New Food Trends #6: "Sustainable" & "Environmental" Are New Buzz Words

Sustainability means capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment, and this will become important in our food choices. Previously, it was not a concept that was enthusiastically embraced, but the new trend will be to not only welcome sustainability with open arms, but to seek it out. It's not just to be politically correct either – a “green echo” so to speak - but people and companies will become sustainable for real reasons: to make a positive impact on our world. As such, “sustainable and “environmental” will be the new buzz words.

A large part of sustainability will be going local, and that's going to require change. More of our products will come from our hometowns, requiring less transport and the burning of fossil fuels. New terms will arrive to further make these designations, such as “nearby” and “hometown.” Not every place can produce everything, so let's get it from where it's closest to us. If it's not “local,” it may be “regional.”

Packaging will play into this trend as well. There will be more biodegradable packaging, and “nude food,” meaning there's less packaging so it's easier to see the product inside, which in turn means less trash. And this extends into food, of course. Eating food sourced locally will be seen as sustainable, and grass-fed beef isn't just about taste, but sustainability as well.

Instead of fighting sustainability, as we have in the past, we will demand it, seeking out food that comes from nearby and was raised, grown, harvested, produced, packaged, and delivered in green-conscious ways.There is even speculation that food labels may show a foods provenance, where it has come from and how far it has traveled.  Look for “sustainable” and “environmental” as the new buzz words for food.

(The Food Network, Culture Waves, and International Food Futurists conducted a joint project to determine the top food trends. This article comes form those trends.)