When you think about cherished holiday traditions, how often do they include a festive table blanketed with abundant, mouthwatering food?

If they do, you’re not alone. For nearly all of us, the holidays aren’t just about gift exchanges and long-anticipated celebrations with family and friends. The holidays are also about eating good food. Stuffed turkeys, spiral-cut hams and other irresistible meat dishes. Eggnog, mincemeat pies, latkes and other seasonal specialties. You name it, people all over the world savor it. And lots and lots of it.

Filling (and refilling) those holiday plates.

Ever wonder just how much food gets passed around holiday tables during the most wonderful time of the year? Here are just a few eye-popping statistics:

• Between 2,500 and 4,500 calories — the equivalent of 4-8 Big Macs — are consumed at a single holiday meal
• More than 135 million pounds of eggnog are enjoyed between November and January
• While 88 percent of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving, the country still ranks behind Israel in annual turkey meat consumption per capita —17.2 lbs. (7.8 kg) in the U.S. compared to 25.3 lbs. (11.5 kg) per year in Israel

Obviously, all that celebratory dining has a positive, tangible impact on the food industry each year. From the farmers who work the land and raise the animals to the manufacturers who introduce seasonal flavors like ice cream loaded with chunks of cinnamon and gingerbread cookies, ‘tis most definitely the season for an entire year’s worth of hard work to pay off.

Shout out to farmers for all that abundance.

There’s no denying the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. But looked at differently, it’s also just one more incredibly important time of year to deliver safe, affordable and healthy food.

It’s also important to remember none of the delicious holiday fare magically appears. It takes a concerted effort from the entire food industry to make the holidays a cherished memory for people around the world.

And we’re sincerely grateful for the farmers and processors who make it all possible.

Partnering with the food industry to make holidays deliciously satisfying.

We realize bringing delicious food to holiday tables isn’t always easy. But we also know it’s viewed as a labor of love, the sort of life’s work that’s deeply satisfying because it makes such a profound difference in the lives of so many.

We love this work, too.

And we’re proud to work side-by-side with the industry in making that positive difference. As the only global food chain partner integrating diverse technologies for animal and food production systems, we are committed to providing solutions from preharvest to postharvest that improve the safety and reliability of our world’s food supply. Let us know if you’d like to learn more about how we can help you.

Happy holidays from everyone here at ARM & HAMMER.