Plant-based trends

Vegan school lunches expand (according to the School Nutrition Association, in 2016, 11.5% of school districts provided vegan meals in an least one school and this increased to 14% in 2017) @ https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2019/09/30/vegan-school-lunches-expand-despite-opposition-from-meat-industry and tracking Impossible Foods growth with a March survey that finds 36% of Americans wished fast food had more vegetarian options @ https://morningconsult.com/form/impossible-foods-growth/ yet there is a backlash from some. (The CEOs of Whole Foods and Chipotle criticize the products as highly/ultra-processed.) @ https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/10/7/20880318/meatless-meat-mainstream-backlash-impossible-burger

New plant-based products

Incogmeato line (Kellogg) will include burgers, chicken nuggets and tenders @ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/09/06/incogmeato-kellogg-latest-company-launch-fake-meat-products/2230147001/, Awesome burger (Nestle, the world’s largest food company) is rolling out at Fred Meyer, Hy-Vee, Stop & Shop and others @ https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/24/business/nestle-awesome-burger-plant-based-meat/index.html and Just Eggs…made from mung beans @ https://www.ju.st/en-us/products/consumer/egg

Other news…

**See how Google is getting into food in a big way including menu recognition and putting popular dishes from restaurants into Google Maps @ https://supermarketguru.com/the-lempert-report/think-food-think-google/

**Functional food trends – consumers seek specific foods for help with their sleep, weight loss, energy, stress, focus, brain and heart health @ https://foodindustryexecutive.com/2019/09/finding-the-why-behind-functional-food-trends/

**Banning new drive-thru restaurants is happening in some cities (MN is the latest to issue a ban joining CA, MO, NJ) @ https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/10/10/765789694/why-u-s-cities-are-banning-new-fast-food-drive-throughs to address the environment, pedestrian safety and obesity.

**A meat tax is gaining popularity in Western Europe @ https://www.accountingtoday.com/articles/is-red-meat-more-expensive-could-be-next-sin-tax-after-sugar

New foods you might have missed…

Keto-friendly adult cereal has a mix of sweeteners and it is twice the cost of regular cereal ($1.39 a bowl) @ https://www.healthline.com/health-news/this-cereal-is-keto-friendly-but-is-it-healthy, mushroom coffee (but not a great deal of evidence about its health benefits @ https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/food-dining/2019/08/20/mushroom-coffee-health-benefits-taste-food-trend/2002292001/, fonio, a new ancient gluten-free African grain higher in protein, fiber and iron than brown rice (look for hot cereal and chips soon) @ https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2019/10/07/WATCH-Yolele-Foods-unveils-mission-to-turn-ancient-grain-fonio-into-a-household-name and Target’s new food line, Good and Gather (no artificial flavors/sweeteners, synthetic colors and HFCS) https://supermarketguru.com/the-lempert-report/will-good-gather-bring-target-the-food-sales-it-wants/

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