The War on Big Food

Global consumers are picky eaters, examining labels and prompting food manufacturers to reassess what goes into their products. “The idea of ‘processing’ – from ancient techniques of salting and curing to the modern arsenal of artificial preservatives – arose to make sure the food we ate didn’t make us sick,” explains Beth Kowitt for Fortune. “Today many fear that it’s the processed food itself that’s making us unhealthy.” Grocery stories make room on their shelves for healthy, natural, organic products, and multinationals try to adapt, purchasing and studying small brands: “Following a trend in the tech industry, legacy food companies are on an acqui-hiring spree, hoping to gobble up foodpreneurs, their more agile management operations—and their know-how in the natural food arena.” Consumers seek purity, simplicity with comprehensible ingredients. Consumers want labels with details – including genetically modified organisms. Companies have resisted such labeling and that erodes consumer trust. Kowitt offers a recommendation from Stonyfield Farm co-founder Gary Hirshberg, “The smartest thing you can do as a CEO right now is to side with the consumer.” – YaleGlobal