The Unbelievable Amount Of French Fries Americans Eat Every Year

There's no denying that French fries are delicious and extremely tempting in all their deep-fried golden glory. But the delectable food has a somewhat complicated history. Where they were actually first invented remains a question — there are strong ties to France, Spain and Belgium, but no one can draw a final conclusion as to who was making them earliest just yet (via The Daily Meal).

However, Belgium might try to lay claim to being the location for the invention of French fries simply out of their immense enthusiasm for the food. They even have a museum dedicated to French fries and their part in the food's history. Not to mention, Belgians actually consume the most French fries over any other country worldwide. But Americans also eat a shocking amount of the fried potatoes each year too. In fact, potatoes and tomatoes — the two key ingredients for French fries and ketchup — make up nearly half of the vegetables that Americans eat each year (via Washington Post).

Americans eat this many pounds of French fries per year

According to the South Florida Reporter, the average American eats close to 30 pounds of French fries per year. And roughly one-quarter of all potatoes in America end up as French fries. Another dizzying way to put these numbers into view is by McDonald's. The chain known for the delicious fries actually uses 7% of all potatoes grown in the U.S. to make their French fries. But ultimately, McDonald's only sells around a third of the total number of French fries that make up sales from restaurants.

When you add it all up, Americans eat a total of 4.5 billion pounds of French fries each year according to Grit. Plus, that stems from two billion orders of fast food French fries each year. But French fries actually place second in terms of how Americans eat tons of potatoes each year. Potato chips come in first with 6.7 billion pounds consumed annually and an astonishing 75 million tater tots placing third. Clearly, Americans love crispy, crunch potatoes.