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How Will Consumers Impact the Future Food System?

Jayson Lusk tackles the subject during recent NGFA Convention

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During the opening session of the recent National Grain & Feed Association’s Annual Convention in Scottsdale, AZ, Jayson Lusk, an economist, professor and department head in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, spoke on the trends and impacts consumers will have on our future food system.

One driving trend is the demand for natural products. Almost 100,000 new food and beverage products were introduced in the U.S. during the five-year time period from 2012 to 2016, explained Lusk. These new products contained over 318,000 label claims.

“The number of labeling claims on new food products doubled from 2009 to 2016, with most of the growth coming from claims of low or no allergens, gluten-free, Kosher, ethical or environmental-friendly packaging, GMO-free, no additives or preservatives, and organic,” he says.

Lusk says despite these numbers, only 0.2% of corn acreage in the U.S. is organic.

Lusk also predicts the future policy will be more about food and less about agriculture.

“Influencers care less about food prices and more about ‘quality,’ ‘nutrition,’ and ‘naturalness,’” he says. “We need to communicate the value of science and technology in a way that appeals to urban values.”

For more insights from Lusk, check out his blogs at jaysonlusk.com.

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