![FRANCE-ECONOMY-FOOD-ISIGNY-STE-MERE FRANCE-ECONOMY-FOOD-ISIGNY-STE-MERE](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/482719249.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
By Dan Kedmey
Americans have rekindled their love affair with butter. The Wall Street Journal reports that the average American downs nearly 23 sticks of butter a year, pulling ahead of margarine for the third year running. The reversal in tastes coincides with a growing backlash against processed foods and new research suggesting that fat might have been unfairly singled out for vilification.
But don’t call it a comeback. Butter consumption today has got nothing on the roaring twenties, when the average American used to spread, melt and eat it with abandon, downing 18 pounds, or roughly 72 sticks a year.
![](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/mk-cn390_butter_g_20140625175704.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
Stocks were up, butter was booming and nobody saw the crash coming.
[WSJ]
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Biden Dropped Out
- Ukraine’s Plan to Survive Trump
- The Rise of a New Kind of Parenting Guru
- The Chaos and Commotion of the RNC in Photos
- Why We All Have a Stake in Twisters’ Success
- 8 Eating Habits That Actually Improve Your Sleep
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Contact us at letters@time.com