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Jodi Rich is the Publisher of Natural Products Marketplace Magazine. She has been working in the natural products industry for almost seven years and has an extensive background in sales, marketing, and promotions. She graduated with a communications degree from Arizona State University, which isn't surprising because she's quite a talker. Jodi embraces a healthy lifestyle by mastering crazy yoga poses and spending all of her hard earned money on the latest and greatest products from SunFlower Market. Sarah Prahl is an account executive with Natural Products Marketplace. She has been involved in the natural products industry her entire life and is so passionate about the industry, she is also a Clinical Nutritionist. Sarah has a consumer publishing background and in a past life, sold supplements to both small health food stores and large chains. She is excited to bring both her nutrition knowledge and market experience to support growing entrepreneurs in the natural products category! When Sarah isn't selling advertising, you'll find her hiking with her dogs in beautiful Boulder, Colorado or striking a pose at the local yoga studio. |
The Future of Processed Foods
Posted in
Blog,
Topics,
Food Safety,
Functional Foods,
Genetic Engineering (GE),
Government,
Industry News,
Snacks
I just returned this week from the IFT’s (
Institute
of
Food Technologists
) Annual Conference in
Chicago
.
One of the educational sessions included a panel of four speakers, highlighting key points from the IFT’s recently released white paper, “Feeding the World Today and Tomorrow: The Importance of Food Science & Technology. I didn't have a chance to sit in on this session, but I got a peak at the cliff notes from the seminar.
The 28-page white paper begins with a historical perspective that summarizes the parallel developments of agriculture and food technology. A section on food manufacturing explains why food is processed, and details various food-processing methods. A section about potential solutions to future challenges briefly discusses ways scientists are striving to improve the food supply for a healthier population, and feed the future.
Retailers and healthy consumers often find it easy to take jabs at food manufacturers (been there, done that). But after reviewing the white paper, I see a lot of challenges out there.
Sure, it’s best to eat fresh and non-processed foods, but the white paper opened my eyes to some interesting points. With the world population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, it is necessary to sustainably produce about 50 percent more food than is currently produced. Not an easy task.
The white paper states food expenditures, as a percentage of household expenditures, in the United States are the lowest in the world. Cost is an important variable to most consumers in making food purchases, particularly to those with low incomes. Processed foods often times can be less expensive than traditional fresh foods, which only increases the demand for the category.
USDA will play a key role in response to the food demand and subsidization. In addition, it seems that education (or lack there of) is also a key role in the evolution of processed foods.
It will be interesting to see how things shake out over the next few years.
Jodi Rich
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