As people become more and more aware food trends and healthy eating, a plethora of different food trends have gained momentum. The focus tends not only to be on maintaining a healthy diet, but also on preserving the environment and better protecting the animals we utilize as our sources for food. There are companies, like Hampton Foods, that are taking how we experience food to the next level, with food technology that’s on the rise. Whatever the case may be, the fact is that the dynamics of how we consume food is becoming a more involved process, which essentially means that the consumer is becoming more involved in how to create and maintain better eating habits across the globe.
Plant-Based Foods
Plant-based eating is picking up steam, as it’s a much more sustainable means of consumption. It’s sustainable in an environmental sense, and in terms of one’s own health. The idea behind plant-based everything is not to go full-on vegan, unless of course that’s your plan, but rather to change the ratio of your diet to that of one that has you eat more plants and fewer animal products. As this trend becomes more popular there is also an increase in idea and recipes for how you can substitute plant products for animal-based ones. It’s simple to at least begin making the change if you decide to do so. This article is a quick reference for this trend and many others.
Root-to-Stem Eating
Another plant-based food trend is root-to-stem eating, and is yet another way to create a more sustainable means of consumption. Food waste is a trend – not a good one, but rather the antithesis to sustainability – that’s picking up steam, and, as is the case, ways to fight high amounts of food waste are trending in order to flip the script. The idea behind root-to-stem is simple: use everything a vegetable has to offer, root-to-stem. For instance, rather than only using the typical, orange root portion of the carrot, also incorporate the leafy stem. This not only increases the usage and viability of a given vegetable, but it also cuts back on the food waste produced from disregarding unused bits.
The Popularity of Pulses
This is a trend that keeps popping up everywhere. It’s not as much a trend as it is an increase in usage of food that’s been around forever. Pulses refer to the seeds of dry crops like beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc. Obviously these are foods that have been heavily utilized in certain diets for ages, but it’s the ways in which pulses are being used now that’s increased their popularity, and it’s related to the increased popularity of gluten free diets. There is much more experimentation with using these dry crops as a flour substitute, as they are high in fiber and protein. More information can be found on pulses and all their uses all over the internet, but there’s a quick explanation here.
Grass Fed Animals
You’ve seen an uptick in things like grass fed beef, but it’s not yet prevalent. This is mostly because it takes longer to finish than a corn-fed animal – around 27 months, compared to 18. But as the overall trends tend to shy away from mass-produced, less sustainable ways of eating, the process of producing grass fed beef in a slightly longer time frame is not as much of a worry. Grass fed animals aren’t only increasing in popularity because of the sustainability factor, but also because of the deliciousness of the product itself. Producers will bite the bullet and take the time necessary if the product is in high demand, and the product will be in high demand if it’s superior to others.
Moving From Trend to Habit
Everything mentioned, and the many more trends that are out there, has the potential to become habitual, rather than becoming nothing more than a trendy diet. The reasons that these trends are more than just that – trends – is because they incorporate parts of our diet that already exist in abundance. It’s more about the way we are using the products we have at our disposal, and the influence and importance of said trends relies heavily on sustainable practices in food production and consumption. It’s becoming increasingly important to maintain awareness not only about what we are putting into our bodies, but also how we are consuming food and how that consumption affects everything around us.
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