I.

INTRODUCTION
Its almost impossible to avoid local food culture, especially in an urban center like

Charlotte. Coffee shops market locally-roasted, fair-trade coffee; 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.

II.

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-totable foods produced in the United States over the past few decades.

Corporations have

engineered their products to have near-addictive tastes, improved mouth-feels, enhanced

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 Food by
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 industrys 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 meetingthe General Mills executive who invented sugary Yoplait and Gogurt
for kidsreminded 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 inexpensivesugary, salty, fatty foods [that] are not good for us in the
quantities that we consume them.

(Cite.)

He met with a food optimizer Howard

Moskowitz -- who literally spends time combining taste, packaging, and color and 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 theres just enough sugar or salt in a product but
not too much. He researches a products sensory satiety and mouth feel to determine how it
will be received byand craved byconsumers.
The traditional American diet has led to rapid increase in heart disease and Type 2
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. A [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
fatty meats like ribs, sausages, bacon, and hot dogs (choosemyplate.gov).
However, at the same time, the United States government has heavily subsidized corn and
soy production in the United States since the mid-1990s. The production of corn sweeteners,

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 feedfor large
meat production facilitiescheap. (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).

III.

Local Food Culture: The New Diet?

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

geographically localized (www.sustainabletable.org). The term local food is shorthand for a

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 farmers markets, high quality supermarkets (Whole Foods),
community-supported agriculture (CSAs), and organic restaurants throughout the area. With the
addition of Johnson & Wales culinary school in 2004, the food scene has been slowly gaining
momentum. As Kristie Greco, communications director for the Democratic National Convention
Committee, stated in a 2012 New York Times article, Like 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.

Whats Driving Local Food Culture?

The energy behind Charlottes 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 Omnivores 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 food. These
fast food companies value consistency in their products the same product for all customers.
Because companies want the same product to sell across America, they have extraordinary
market power (Food 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 McDonalds
have remained stagnant (recent reports of McDonalds earnings dropping). The fact that fast food
chains attempt to incorporate healthy options (apple slices at McDonalds, for example) shows
that they are attempting 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 publics knowledge of the production practices
used in the production of their food. Increasingly, companies are providing what consumers
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 farmers 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?