The U.S. per capita consumption (in pounds) of beef, pork, and chicken for 2000 and 2016 is given in the following table. Assume that the changes in consumption are approximately linear.

(a) Determine three linear functions, b(t), p(t), and c(t), which approximate the pounds of beef, pork, and chicken, respectively, consumed for time t, where t is the number of years since 2000.
(b) Describe the rates at which the consumption of each type of meat is changing.
(c) In what year did the consumption of chicken surpass the consumption of beef?
(d) If these trends were to continue, approximate the consumption of each type of meat in 2020.

Transcribed Image Text:

Beef Pork Chicken 2000 64.5 47.8 54.2 2016 52.9 46.6 63.1