Changing perceptions about fast food restaurants-How long the new trend will last?

Fast foods and junk foods are almost synonymous and both of them are set to decline their influence on American consumers in the coming years, if a perceptible trend noticed  among younger population regarding their food preferences is any indication. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, French Fries are all iconic in the landscape of the "eating out" consumers but there appears to be a fatigue developing among the people regarding the desirability of consuming them if they have to avoid life style diseases like CVD, Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Obesity etc. Constant exposure of the younger generation consumers to the "cause and effect" of junk food eating, emergence of organic foods as a major player in the market and greater awareness about the health advantages of fruits and vegetables seem to be persuading them to shun junk foods and fast foods. California where the "vegetable" revolution is taking shape a number of chain restaurants are attempting to offer stiff challenges to the well established fast food giants by attracting more and more clients offering them tasty foods based on vegetables stressing that they are great in quality and safety though the health advantages are not over sold. Here is a commentary on this development which may be a fore runner of what will happen eventually around the world in the coming years. 

"America's interest in locally sourced and healthy foods has spurred a boom in farmers markets and farm-to-table restaurants and has expanded organic produce at the supermarket. Now, a number of upstart chains trying to tap that interest are taking aim at traditional fast food by moving leafy greens and fruits to the center of the plate.
These rapidly expanding restaurants want to revolutionize the fast-food industry, bringing healthy fare to the masses who typically don't shop at Whole Foods. At the same time, they are stealing customers from stalwarts such as McDonald's.The most bankable word in food service is fresh.- Restaurant consultant Aaron Allen These chains, several based in California, see a juicy opportunity in the Golden State, with its bounty of health-obsessed diners interested in the latest food fads. Such chains make up just a tiny fraction of the $200-billion fast-food industry in the United States. But analysts predict this sector will boom as health-conscious consumers ditch the burger and fries in favor of quickly prepared healthy meals. "The most bankable word in food service is fresh," said restaurant consultant Aaron Allen. Many are rethinking the fast-food experience beyond food. At some, you'll find real china replacing paper dishes and foam cups for in-house eating. There are cushy chairs and communal tables, not plastic ones that are nailed down. Several offer beers from local breweries and menus that change with the seasons. "People want to eat more vegetables that are nutritious and unprocessed," said Greg Dollarhyde, chief executive of Santa Monica-based chain Veggie Grill. "The big trend now is make it better for me, but I don't want to give any flavors up." Many of these restaurants cater to salad skeptics or meat lovers who shy away from anything green or overly healthy. "I don't like saying the H word because that's going to turn people off," said Mike Donahue, co-founder of Lyfe Kitchen, which has expanded to 13 locations since opening its first restaurant in Palo Alto in 2011. "I tell our people they have got to start every message with, 'Tastes great, tastes great, tastes great. And oh, by the way, it is good for you.'"

There is this Soup Plantation chain where customers can pick up at least two dozens of salad combinations selecting from a range of vegetables and adjuncts which can have a variety of flavors and taste when assembled on the plate. Similarly there is the Veggie Grill chain which strategically plans its marketing to attract clients without overs selling the health claims. All these new players are exploiting the strength of organic food and locally made food movements to carve out for them selves a viable market which if the present growth is any indication will sideline many of the existing fast food chains in attracting customers in the coming years. Innovative design of eating places and use of china wares provide a different eating experience compared to the staid ambienc associated with many of the established fast food chain restaurants. When one looks at the present trend, credit must be given to the good old Subway restaurants which offer, though through a fast food format, some of the most healthy menus predominantly based on vegetables. No doubt this is a welcome development for Americans who face a bleak future caught between the juggernauts of fast foods, junk foods, GMO foods and heavy meat based foods.    

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FARMERS MARKETS IN THE US-HOW GENUINE ARE THEY?

The organic food movement which started in a small way a few years ago to satisfy the growing demand in the market for safe foods produced/processed without using synthetic chemicals and other unnatural inputs has become a force to reckon with to day. Its share may not be high, less than 10% of the food sector market, every one wants to get into this band wagon and this has naturally caused some distortions vis-a-vis quality of organic foods in some parts of the world. Similarly the local foods and farmers market movement became a rage in the US, most states providing a platform for the small farmers in the locality and nearby to sell their products directly to the consumer without any middle man or retailer in between. The basic presumption is that local farmers bring their produce from nearby with least green gas emission foot print unlike the long haulage involved in most organized retail operations. Besides small farmers are presumed to be honest and do not indulge in unfair agricultural practices. Most farmers markets maintain a degree of integrity that has endeared them to consumers. However recent findings that there are frequent frauds happening in this sector is raising eye brows all around. Here is a take on this subject as reported from the US.

