Food and Nutrition DASL Has a good collection of data sets on a multitude of topics one of which is food. They have information on such food topics as: the nutritional makeup of cereal, the different chemical stages of maturing cheddar cheese (Mmmm..... can't you just taste it), Fat content of dried whole eggs from a single well-mixed can, Prices for various species of fish and shellfish received by fishermen and vessel owners in 1970 and 1980, and finally the results of a laboratory analysis of calories and sodium content of major hot dog brands (and you thought those little dogs were harmless). USDA This site has A LOT of data on how much we Americans pay for food stuffs and the services that go along with them. A good example of this is their page titled Food Away From Home, which gives data on U.S. trends for eating out from 1982 through 1989. Other areas are: Changes in Food Consumption and Expenditures, Food, Beverages, and Tobacco Expenditures (1970-1988), General Food Consumption, Food Spending in American Households (1980-1988), U.S. Food Expenditures, and Changes in Food Consumption and Expenditures. The Hunger Web While lacking any large database, this site offers striking statistics (e.g. 125 children will die of hunger during the 5 minutes you surf their site) as well as links to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has made available all its excellent publications from its Global Information and Early warning System, including Food Outlook, Food crops and Shortages, and Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in Sub-saharan Africa. Data doesn't get any more real than this. The Nutrition site of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is another good source of information. They have an interesting site covering Food Quality measures. They also have an excellent site covering Country Food Supply Indicators for the years 1961 to 1996. Go to the COUNTRY INDICATORS, choose the region of the world you are interested in, and then the country. You will get some good data.