All about peppers

The USDA has unleashed a gaggle of spreadsheets about bell pepper and chile pepper production, and you can find them all here. However, the most important spreadsheet of the bunch is published here. The USDA reports that the percentage of U.S. consumption of bell peppers that is imported has risen from about 22% in 2000 to nearly 30% in 2006. Per capita consumption of bell peppers is 7.6 pounds in 2006, the highest reported usage ever in the U.S. and up from 7.1 pounds in 2005.