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It's almost impossible to avoid local food culture,

especially

in an urban center like

Charlotte. Co.fee shops market locally-roasted, fair-trade coff,ee; restaurants list the sources for

'--

their meat products, alongside higher

prices.

Changes

in culture and food preferences are

driving this local food movement. Although many Americans continue to follow eating habits
adopted by a prior generation

-,

consuming large quantities

of processed food - a counter

movement is spreading in the United States. Young adults with higher expendable incomes are

putting their dollars towards organic, locally-sourced, minimally-processed

food. This paper

explores the trend and what drives it.

il.

The Typical American Diet: A Diet of the Past?

For decades America has led the way when it comes to heavily processed foods, for two

two primary reasons. First, "Americans like things that are fast and easy, requiring minimal
personal or economic sacrifice" (Ikerd). This has been the main selling point for the factory-to-

,table foods produced

in the United

States over the past few decades. Corporations have

to have

near-addictive tastes, improved mouth-feels, enhanced

engineered their products

appearances, and longer shelf

lives. This was achieved by pumping foods full of salt, fat,

and

corn extracts in a bid to hook the consumer. Corporations had little regard for the nutritional
value of their products.

The [date] New York Times article The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Foodby

Michael Moss publicizes engineering foods to appeal to consumers. The article opens with a
discussion of James Behnke. Behnke is a scientist and former Pillsbury executive. He describes

a meeting of top food industry scientists and executives to discuss the food industry's concern

over the American obesity crisis. A Kraft executive who presented at the meeting went so far as

to compare marketing junk food to children as equivalent to marketing cigarettes. Another top
executive at the meeting-the General

Mills executive who invented sugary Yoplait

and

"Gogurt" for kids-reminded the group that consumers like what tastes good.
Moss then discusses the science companies use to "get people hooked on foods that are

convenient and inexpelslys"-66sugary, salty, fatty foods [that] are not good for us
quantities that we consume

them." (Cite.) He met with a o'food optimizer" -

Moskowitz -- who literally spends time combining taste, packaging,

in

the

Howard

testing the

combinations on consumers to find the match that will sell the most product. Moskowitz seeks to

find the consumer "bliss point"

the point when there's just enough sugar or salt in a product but

not too much. He researches a product's "sensory satiety" and "mouth feel" to determine how it

will

be received

by-and

craved by-consumers.

The traditional American diet has led to rapid increase

in heart disease and Type

diabetes. Obesity is now at epidemic levels in the United States, where children are now three
times more likely to be overweight or obese than the American youth a decade ago (Russo and

'Smith). This is a direct result of the consumption of foods that are high-fat and low in nutritional
value. Many of these foods are developed and produced using corn and soy extracts. While corn
or soy products are not necessarily harmful to our bodies, the sheer volume of these ingredients
when considering our entire consumption of food is alarming.

[year] leading United States

government health campaign advised Americans to "cut back on foods high in solid fats, added
sugars, and salt. They include cakes, cookies, ice cream, candies, sweetened drinks, pizza, and

faffy meats like ribs, sausages, bacon, and hot dogs" (choosemyplate.gov).
However, at the same time, the United States government has

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soy production in the United States since the mid-1990s. The production of corn sweeteners,

Y\klnLL'

corn starch, and soy oils have cost American taxpayers as much as $19.2 billion in subsidies
since 1995 (Russo and Crowe). This $19.2 billion figure is even more staggering considering
that it does not include the additional amount the U.S. government has paid to keep corn

feed-

for large meat production facilities-cheap. (Cite). This is a colossal figure when compared to
the $689 million spent on the apple production subsidies over the past 18 years

(Ibid).

Such

startling figures help to explain why "a growing number of Americans are expressing doubts and
outright dissatisfaction with the current American food system" (Ikerd). At the same time, these
subsidies

in part explain why processed food remains cheaper in many

cases than healthier

options. (personal example).

IIr.

Local Food Culture: The New Diet?

A local food

system is defined as a "method of food production and distribution that is

geographicallylocalized,,@).Theterm..1oca1food,,isshorthandfora
number of things. It can mean sustainably produced food, whole food

- i.e. less processed

food,

and, of course, food sourced from local farms (and even within that there is an ongoing debate
over the radius of local). (Ibid)
The growth of the local food movement can be seen in the Charlotte area. This is evident

through the growing number of farmer's markets, high quality supermarkets (Whole Foods),
community-supported agriculture (CSA's), and organic restaurants throughout the area. With the
addition of Johnson & Wales culinary school in2004, the food "scane" has been slowly gaining
momentum. As Kristie Greco, communications director for the Democratic National Convention
Committee, stated in a2012 New York Times article, o'Irike mushrooms springing to life after a

forest fire,

it

seems a serious food scene has emerged

in Charlotte in the recovery from

the

economic crisis" (Charlotte Wakes Up Bankers' Taste Buds, Kim Severson) (perhaps in part
explaining why the Democratic National Convention was held in Charlotte).
The article goes on to explain some of the rationale behind the movement. Charlotte was
best known as a "moneymaking mecca", and the food industry played on that for many years,

offering high-end chain steakhouses and barbecue for the financial elite. However, in the wake

of the financial crisis coupled with the introduction of Johnson & Wales, amongst other factors,
"[F]armers and cooks found each other, and the whole town just seemed to be interested in
expanding how it ate" (Ibid). [Additional sources on local food movement in Charlotte?]

IV.

What's Driving Local Food Culture?

The energy behind Charlotte's local food movement is akin to that of the national food

movement. The growing exposure of food production practices and the power that big food
producers have over the market and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a one of the

major driving forces in the changing national food ethic. The work of author and food activist
Michael Pollan has made a huge impression on many Americans, both from his books such

as

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food" but also from his appearance in the
documentary Food,

Inc. The movie opens by telling

the viewer that the food industry

has

changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000 years. In particular, the rise of fast

food

produced as

if

on an assembly line

has created a market for mass produced

fast food companies value consistency in their products

Because companies want the same product
market power (Food

to sell

food.

These

the same product for all customers.

across America, they have extraordinary

Inc.).
.

Young adults today are using their increased spending power and choosing "fast-casual"
healthy options. Young adults are turning away from typical fast-food choices in recent years.

Instead, these individuals

many of whom are willing and able to pay a "premium" for healthier

and seemingly more wholesome choices, are choosing such "fast-casual" options as Chipotle,
Panera, and Subway. These chains

- promising healthy

options and more upscale atmosphere

have exploded in recent years, while traditional, low-priced fast food chains

like McDonald's

have remained stagnant (recent reports of McDonald's earnings dropping). The fact that fast

food chains attempt to incorporate "healthy" options (apple slices at McDonald's, forexample)
shows that they are afiempting to capture a segment of the more health-conscious market.
Increased exposure of mass food production tactics. The publication of such

documentaries as Food Inc. has heightened the public's knowledge of the production practices

food. Increasingly, companies are providing what consumers

used in the production of their

demand

a more transparent

production process that is kinder to animals and the employees

of

the company.

New trends in the food and drink industries with an emphasis on local ingredients. The
increase in the number of farmer's markets and the rapid increase in coffee shops, restaurants,
and breweries that offer locally roasted coffee beans, local meat and produce, and breweries

claiming to use local ingredients.

V.

SECTION 4/CONCLUSION: Is it a sustainable trend or not?

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