Food Protection Trends - November/December 2017 - 461

How then do we stay ahead of the game with this
perpetual dance between traditions and food ingredients,
between cultural traditions and lifestyle, between a
meal as a centerpiece of our daily life and food as a
mere vehicle for sustenance? We keep it simple ("clean,
separate, cook, chill"). Repeat the same single overriding
communication objective multiple times. Keep the message
fresh and in context with the changing times. Remember
that success is achieved when perception meets reality.
Just as our method for communicating changes with
time, so do consumer preferences. We used to harvest and
consume only fresh food raised or grown in our immediate
vicinity. Modernization allowed for a more diverse menu
and novel cooking approaches and a drift away from
fresh to semi-processed items. Urbanization brought
consequential changes in food habits. The two-hour
dinner where the family came together and exchanged
information, became the 5-minute microwave meal that we
eat while playing video games or watching television. More
recently, consumers are opting once again to revert to
fresh food over processed food and new markets are open
for minimally processed food procured at a local farmer's
market.
Consumers expect fresh food. They want a much
wider array of options. They want food available yearround. Food production systems have to adjust to meet this
new demand. Manual harvesting is replaced by automation
and how we produce food becomes as important as the
food itself. Consumers now influence how animals are
raised (free range, cage free); how food is harvested
(picked by hand, direct from the orchard); and how food is
produced (antibiotic free, hormone free; non-GMO). Food
labels are now a modern complicated communication
device. Reading through labels at a grocery store, one
can see not only a detailed nutritional panel, but also
information regarding how the ingredient was produced
and the manner in which it was produced.
For example, we used to go to the store to purchase
a dozen eggs (brown or white). Today, the options range
not only from commercial brands, but also to "organic
eggs," "farm fresh eggs," "farm fresh, cage-free eggs,"
"farm fresh, cage-free, produced by hens raised without
antibiotics eggs." Remember when we simply had to
choose between brown and white eggs? Such product
differentiation can rapidly become a nightmare for the
consumer. Add to the complication for the consumer, the
almost unlimited constant flow of information through
television, radio, cell phones, tweets, etc. In some cases,
you can even scan the barcode and be presented with an
entire description of the product. With all this information
available, no wonder consumers are confused. Each
consumer has a perception based on the information s/he
receives and that perception is her/his reality.
With a constant flow of information, virtually limitless
line of products and options, and multiple points of purchase ranging from farmers' markets to home delivery,
let's talk briefly about the consumers themselves. In 1950,

life expectancy was around 65 years. Today in the United
States it is 79.8 years (ranked 42nd in the world). Ten years
from now, it will be 85 years. In some areas of Africa, life
expectancy is closer to 45 years - mostly driven by very
high mortality in infants due to undernourishment and
food availability issues. Overall, the world's population is
growing, but it is also aging. In some areas of the world,
people live longer (and healthier) lives; the dietary needs
will change. Customized menus will replace functional
foods. In other places, food issues are most significantly
associated with food availability. This worldwide imbalance
may be remedied through international acknowledgment
of the problem, but will require deeper societal changes
other than the mere provision of food. We must openly
dialogue about sustainable food production and the need
to produce sufficient amount to feed the world's growing
population. Just as assuring enough food is a continuous
challenge, food hazards are also constantly changing. We
cannot ignore the benefits that genetically modified foods
bring without ignoring potential downsides any more than
we can ignore the benefits antimicrobials have for society
while ignoring the antimicrobial resistance strains. These
and many other contrasting scenarios may coalesce
and frame our discussion into future years. Competing
challenges associated with longer lifespan and heartier
pathogens can't be ignored any more than the imbalance
between ignoring food waste and food availability.
As I look into the future, it is apparent that those who
approach life through the prism of the anthropologist or
from that of the chef have more in common than it appears.
We may all walk different paths and we will all have
intermediate stops; however, we are all headed in the same
general direction.
Safe food is the consequence of a complicated
network of relations among consumers, processors, and
producers in the context of a time and place. There is no
single permanent solution; rather, much like the microbes
(good and bad) that live in our food, success, as measured
by a healthy life, will be the result of constant adaptation.
Refusing to change, whether it is in the way we grow
our crops and the inputs that go into that effort, or in how
we choose to deal with the hazards, will have negative
consequences. We cannot afford to ignore changes in
consumer perception or demands, food trends, microbiome
evolution, and more importantly demographic and societal
evolution. We must care for those who produce and
harvest our food as much as those who prepare and eat
it. Anthropologists are working together with chefs to
make sure there is enough healthy and safe food to feed
a larger and more diverse population. Let's keep an open
mind to new ideas, trust the creativity and fresh approach
of younger generations while keeping in mind strong
traditions. The anthropologist view will help us understand
characteristics of consumers, behaviors, and preferences.
A chef will add taste and practical creativity. The chef's
perspective will then give us a sense of reality for today
and instill creativity for where we can go. Only by working
as one can we move forward to where we want to be.
Bon appetite!

November/December Food Protection Trends

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