The Future of American Food

The pattern of food consumption in the Unite States has undergone such drastic changes often in short spans of time that it is safe to assume that what Americans will be eating in 50 years will not be identical to what people are eating today.  Who would have guessed 70 years ago that Americans in the 21^st century would be eating processed food injected with an assortment of chemicals, food coloring and artificial flavors? I believe that a driving force of the changes in food consumption is the constant advancement and integration of food, technology, and science. Take the TV dinner  (frozen meals) as an example of the way our consumption patterns have changed. While freezing food has been around for centuries, it wasn’t until the 20^th century when they started to actually develop the techniques that are being used today. Advancements in science allowed manufacturers to freeze food in a short amount of time without compromising much of its original taste. Developments in the assembly line technology allowed for a streamline manufacturing process that could produce safe and consistent frozen meals. I strongly believe that science and technology will continue to play a huge role in the future of the American food system.

In 50 years, Americans will continue to eat even more processed food than the amount we currently consume. Corn, wheat, and rice will still be staples of the American diet due to the strong efforts of powerful lobbying groups on behalf of these industries. Meat consumption in the future will decrease. There have studies that show that meat consumption in the United States has already declined, partially due to the exposure of the production of “pink slime” or lean finely texturized beef (LFTB). One critical change is that we will be eating a lot more food-like substances in the future. It is highly possible that scientists will create more food-like substances that are along the lines of LFTB; Using leftover parts of food that we do not usually eat to make a new food substance that is cheap to produce and easy to store and transport. This is not a far-fetched idea considering the fact that scientists are already toying with the concept and are creating food out of waste and unwanted by products of other food. Some scientists in Japan are already literally creating food out of waste when they devised a method to make hamburgers out of human excrement. This trend will only strengthen in the future when humans run out of land to grow all the foo needed to feel the billions of people on Earth.

Land is going to be scare in 50 years so most of the fruits and vegetables will be grown overseas and imported into the United States. This allows for a wide variety of fruits and vegetables that ignores seasonal rules and other constraints that come with growing our own produce on American soil.  Meanwhile, many of the grains such as corn and wheat will still be grown and subsidized by the government in the United States. There will be a rise in meat products being grown in the lab. A small number of corporations will still have tight control over the food production in the United States. Most of the food will be produced by a handful of companies that have sub-divisions so as to give off an appearance of diversity in the super market. In contrast, I believe that many middle class families will start to grow some of other own foods in their backyards once they can afford to move to the suburbs where they have a small plot of land to farm on.  

Americans will continue to buy their food through super markets but I believe that there will be more stores that resemble wholesalers such as Costco and Sam’s Club than small mom and pop stores. In 50 years, a trip to the super market will exclusively consist of going to large warehouses and getting everything you need for the entire month. On a side note, refrigerators will have to increase in size in order to accommodate all that food. Food that is grown abroad will be imported into the United States using the traditional methods of air and ship travel. Food grown in the United States will most likely be transported through long haul trucking. It is possible that networks of food distribution channels will be created in major American cities. Food will be grown close by and will be transported to the warehouses for storage on a weekly basis. 

Video about Japanese Poop Burger: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/16/scientist-poop-burger-video_n_878210.html