Local food supplanted organics among the hot food topics last year. On the depressing side, concerns about food safety soared with the worst outbreak of foodborne illness in 10 years, and high prices sent shivers through budget-crunched consumers.
High prices have hurt restaurants, too. More people are staying home and cooking. Prices also have people looking for ways to save a few dollars on grocery bills.
Looking at what's ahead in 2009, local food will continue to garner more interest, as will the corollary topics of sustainable agriculture and natural, whole foods. But I see a potential glitch in this interest in eating better food that's produced in an environmentally friendly way. Despite great deals to be had by food from a farmers market or your backyard, much local or environmentally friendly food costs more than conventional, industrially produced food.
So, consumers and chefs will probably have to make some hard choices. Can you afford to buy organic spinach or locally raised chicken if it costs $2 more a pound and your food dollar buys less than ever? Will a restaurant customer appreciate a chef who offers steak from grass-fed, hormone-free cattle but charges $5 more a plate?
A new hot topic
I would like to say that everyone will plant their own vegetable garden this year. But the skeptic in me says that most people won't go to the trouble.
Besides, we still can fill our bellies with a wide array of 99-cent, fast-food specials.
That fast food may not offer the best nutrition. But, sadly, some will ignore nutrition in favor of calories as money gets tighter.
I wouldn't be surprised if a setback in healthy eating becomes the top food story of 2009.
I do still feel that sustainable foods will be on many minds this year, even if people are just lamenting that they can't afford them.
I also think that people will continue to be concerned about food safety. I don't think many of us have forgotten the salmonella Saintpaul strain -- first connected with tomatoes, then chile peppers -- that infected about 1,400 people across the country.
More trends
Here are a few other likely food trends this year:
--Stevia will emerge as the next no-calorie sweetener. Stevia is a plant, so it's a natural sweetener. The Food and Drug Administration approved use of two stevia-derived sweeteners Dec. 17. Coke and Pepsi are already rolling out stevia-sweetened drinks. Pepsi has SoBe Life Water and Trop50 light orange juice, and Coke has Odwalla juice drinks. Other companies are eager to get into the act, too.
--Just as after 9/11, comfort foods will be coming on strong, in homes and at restaurants, a seemingly natural psychological reaction to tough times. Look for lots of mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese, as well as spaghetti and meatballs.
--Supermarkets will increasingly push their private-label brands to shoppers looking for low prices.
--In restaurants, bistros and other styles of casual dining will rise.
--Restaurants will also offer more promotions to entice people to eat out. And -- you'll love this -- they'll probably work harder at providing good customer service to avoid losing customers.
Michael Hastings, the Journal's Food editor, can be contacted by phone at 727-7394, e-mail at mhastings@wsjournal.com, or mail at c/o Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. His most recent columns can be read on our Web site at www.journalnow.com. To see more of the Winston-Salem Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.journalnow.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Winston-Salem Journal, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.