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A Seismic Shift in How People Eat


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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/opinion/a-seismic-shift-in-how-people-eat.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed&_r=0

 

 

Sunday Review
 
OPINION

A Seismic Shift in How People Eat

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08taparia-articleLarge.jpg
SARAH ILLENBERGER, PHOTOGRAPH BY SABRINA RYNAS
 
By HANS TAPARIA and PAMELA KOCH
NOVEMBER 6, 2015

IT’S easy to make fun of people in big cities for their obsession with gluten, or chia seeds, or cleanses.

But urbanites are not the only ones turning away from the products created by big food companies. Eating habits are changing across the country and food companies are struggling to keep up.

General Mills will drop all artificial colors and flavors from its cereals. Perdue, Tyson and Foster Farm have begun to limit the use of antibiotics in their chicken. Kraft declared it wasdropping artificial dyes from its macaroni and cheese. Hershey’s willbegin to move away from ingredients such as the emulsifier polyglycerol polyricinoleate to “simple and easy-to-understand ingredients” like “fresh milk from local farms, roasted California almonds, cocoa beans and sugar.”

Those announcements reflect a new reality: Consumers are walking away from America’s most iconic food brands. Big food manufacturers are reacting by cleaning up their ingredient labels, acquiring healthier brands and coming out with a prodigious array of new products. Last year, General Millspurchased the organic pasta maker Annie’s Homegrown for $820 million — a price that was over four times the company’s revenues, likening it to valuations more often seen in Silicon Valley. The company also introducedmore than 200 new products, ranging from Cheerios Protein to Betty Crocker gluten-free cookie mix, to capitalize on the latest consumer fads. (more in link)

Good to see people's priorities changing for the better in regards to our food.

 

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/opinion/a-seismic-shift-in-how-people-eat.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed&_r=0

 

 

Sunday Review
 
OPINION

A Seismic Shift in How People Eat

  •  
  •  
  •  
 
08taparia-articleLarge.jpg
SARAH ILLENBERGER, PHOTOGRAPH BY SABRINA RYNAS
 
By HANS TAPARIA and PAMELA KOCH
NOVEMBER 6, 2015

IT’S easy to make fun of people in big cities for their obsession with gluten, or chia seeds, or cleanses.

But urbanites are not the only ones turning away from the products created by big food companies. Eating habits are changing across the country and food companies are struggling to keep up.

General Mills will drop all artificial colors and flavors from its cereals. Perdue, Tyson and Foster Farm have begun to limit the use of antibiotics in their chicken. Kraft declared it wasdropping artificial dyes from its macaroni and cheese. Hershey’s willbegin to move away from ingredients such as the emulsifier polyglycerol polyricinoleate to “simple and easy-to-understand ingredients” like “fresh milk from local farms, roasted California almonds, cocoa beans and sugar.”

Those announcements reflect a new reality: Consumers are walking away from America’s most iconic food brands. Big food manufacturers are reacting by cleaning up their ingredient labels, acquiring healthier brands and coming out with a prodigious array of new products. Last year, General Millspurchased the organic pasta maker Annie’s Homegrown for $820 million — a price that was over four times the company’s revenues, likening it to valuations more often seen in Silicon Valley. The company also introducedmore than 200 new products, ranging from Cheerios Protein to Betty Crocker gluten-free cookie mix, to capitalize on the latest consumer fads. (more in link)

Good to see people's priorities changing for the better in regards to our food.

 

this is good stuff, but ironic too.  The air we breathe in big cities is a toxic soup, known to cause huge medical issues.  Eating carrot dogs, while still living in the toxic soup is like jumping from the 50th floor instead of the 60th floor.  You're still dead. 

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All products.

so no processed anything?  No cereals, or meats, or pop, or chips, or any of that?  Really?  That would be fabulous, but I don't see modern people preparing their own meals.  People like the convenience of processed foods.  My wife and I even cook our own dog food, so if what you are saying comes true, it would be super.  Now let's clean up our air, so we can all breathe.

