Foods are necessary to sustain human life. The body uses the energy extracted from the food we eat to work, fight off diseases and germs, stay warm, and ultimately keep us alive. There are three main aspects of food: quality, quantity, and variety. A healthy diet always ensures a person eats the right food in the right amounts with the right mix. Due to geographical and cultural some foods are eaten much more often than others, however. These foods are in result responsible for the largest share of a respective region’s population’s daily calorie intake. The average needed daily calorie intake for an adult is 1600 – 3000 kcal per day depending on gender and age.
The following list ranks the top 10 most popular foods in the world by their share of the daily average global calorie intake. The following most popular foods are hence the foods most commonly eaten by humans around the world to meet their daily required calorie/energy intake. While the list is ranking the most commonly eaten food sources, it also accounts for all food products that are made from the respective foods.
As you will see, the Top 10 most popular foods ranking includes well-recognized staple foods that have been consumed by humans in high amounts for centuries as well as foods that have become popular on a larger scale more recently.
The 10 Most Popular Foods in the World
Updated as of October 2021
1. Wheat
2. Rice
3. Corn
4. Pork
5. Potatoes
6. Poultry Meat
7. Cassava
8. Beef
9. Eggs
10. Sorghum
The 10 Most Popular Foods in the World
| Top 10 Most Popular Foods in the World |
|---|
| 1. WHEAT Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 18.5% |
| 2. RICE Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 18.0% |
| 3. CORN Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 5.3% |
| 4. PIG MEAT Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 4.1% |
| 5. POTATOES Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 2.1% |
| 6. POULTRY MEAT Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 2.0% |
| 7. CASSAVA Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 1.3% |
| 8. CATTLE MEAT Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 1.3% |
| 9. EGGS Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 1.2% |
| 10. SORGHUM Share of average daily global human calorie intake: ~ 1.0% |
Top 10 most popular foods ranking by share of average daily global human calorie intake.
Data is based on the Food Balances report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Nutrition data is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s data.
Not included in the ranking are too broadly stated food categories (e.g. “vegetables”) as well as liquids (e.g. water, milk) and foods that are mainly used as condiments or cooking fats/ingredients (e.g. butter, salt).
Tiebreaker for most popular foods: Status as a staple food (Cassava is recognized as a staple food in many tropical regions, cattle meat is not a staple food anywhere).
