USDA reports decline in per capita veg disappearance

We are supposed to be eating more vegetables, not less. But the USDA reports that per capita disappearance of vegetables declined 3% last year.

Here is a link to the pdf file Vegetables and Melon Outlook.
From the report:


2006, per capita disappearance (also known as net domestic use, a proxy for consumption) of all vegetables, melons, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pulse crops, and mushrooms fell 3 percent to 428 pounds. Most of this reduction was due to lower head lettuce and processed tomato disappearance. In 2007, increased supplies of tomatoes and potatoes are expected to be the primary forces pushing vegetable use up modestly from year-earlier levels. Fresh vegetables: On a per person basis, domestic disappearance for consumption of fresh-market vegetables (excluding melons, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pulses, and mushrooms) fell 2 percent to 145 pounds. Fresh use rose for crops like asparagus, snap beans, cabbage, cauliflower, bell peppers, garlic, and romaine and leaf lettuce and dropped for head lettuce, spinach, celery, onions, pumpkins, and tomatoes. In 2007, fresh vegetable use is expected to rise slightly from that of a year earlier.