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this has been discussed and written about for years. i have a few really good articles tucked away in my email about this, and the future of food, and the value of community and 'indie' culture

there is a very conservative mentality around north america that prioritizes emotions over intellectualism, and it applies here too. and i'm not using the 'intellectual' word in some grand, lofty Socrates sense. i mean it just as like a synonym for curiosity and critical thinking. basically i just mean that the mainstream operates on familiarity and consumer laziness, while 'indie' culture operates on consumer knowledge and curiosity -- two things that are inescapable and fundamental aspects of the internet age

the internet has made 'indie' culture accessible and easy. you can find and discuss anything in a few clicks. these days, it's "cool" to find good, new food, artists, events, businesses, services, etc. that are local or made in an intellectually AND emotionally satisfying and sustainable way -- and yet, for some, the emotional reaction is to call these people snobs, pretentious, hipsters, etc. because it challenges laziness and familiarity -- but what the emotional crowd doesn't realize is that corporatism and familiarity is now boring or meaningless to a massive-and-growing chunk of the young population. trivializing a culture and dismissing people as 'hipsters' doesn't mean anything anymore. 

indie culture ALREADY WON, and we're now seeing things in the process of changing (see OP). the corporate world is caught between playing catch up with the 'indie' consumers while trying to maintain its traditional-yet-shrinking audience. good luck, fellas!

this reminds me of my disaster meat eating thread from a while back. people were ready and prepared to declare their ignorance, and in some cases even boast about their indifference about it. despite the fact that i eat meat, i was dismissed as a vegan pushing an agenda when all i did was ask people about their psychological/intellectual/emotional process when acting as consumers -- or, in most cases around here, the lack of that process. 

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I think that for many (me included), it was a matter of ignorance is bliss.  We trust that we live in a country where regulations and safety guidelines ensure that we are ok.  But, in learning some of the processes and ingredients used in our food, it's become quite scary and a matter of taking things into our own hands.

 

I used to do the perimeter shop and thought that had me covered.  But the meat, dairy and produce are now also cause for concern.  I think learning how to grow our own food is an extremely valuable resource and should actually be taught in school (a bit more).  I really miss my Dad's organic garden (and may convince him to get back into it).

 

It's a shame that our Government doesn't do a better job of protecting us or in overseeing things with more diligence...but, just like with everything else, it's all about the almighty dollar.  It's also hard to sift through the information for accuracy, etc. and it gets overwhelming.  I also believe in moderation in all things and don't deprive myself of something if I want it.  With that, I steer clear of processed meats, sugary products, etc. as much as possible. 

 

It's a very tricky thing because there are ways to market products and fool consumers...happens all the time.  "Healthy" food often is anything but if you check out the sodium content, etc.  And there are "natural" sliced meats that have a celery extract listed...that is actually a nitrate and quite harmful.  But to the untrained eye of the consumer, it sounds like something nutritious.  So being educated helps, but it's an ongoing process.

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Interesting.  I'd agree that (at least for myself) making healthier eating choices is important, but with these product substance changes one potential concern I see is about whether the brands begin to charge more given the upgrade in quality of ingredients (e.g. using natural goods instead of chemicals for Hershey's to make their products) and how this affects the average Joe's ability to purchase these improved goods regularly.  Working in a higher-end food supplier, I've seen how the costs of producing higher-quality products are often transferred to consumers in order for these companies to maintain their margins and competitiveness.

Also really hope that some independent scientific research group would keep the big brands accountable when it comes to testing for these substances so that they're true to their word.

 

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Interesting.  I'd agree that (at least for myself) making healthier eating choices is important, but with these product substance changes one potential concern I see is about whether the brands begin to charge more given the upgrade in quality of ingredients (e.g. using natural goods instead of chemicals for Hershey's to make their products) and how this affects the average Joe's ability to purchase these improved goods regularly.  Working in a higher-end food supplier, I've seen how the costs of producing higher-quality products are often transferred to consumers in order for these companies to maintain their margins and competitiveness.

Also really hope that some independent scientific research group would keep the big brands accountable when it comes to testing for these substances so that they're true to their word.

 

of course prices will go up. Think about it. The only reason prices went down for certain food is because the crap they put in it makes it cheaper. Their business strategy is typically price point with foods like kraft dinner and its reason for dominance is cheaper ways to make food

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of course prices will go up. Think about it. The only reason prices went down for certain food is because the crap they put in it makes it cheaper. Their business strategy is typically price point with foods like kraft dinner and its reason for dominance is cheaper ways to make food

Indeed. I'd personally rather eat less but higher quality food (particularly the pricier items like meat, dairy etc).

Really the reason cheaper food is cheap should be obvious. It has less food value (and in many cases contains harmful products in the name of profits/low prices).

In that context, what money are you actually 'saving'...?

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Indeed. I'd personally rather eat less but higher quality food (particularly the pricier items like meat, dairy etc).

Really the reason cheaper food is cheap should be obvious. It has less food value (and in many cases contains harmful products in the name of profits/low prices).

In that context, what money are you actually 'saving'...?

exactly. If you eat 1lb of water injected chicken and it costs 4.99, is non-water injected chicken that codys 6.99 actually more expensive?

