It’s January and I just got back from SOMA mushroom camp where grounded is the word…and I went directly to the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco where innovation is key. Does anyone want or need Oreo, Butterfinger or Chips Ahoy popcorn? I am not kidding, I actually saw these. Do we need another chip or puff? Not likely.
Consumerism Trends at the Fancy Food Show
The biggest message that became clear as I walked the aisles of Moscone Center is that we, as American consumers, are getting lazier. It seems like we NEED someone to cook our rice and put it in a package. The same for riced vegetables or yogurt drinks with added packets of seeds and grains. Really?
Today I read about someone buying bags of pre-cut sweet potatoes at Walmart? What has happened to both our cooking skills and our ability to see what unsustainability (think packaging) looks like?
As I went from booth to booth and was handed a compostable cup, fork or spoon at each booth, I would keep them and figure out how I might use them again. The vendors were generally surprised. I have never seen so much “recyclable” trash. Mind boggling, it is. My husband thinks that I am nutty about saving the world and its environment. However, the little acts add up.
Even at SOMA camp, I noticed that most people didn’t have their travel mugs. How hard is it to bring it with you? Especially if you are traveling by car. I take mine, even when traveling by plane, because rarely will I find the tea or Teeccino that I want to drink at an airport. Getting a cup of hot water is not only frugal (that is why I am so wealthy [rich in something, I think]), but using my own mug has saved hundreds of cups over the years. Why waste a not so renewable resource like paper?
OK…so I am now up on my soapbox, but I am not sure why people are so stressed that they can’t make their own food? Does it just seem easier and better to buy what someone else has made for you? Processed food is the killer of the late 20th now 21st century. I know that people know this. How do I get my message across and have people take action? What does it take? Any ideas? Great cookbooks are one way but still….
Here are the food trends that I noticed:
- Cauliflower is still the darling of the vegetable world because it’s vegan, paleo and keto – everything from pizza crusts to tortillas, “riced” and more.
- Keto is still hot, as is Paleo. People insist on finding the “perfect” diet instead of “just eating well.”
- Nondairy milk is definitely still expanding.
- Pasta is still being made from alternative ingredients: this year it was Cassava.
- Tea is still hot. Have you heard of avocado leaf or blue butterfly flower tea? And I had some really tasty chai from a company that has been around a long time: Blue Lotus Chai
- People consume many of their sugar calories in drinks and there was no lack of them.
- Surreal Brewing makes a non-alcoholic craft beer that tastes like beer but with far fewer calories and no alcohol hit. They said that I could find it at BevMo, which isn’t a place that I frequent, but when I went, I discovered that NA craft beer is becoming more popular.
Final Thoughts on the Fancy Food Show
I only had one day at the Fancy Food show so my report is abbreviated, but it was interesting nonetheless. Are there any products that you love that fall into this category?
The most heartening thing that I saw was this sign posted on the wall in a hallway. Be still my heart or just pump it up.
I stopped going to Natural Products Expo West about 10 years ago. It was becoming a miserable experience for all sorts of reasons. Pretty amazing they canceled it this year. I’ve never been to Fancy Foods. I rarely find food products that impress me. Too many compromises and shortcuts have to be made, usually, to get the all-important shelf life. Sometimes I shake my head in disbelief that somebody thought their products tasted good enough to be offered for sale. The extreme enthusiasm for the latest crop of meat analogues leaves me cold. Vegan junk food sweeping the planet- or at least the developed world.
I completely agree with you Fred. It’s mind boggling that people don’t eat more fresh and “real” food.
Well, I have to confess that I love pre-cut vegetables. But that is only a recent thing as my arthritis get worse. And now add in carpal tunnel problems and upcoming surgeries. Butternut squash is too tough to chop, also onions. At the moment I have to wait until hubby gets home from work, and then ask for his help. Sometimes I can manage to cut up the potatoes. Not too many cuts as I cut in 8 pieces lengthwise. sprinkle with spices and air fry without oil. I also buy a lot of frozen veggies, as fresh veggies from California, delivered to Canada in the winter are not still fresh. And frozen fruit or veggies are much tastier as they are harvested much riper, so the flavour is much better than tomatoes picked green. Roll on fresh farmers’ market time up here in the North!
I hear you. And it’s important to do what you can to maintain eating and health. You are right about frozen versus out of season vegetables. Always say no to rock hard tomatoes. Yuck.
Keep on eating well.
Thank you for sharing the exciting food world w/all of us. I could do better on the travel mug situation. I’ve got my canteen and really reduced Starbucks to one or two times a month. I appreciate your suggestion of just caring one around w/me. I do want to offer that, are American really getting lazier? After working all day and then coming home to cook, I do look for a few shortcuts in my cooking and it does involve some cut up veges and once in a while a bag of precooked rice. I am looking for quality of life and the last year has been a learning curve of plant-based lifestyle added to already a full lifestyle. So, I guess I could be called lazy but I am calling it quality of life. I appreciate your blog and you for sharing your knowledge w/us, I greatly appreciate it! Sincerely, Lenna
Thank you Lenna. My goal is to just get, and keep, people thinking. I call “lazy” being efficient. It makes me feel better. So appreciate this.
Just a note to say that until the age of 69, I never would buy my veggies pre-chopped. I do have both manual and electric devices that make quilts work of chopping them at home. Now, however, with arthritic hands, I buy lots of my veggies pre-chopped with gratitude that I can both pay someone else to do that for me and that I can have good (McDougall) food without aggravating my painful arthritis.
There IS a place for these chopped fresh daily products!
I hate spelling autocorrect!
“Quick work” not “quilts work”
Thank you for sharing his Jan. It helps me be more understanding of situations like yours. However, I think that most people are not in your situation and have many other reasons. I hope that you can find some type of salve or supplement that will provide relief.