This material was taken from Progressive Farmer
magazine, November 2002, which in turn took it
from the USDA and the UN.



Table 1. 

Income Levels and Percentage of
Income Spent on Food 

INCOME($)			PERCENTAGE SPENT
			ON FOOD

10,000 - 14,999		26.7
15,000 - 19,999		21.3
20,000 - 29,999		17.7
30,000 - 39,999		15.4
40,000 - 49,999		13.7
50,000 - 69,999		12.0
70,000 and over		8.7




Table 2.

Tax on Food as Indicating a Regressive Tax.

A regreressive tax actually falls so as to
take a larger share of the income of people
with low income than people with high income.

The States that tax food.

STATE			TAX RATE %

Alabama			4
Arkansas		5.125
Hawaii			4
Idaho			5
Illinois		1
Kansas			4.9
Mississippi		7
New Mexico		5
Oklahoma		4.5
South Carolina		5
Tennessee		6
Utah			4.75
West Virginia		6
Wyoming			3



Table 3.


Indicating How Little Americans Spend on Food
Compared to a Selection of Other Countries.
All in dollar ($) amounts.

COUNTRY		TOTAL SPENDING	   FOOD SPENDING     PERCENT INCOME
		GOODS & SERVICES   (PER PERSON)	     SPENT ON FOOD
                (PER PERSON)                         (PER PERSON)

United States	17,489   	   1,294	      8.4
United Kingdom  11,192             1,254             11.2
Sweden		12,217		   1,784             14.6
Germany         12,327             2,133             17.3
Japan		21,830             3,842             17.6
Switzerland     21,349             3,886             24.4
Mexico           3,267             1,101             24.5
Venezuela        1,964               737             38.2
Philippines        659               364             55.6


In European nations and Japan, some of the high rate of
spending on food might indicate choice.  

In the Latin American nations with low income, and in 
the Philippines, the high rate of spending on food probably
indicates necessity.