"One doesn't usually think of farmers' markets as being prime locations for fraud, but apparently they do see their fair share of unethical behaviour. When a vendor misrepresents products, whether through direct mislabeling or lack of labeling, the integrity of the market is undermined for everyone. The state of California has decided to crack down on farmers' market fraud. Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new law authorizing the creation of a group of investigators to ensure that market vendors are following the rules – that is, selling local produce that they've grown themselves and was not purchased wholesale. Every market has its own set of regulations. In New York City, most of the major farmers' markets are run by a non-profit organization called GrowNYC, which ensures that markets are producer-only. That means that vendors can only sell items that they've grown themselves; no reselling, even if clearly labeled, is allowed. As Modern Farmer reports, GrowNYC maintains its high standards by employing investigators who keep an eye on vendors, taking note of any suspicious things such as retail boxes, waxed fruit, or consistently high volume of produce."

It is gratifying that states like California are promulgating stricter laws to deter potential fraudsters from -misrepresenting the products as locally self grown while really they are resellers owning no responsibility for any violations. Farmers market is an excellent concept worth emulating all over the world to encourage small farmers who are at the mercy of mega corporations dealing with food for reaching the market. In India it is incongruous to see a situation where government does not allow direct selling of farmers produce to the consumer. In stead only middle men are licensed to buy the produce from the farmers and most of the time the prices are rigged leading to exploitation of the poor farmers by these sharks. Even in a country like Malaysia there are so called "wet markets" where any one can bring their produce to the market for direct sale to buyers. The weekly shandies in some states in India, mostly in rural parts, do serve the purpose of direct sale but in cities direct sale is not invariably permitted. States in the US like California and New York have strong monitoring regime for safeguarding the integrity and credibility of the Farmers markets and fraudsters are severely punished for violating the concerned regulatory regime put in place for the purpose. India must consider removing the much hated APMC Act that comes in the way of setting up exclusive markets for farmers all over the country, providing necessary infrastructure for handling and storage of perishables and ensuring fair trade practices.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

"JUST FOOD MOVEMENT"-WHAT IS THAT?

Making available nutritious food at affordable cost is a formidable challenge in many countries these days with calorie rich foods flooding the market at ridiculously low prices compared to that of fresh produce. Even in a rich country like the US many reasonably well to do families find it difficult to access fresh produce because of the high ruling prices. Others like India are hopelessly trapped in this quagmire with fresh produce cost, especially that of most fruits being almost 5-10 times higher than cereals! Under these circumstances what will happen to millions of low income families who will have to manage their lives depending more and more on nutritionally unbalanced diets devoid of fresh produce. This is a tragedy of Himalayan proportion considering that nutritional pundits want 50% of the dining plate to contain fruits and vegetables! Against such a background many urban initiatives like kitchen gardens, sky gardens, urban gardens, gorilla gardens, local markets etc provide some solace to the nutrition deprived city dwellers. Latest to arrive is the Just Food movement which is taking deep roots in a city like New York with thousands of high rise apartments each providing shelter to about 500 families. This movement is linking small farmers nearby to the most needy dwellers in each high rise building for supply of fresh produce at affordable cost. Here is a take on this latest initiative for protecting the health of low income city dwellers through Community Supported Agriculture.   

"Just Food in New York City is doing what its name suggests: working to make the food system more just. It does this, first, by making community supported agriculture (CSAs), farmers' markets, and gardens, more accessible and affordable in the city. Second, it helps small farmers survive, and even thrive, in the process. Former Executive Director Ruth Katz said the group grew out of a contradiction. "In New York City, we had these growing soup kitchen lines of people who couldn't get food and, at the same time, nearby farmers going out of business because they couldn't sell their food anywhere. It seemed strange that you couldn't match farmers selling food with people needing food." Just Food connects urban communities interested in bringing CSAs to their neighborhoods with nearby farmers who can truck their goods into the city. They have developed different payment systems to make this food affordable. For example, higher-income members can contribute extra to subsidize other members within their own CSA, or two CSAs from different neighborhoods can be paired so that the members in the higher-income neighborhood pay higher costs and members in the lower-income neighborhood pay lower costs. So far, the organization has helped launch 214 CSA programs throughout New York City's five boroughs, bringing fresh food to an estimated 37,400 people. To stock the CSAs, Just Food partners with farms outside the city, which bring in vegetables, eggs, fruit, grain, meat, and other products. Ruth Katz said, "It can be frustrating because the scale of what we're doing is so small. People say, 'You have to scale up to make a bigger impact.' Well, in this particular case, scaling up would defeat the purpose: farmer-to-consumer relationships that are creative and nimble enough to meet the unique needs of each neighborhood. Their smallness is part of their strength. That being said, we can scale up through replication, rather than super-sizing. "Imagine that every tall building in NYC had a CSA! If one tall building or building complex has 500 families, then only 10% would need to become CSA members to support a small farm. And that 10% would be a lucky, well-fed group."

