Welcome to CB.com's 2012 food and dining predictions. I've always loved postulating about where food and food culture is headed. Sometimes I'm spot on, and other times I've failed miserably. We feel that we have a pretty good pulse on this industry and want to look into that crystal ball and lay out some educated guesses on what the food retail industry may look like like in 2012 without any of the Nicholas Cage Mayan calendar nonsense.
Let's finish our 2012 predictions with the number one trend on our list. We're finally done.
The coolness of REAL food.
Real Food is food which truly nourishes and respects producers, consumers, communities and ultimately, the earth. It is a fundamental food system--from seed to plate--that fundamentally respects human dignity and health, animal welfare, social justice and environmental sustainability. Suck on that Glenn Beck.
Some people call it "local,", "hippie communists", "green," "slow," or "sustainable". Most knowledgable people just call it "Real food". It's that simple. Real food is food that is as close to its natural and original state as possible. Real food is not produced in a factory, it is not engineered in a lab, nor is it full of artificial colors, sweeteners, or flavors. It's what your grandparents and great-grandparents ate. Real food doesn’t have a list of ingredients - it is the ingredient.
The more I travel, more I see food provides slowly move into this world. Real food, in my mind, is the number one trend in food service today. Real food looks like what it is – a tomato that smells like a tomato and is ate in the heart of summer. The Decentralization of procurement in our country is because people are starting to understand the "why's" of eating healthy. Let's face it, Our food system is broken. From food riots abroad, to rising rates of diabetes and obesity here in America; from the carbon emitted by agriculture to the human rights abuses in the fields; it's clear our food system is in need of major change. Travel to many urban communities and see the food deserts that have served our youth and less fortunate.
Government and big business have failed to step up to the challenge, with business-as-usual prevailing over the health of our bodies, our communities, and the Earth. There's a real movement happening and slowly the economics are going to make sense. When it does, you'll see a new opportunity of entrepreneurs, farmers and artisans who will capture our stomachs and minds with this new progressive approach to eating.
Here's to REAL FOOD. Raise your pint glass now.
2012 Food and Dining Predictions:
#5 - Cloud Eating and Cooking
#4 - Grains, Grains. Grains and .....more Grains.
#3 - Grow your own
#2 - Rage against the food machine
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