I. INTRODUCTION

It’s 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-to-

table 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 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 inexpensive”—“sugary, 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 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 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 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).

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 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 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. 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 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 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, 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 public’s 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 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?