The prime movers of this movement are really angels on the earth providing socour to thousands of economically hard pressed citizens who are trapped in the suffocating environment cities like New York unable to manage their day to day food requirement in a way conforming to healthy food standards. Though in terms of numbers their achievements may be some what low benefiting hardly a few thousand people, it will have a multiplier effect besides spreading horizontally across the country. Added to this it stands to resurrect the small and marginal farmers who are hounded by big farms with mechanized cultivation system. This is what is needed in a country like India where hundreds of towns and cities depend heavily on arrival of fresh produce from rural areas which are cornered by the middlemen who manipulate the consumer prices by hoarding and restricting supply. India has a strong self help group movement and these NGOs must be harnessed for this noble cause. 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

LOCAL PRODUCE VS SUPER MARKET OFFERINGS

The Locavores movement which started in a small way in the US is becoming more and more popular day by day making the large retailers take note of its impact on their bottom line. This passion for fresh produce grown locally is based on the increasing awareness of consumers about the so called "harmful" effects of industrialized agriculture on their health. It is known that large scale production of foods in commercial farms involve use of fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs which could leave traces of chemicals on the produce with some possibility of harm to the health of the consumers in the long run. Besides the large carbon print left behind by the process of cooling, cold storage and low temperature transport and the chilled vending shelves in the super markets, seems to have persuaded the consumers to patronize locally grown produce offered through farmers' markets in their locality. Now that the local food lure has caught on in a big way, large retailers are jumping into the band wagon to corner a slice of the pie for their survival. "The demand for fresh, local food is no myth. According to the most recent National Farmers Market Survey, released in 2005, farmers market sales topped $1 billion, and for more than 25 percent of vendors, all farm income came from farmers markets. The number of farmers markets across the U.S. has grown from 1,755 in 1994 to 6,132 in 2010, according to the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. Between 2009 and 2010 alone there was a 16 percent increase. Missouri is part of this trend with about 180 farmers markets around the state — up from 53 in 1997, according to records from the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Walmart's intention to double in-state food products in five years, announced in mid-October, shows the trend has not gone unnoticed . It's difficult to put a dollar amount on Walmart's plan; the company does not break out its produce sales. But the company's 2010 annual report said groceries accounted for 51 percent of total sales in the U.S. or $258 billion — about $20 billion more than Missouri's 2009 gross state product". In India there is a "desi" version of farmers' market in many places popularly known as rural "shandies", assembled on some scheduled days in a week but these shandies serve mainly the rural folks living in a radius of 25-30 km. Besides fresh produce, they also sell other house hold goods at relatively low prices, having no over head costs. These markets are held in open dusty places with practically no facility for either the farmers or the buyers, being neglected for decades by the state governments. It is a pity that western countries are discovering the virtues of local farmers' markets now which were in existence, albeit in a crude form in India for decades. The difference is that Indians do it in the most disorderly way while American markets are well organized and managed. Farmers' markets also exist in many towns and cities across the country where local civic bodies provide selling facilities to the growers in centralized places and lately some of these markets have been upgraded with cold storage facilities for keeping the produce for a day or two at nominal costs. These city markets are fed by farmers from surrounding villages who do not have much of an insight into the correct way fresh produce has to be handled and invariably by the time they reach the market there is significant quality deterioration. Probably each state will have to focus on modernizing these markets as well as training the growers regarding scientific practices of handling the fresh produce to deliver them to the consumer in prime condition. V.H.POTTY http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/ http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

'HOBBY' FARMS-THE AMATEUR 'FARMERS'!

In India 70% of the population coming under the category of farmers produce food for the remaining 30% who are urbanites with no clue regarding the dynamics of farming including raising live stocks and poultry. Because of these sheer numbers, the average size of such farms, if they can be called so, is very small, some times less than two acres. In contrast, in the West farming operations are gigantic with hundreds and thousands of acres cultivated using highly mechanized operations. Hardly 2% of the population in some of these countries raise food for the entire country. A new trend is now emerging involving non-farmers who take up 'gardening', mostly as a part time activity in small stretches of land producing crops like sweet potatoes, squash, cabbage, cucumbers, turnips, beetroot etc largely for self consumption. Excess, if any is channeled into farmer's markets and road side stands, earning small returns supplementing their regular income.

"The produce and meat raised by these small farms, sometimes called "hobby" or "lifestyle" farms, provides much of the food found at the nation's farmers' markets and roadside stands, said Maria I. Marshall, an associate professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. Many of the farms raise specialized crops and practice organic or sustainable farming".

Most of the hobby farms believe in organic foods and local produce movement and earning is only incidental. In the US alone there are more than 232000 such small farms operating with less than 10 acres of land for each. Large farms are getting bigger and bigger due to consolidation. How long this trend will last remains to be seen. It is an irony that small farms provide hobby for western families whereas it is the norm in many developing countries where subsistence farmers struggle to keep their body and soul together!.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com