We eat for taste. And for heath. And for each other.
And, increasingly, we eat for the planet — choosing foods, cooking methods, and approaches to cooking and shopping that minimize our footprint on earth.
This trend of eating in ways that reduce the damage that food production can do to the planet has no recognized leader. It doesn't even have a single name. Some folks call it eco-eating or eco-foods. Others call it green eating, or environmentally friendly eating.
But what this trend does have is momentum. Suddenly, a number of different approaches to food seem to be converging in a pro-planet fashion. Vegans, locavores, foodies, organic farmers, meat eaters, and paleo-diet fans seem to have found a place to compromise. We may never all agree on whether or not humans should continue to eat animals or grow GMO crops, but we do all seem ready to agree on finding ways to eat what we want in ways that reduce energy use, water consumption, pollution production, etc.
Here are our picks for the five most interesting planet-friendly trends in food.
5. Edible Packaging
Wrappers, cartons, and the like serve multiple purposes. They're a place for branding messages and nutritional information. They can protect a product and help sell it. But packaging doesn't do much for the planet. Landfills are filled with plastic bottles, discarded wrappers, and empty cans.
The food-packaging industry understands that consumers increasingly find this unacceptable. And the industry has responded by developing packages that are part of the product.
This trend has become so important, in fact, that it has captured the attention of JWT, the marketing communications firm that tracks trends. At the top of this year's list — edible packaging.
4. Grass-fed Beef
As recently as 10 years ago, it was nearly impossible to find traditional, pasture-raised beef in America. The meat industry had become extraordinarily efficient, and productivity had skyrocketed. But something had been lost.
A small segment of consumers began to search for beef from animals raised in pastures and fed on grass. These were folks who weren't vegetarian, and had no interest in becoming so, but they had developed a repulsion with how the food industry treated animals.
Today, that small segment has become a large portion of the American public. As it turns out, Americans like the taste of grass-fed beef. And since the taste is good, and eating it is better for the planet than eating mass-produced beef, there's not a chance that this segment won't continue to grow. Cattle producers are, at last, catching on to the potential.
3. Hyper-Local
Everyone who wants to eat in a way to minimize damage to the environment knows to eat local foods. By reducing the distance that food travels before we eat it, we reduce the amount of fuel used to transport it. Plus there's a perception that producers who sell in farmers markets and local-focused stores tend to use "greener" growing methods.
But if local food is planet-friendly, then hyper-local is hyper-friendly.
Suddenly, we're seeing restaurants growing their own food in the unlikeliest places and the rise of an urban-farm movement. The result is food that is fresher and more eco-friendly. We expect to see more and more of this.
2. Part-time Vegan
Becoming a vegan is one of the best things any individual can do to help the planet, but becoming a vegan is an extraordinarily difficult thing for most people. Most people enjoy meat. Enter the idea of the part-time vegan.
This trend seems to be everywhere these days — there are people who have taken the pledge for Meatless Mondays. There are people who call themselves flexitarians. And there are people following the advice in Mark Bittman's newest book, VB6.
Bittman suggests that by eating like a vegan before 6 p.m., then eating however you choose for dinner, you can improve your health without abandoning the foods you love.
Our sense is that no matter what consumers may call their part-time vegan habit, or how formerly they may practice it, the omnivores of the future won't be omnivores all the time.
1. Abalone
Much of the world eats the meat of this large, snail-like ocean creature, but Americans have never fully embraced the food. That's changing.
As it turns out, farm-raised abalone is among the most environmentally friendly seafoods available in America. And don't just take our word for that — there are two organizations that rank seafood by its impact on ocean heath, and they're both crazy about abalone.
The Environmental Defense Fund puts abalone on its best choices list on its Seafood Selector service. The Monterey Bay Aquarium puts abalone on its top choice list, too. (Interestingly, both groups urge consumers to avoid abalone from Asia, where ocean supplies have been over-harvested and where farm-raised abalone live in less-than-ideal conditions.)
In California, abalone has become wildly popular — making its way even onto pizza. And as any talented barbeque chef can tell you, grilled abalone steaks are extraordinarily good. Although abalone farms are still fairly rare in America, we expect that may change soon.
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