)
19	cucumbers	Vegetables	8.15	1960..2022	3.0 → 8.2	▲ +172.6% (rose)
20	pineapples	Fruit	7.87	1970..2021	0.7 → 7.9	▲ +1024.3% (rose)
21	strawberries	Fruit	7.30	1970..2021	1.7 → 7.3	▲ +322% (rose)
22	cabbage (2 cuts/varieties)	Vegetables	6.17	1960..2022	10.5 → 6.2	▼ -41.4% (fell)
23	sweet potatoes	Vegetables	5.67	1965..2022	6.6 → 5.7	▼ -14.6% (fell)
24	squash (4 cuts/varieties)	Vegetables	5.26	1970..2022	1.3 → 5.3	▲ +295.5% (rose)
25	broccoli	Vegetables	5.24	1960..2022	0.4 → 5.2	▲ +1210% (rose)
26	cantaloupe	Fruit	5.16	1970..2021	7.0 → 5.2	▼ -26.4% (fell)
27	lemons	Fruit	4.94	1970..2022	2.1 → 4.9	▲ +139.8% (rose)
28	limes	Fruit	4.59	1970..2022	0.2 → 4.6	▲ +2600% (rose)
29	celery	Vegetables	4.15	1960..2022	8.0 → 4.2	▼ -48.1% (fell)
30	sweet corn	Vegetables	4.11	1960..2022	8.4 → 4.1	▼ -51% (fell)
31	mangoes	Fruit	3.66	1970..2021	0.1 → 3.7	▲ +5128.6% (rose)
32	pears	Fruit	3.12	1970..2021	1.9 → 3.1	▲ +62.5% (rose)
33	blueberries	Fruit	2.54	1980..2021	0.2 → 2.5	▲ +1311.1% (rose)
34	mushrooms (2 cuts/varieties)	Vegetables	2.50	1965..2021	0.2 → 2.5	▲ +1462.5% (rose)
35	garlic	Vegetables	2.39	1960..2022	0.3 → 2.4	▲ +856% (rose)
36	spinach	Vegetables	2.15	1960..2022	0.8 → 2.1	▲ +156% (rose)
37	cauliflower	Vegetables	2.12	1960..2022	1.3 → 2.1	▲ +65.6% (rose)
38	asparagus	Vegetables	1.68	1960..2022	0.7 → 1.7	▲ +136.6% (rose)
39	artichokes	Vegetables	1.52	1960..2022	0.2 → 1.5	▲ +560.9% (rose)
40	papayas	Fruit	1.34	1970..2021	0.1 → 1.3	▲ +1016.7% (rose)
41	collard greens	Vegetables	1.32	1997..2022	0.8 → 1.3	▲ +67.1% (rose)
42	snap beans	Vegetables	1.24	1960..2022	2.5 → 1.2	▼ -51.4% (fell)
43	grapefruit	Fruit	1.15	1970..2022	8.2 → 1.1	▼ -86% (fell)
44	brussels sprouts	Vegetables	1.06	1970..2022	0.3 → 1.1	▲ +231.3% (rose)
45	eggplant	Vegetables	1.01	1960..2022	0.3 → 1.0	▲ +274.1% (rose)
46	Lamb	Meat & poultry	1.00	1909..2021	4.4 → 1.0	▼ -77.3% (fell)
47	kale	Vegetables	0.98	1997..2022	0.4 → 1.0	▲ +133.3% (rose)
48	raspberries	Fruit	0.92	1992..2021	0.0 → 0.9	▲ +2200% (rose)
49	kiwifruit	Fruit	0.80	1982..2021	0.1 → 0.8	▲ +700% (rose)
50	okra	Vegetables	0.57	1974..2022	0.2 → 0.6	▲ +235.3% (rose)