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Great news.  I've been fairly successful removing artificial food coloring, hydrogenated oils, nitrates, and a few other bad ingredients, from my diet.  It can be difficult at times (especially when you reallllly want that Snickers bar... hence the "fairly successful"), but it is amazing how much crap is in some foods, even things that are marketed as healthy.

Good to see the companies complying with market pressure, and more of these positive changes will follow, as the consumers (and their dollars) are being heard.

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Like everything in life, this is yet another cycle. If you have worked a corporation for more than 10 years, you will have experienced re-inventing the wheel on more than one occasion.

These companies are doing the same thing. Years of cutting corners using the cheapest of ingredients that are GRAS (generally recognized as safe) have turned their food into strange chemical concoctions that don't even taste like the original product.

So as consumer complaints soar, the companies are struggling to keep up. Read between that line a little closer and it's not a matter of struggling to keep up, it's how do you keep up with the demands while maintaining the grossly large profit margins that they are so used to?

Don't let these articles fool you. Mega corporations are not interested in better food choices for consumers, they are interested in making money. So if that means meeting to the demands of the latest fads, they will find out how to provide food products that meet that demand while maintaining as much profit as possible.

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What we call "organic chicken" used to be just called "chicken" by previous generations.  I struggle to explain to my grandparents (Silent Generation) what the difference is.  As far as they are concerned Chicken farms still let their Chickens run around and have to stop Foxes from getting into the coupe.  Little do they know in today's age, the "foxes" are Tyson Foods (and others) and instead of stealing the Chicken and eating them, they are forcing the farms into terrible treatment of the animals and pumping them full of antibiotics.  Thankfully we are learning the folly of mass produced food.  It's literally cheaper and tastier to cook from scratch...and it barely takes any more time. 

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Like everything in life, this is yet another cycle. If you have worked a corporation for more than 10 years, you will have experienced re-inventing the wheel on more than one occasion.

These companies are doing the same thing. Years of cutting corners using the cheapest of ingredients that are GRAS (generally recognized as safe) have turned their food into strange chemical concoctions that don't even taste like the original product.

So as consumer complaints soar, the companies are struggling to keep up. Read between that line a little closer and it's not a matter of struggling to keep up, it's how do you keep up with the demands while maintaining the grossly large profit margins that they are so used to?

Don't let these articles fool you. Mega corporations are not interested in better food choices for consumers, they are interested in making money. So if that means meeting to the demands of the latest fads, they will find out how to provide food products that meet that demand while maintaining as much profit as possible.

It's true.  Until consumers demand change, change will not happen.  Economics will always be the determining factor in food production and the changes will happen because of necessity, not ethics.  New players will come and fill market niches, and they will be better suited to offer lower cost alternatives because they specialize in what people want.  That will be the driving force for mega-corp food producers to get with the times.

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Like everything in life, this is yet another cycle. If you have worked a corporation for more than 10 years, you will have experienced re-inventing the wheel on more than one occasion.

These companies are doing the same thing. Years of cutting corners using the cheapest of ingredients that are GRAS (generally recognized as safe) have turned their food into strange chemical concoctions that don't even taste like the original product.

So as consumer complaints soar, the companies are struggling to keep up. Read between that line a little closer and it's not a matter of struggling to keep up, it's how do you keep up with the demands while maintaining the grossly large profit margins that they are so used to?

Don't let these articles fool you. Mega corporations are not interested in better food choices for consumers, they are interested in making money. So if that means meeting to the demands of the latest fads, they will find out how to provide food products that meet that demand while maintaining as much profit as possible.

That's literally what the article is about. Nobody thinks these companies are making changes out of the goodness of their hearts or in concern for consumers well being. The article is literally about consumer dollars forcing these companies to change their business tactics and methods. 

Those companies that don't or don't do it fast or well enough will not be able to maintain those profits. 

Consumers are FINALLY starting to educate themselves on their food and make smarter choices and force change. Hallelujah. 

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Don't let these articles fool you. Mega corporations are not interested in better food choices for consumers, they are interested in making money.

So if that means meeting to the demands of the latest fads, they will find out how to provide food products that meet that demand while maintaining as much profit as possible.

It's not a fad, it's the result of consumers being more informed/intelligent in the information/social media age.

What Coke doesn't seem to realize is that consumers aren't looking for a reason to go back to drinking a bottle full of sugar, or a meal full of (???) from McDonalds - consumers now have options, and immediate access to information about those options.

Options that are economically/intellectually/ethically excusable and healthy are the future. Corporate monopoly is not. It was clever marketing and a lack of options/consumer knowledge that made these things excusable--not desirable--in the past. Without that, what are they?

 

 

 

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