Super Bowl food racks up super tonnage
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Super Bowl is one of the biggest events in the world and so is the menu and the volume of food eaten. Food and the big game go together.
Though the Super Bowl is uniquely American, it is one of the most-watched sporting events worldwide, showing in more than 130 countries in 30 different languages. It is the most-watched television broadcast in the United States every year.
In terms of pure consumption, you simply cannot understate the importance of Super Bowl Sunday. When you look at the numbers, all you can say is: holy guacamole. It runs a close second to Thanksgiving for sheer consumption.
The Super Bowl changed the entire avocado industry.
"If you go back in the history of the avocado prior to the Super Bowl, in the United States, consumed on an annual basis, is about 1 million pounds of avocados," said Vince DelMasso of Bay Cities Produce.
On game day, we will consume 130 million pounds of guacamole. That's 65,000 tons; the weight of 9300 African bull elephants, the world's largest land mammal. No specific number exists for salsa but two to three times would be in the ballpark.
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Chips, corn and potato that are eaten weigh in at 28 million pounds. That is 14,000 tons; the equivalent weight of 34 777 jumbo jets that fully fueled, packed with passengers, baggage and cargo.
Super Bowl Sunday is also the biggest drinking day of the year. When it comes to beer, Americans will drink 325 million gallons of beer alone. That's about one beer for every man, woman and child in the nation.
Thirteen million pizzas will be ordered, mostly delivered. Finally, the big winner: we will eat finally $1.25 billion in chicken wings. Depending on how you cut them, that's enough wings to make at least a half billion chickens, preferring you eat beef.
What's true for chicken wings and avocados is true for all Superbowl foods.
"Production really goes up, and usage orders increase, so, I can't even tell you, it's hand over fist increase," said DelMasso
And yes, antacid tablets and liquids sales go up on too.