Dry Bean Consumption
in the U.S.

By Robyn Flipse, MS, RD

Legumes, including dry beans, have been a part of the human diet for over 10,000 years.1 Today they are second only to cereals in providing food crops for world agriculture and are grown in 963 countries around the globe and on all continents except Antarctica. 2

The United States (U.S.) ranks sixth in the world in dry bean production, behind Brazil, India, China, Burma (Myanmar), and Mexico. Eighteen states grow dry beans, but North Dakota and Minnesota account for nearly half of all U.S. production. The top countries receiving exports of U.S. grown dry beans in 2009/2010 for both commercial sales and food aid programs were: Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, and Italy, with Cuba and Spain near equal in the number 6 spot on the list.3

Which beans are Americans eating?

The average annual U.S. per capita use of dry edible beans between 2002 and 2010, based on disappearance data, was 6.48 pounds per person, with a high of 7.2 pounds in 2010 and a low 6.03 pounds in 2009.3  The leading varieties of beans used in the U.S. for the past year were:

Pounds/person

Pinto beans 3.29
Navy (pea) beans         0.84
Black beans             0.58
Garbanzo beans         0.44
Great northern beans     0.26
Dark red kidney beans     0.25
Light red kidney beans     0.23

Projected per capita use of dry beans for 2011 is expected to decline by 8 percent to 6.2 pounds due to a smaller crop, rising prices, and good export demand. Reports also indicate bean consumption has been declining over the past ten years due to reduced consumption of side dishes and fewer meals prepared at home.

One bean on the rise is the garbanzo. Over the past three years (2008-2010), per capita use of garbanzo beans has increased 58 percent over consumption levels in 2000.3 This increase is attributed to the growing popularity of vegan/vegetarian foods, Middle Eastern and Indian/Indian Subcontinent cuisines and in particular, the popularity of hummus.4

Which households buy the most beans in the U.S.?

People of Hispanic heritage living in the U.S. represent 11 percent of the population, but account for 33 percent of dry bean consumption. Regional consumption patterns are consistent with this demographic. The Southern and Western states account for 39 percent and 38 percent of all bean consumption, respectively, and they have the highest concentration of Hispanic population.5

Other characteristics of U.S households with the greatest reported bean purchases, based on a Neilson survey of households using in-home scanners to record purchases of UPC coded items, include:6

  • 5 or more members
  • In rural areas
  • Female head of household 55 years or older
  • Maturing families or empty nesters
  • Poor or just getting by
  • Female head is unemployed
  • Female head has no high school education
  • Non-Caucasian or Hispanic

Characteristics of the households in that same survey that are not buying beans include:

  • Single member household
  • No female head
  • Caucasian or Asian
  • Professional or White Collar job
  • East and Central regions of U.S.

What forms of beans are most popular?

Beans are available primarily in two forms in U.S. supermarkets: canned and bagged. Some varieties are also sold in a cooked and frozen form, such as lima beans and black-eyed peas.
Most consumers buy canned beans for their convenience. A 2006 Neilson survey found 80 percent of U.S. households reported buying canned beans in the past year compared to only 23 percent reporting the purchase of bagged beans during the same period. 7

Beans Are Vegetables

According to the 2009 State Indicator Report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 27 percent of adults eat 3 or more daily servings of vegetables. This falls well below the vegetable-specific objective of Healthy People 2010 to have 50 percent of Americans aged 2 years and older eating at least 3 servings of vegetables a day, of which at least 1 serving is a dark green or orange vegetable.8

Part of the problem may be the fact many consumers do not realize beans are vegetables. A telephone survey of 1,004 consumers conducted in 2006 found only 43 percent were aware that dry beans were vegetables and only 45 percent recognized baked beans as such, while the identification of other choices as vegetables was 65 percent for potatoes, 77 percent for corn, 91 percent for green beans and 93 percent for broccoli. 9

Further support for eating beans to help close the vegetable gap in U.S. diets can be found in a recent analysis of the most commonly consumed vegetables in the U.S. and the importance of the vegetable subgroups in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The authors found the legume subgroup contributed, on average, only 4.3 percent of the calories in the recommended food intake patterns, yet more than 5 percent of the daily intake of vitamin E, folate, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, protein, carbohydrate and fiber.10

So the final question that remains to be answered is: What more can we do to promote bean consumption to the customers and clients we serve?

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About the Author

Robyn Flipse, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian and cultural anthropologist with a focus on the societal forces continually shaping modern lifestyles and their impact on eating behavior and food trends.  She serves as a consultant to global food and beverage companies and a multimedia spokesperson and author.

REFERENCES

  1. Albala K. Beans: A History, Oxford, UK: Berg Publishers; 2007.
  2. Food and Agriculture Organization, FAOSTAT, World pulse crops, http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx
  3. USDA-ERS. Vegetables and Melons Outlook NGS-344/April 28, 2011. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/vgs/VGSTables.htm
  4. Sax I. Chickpea Power – Spread the word: Americans going garbanzo for hummus. NYDailyNews.com. July 18, 2007. http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2007/07/18/2007-07-18_chickpea_power-2.html?ref=rss
  5. Lucier G, Biing-Hwan L, Allshouse J, Kantor LS. Factors affecting dry bean consumption in the United States. Economic Research Service/USDA, Vegetables and Specialties S&O/VGDS-280/April 2000. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/DryBeans/PDFs/DryBeanConsumption.pdf
  6. A.C. Nielsen HomeScan Panel – 52 weeks ending 12/31/2005
  7. Nielsen Homescan Panel of All Outlets. 2006 U.S. Household Penetration of Dry Beans by Packaging Form.
  8. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009. http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/indicatorreport/
  9. TNS telephone omnibus survey, September 2006. Data on file, Bush Brothers & Company, Knoxville, TN.
  10. Hornick B, Weiss L. Comparative Nutrient Analysis of Commonly Consumed Vegetables. Nutrition Today, 2011;46(3):130- 137.