The Foundation for Child Development issued a scary report last week arguing that the recession could result in children—particularly poor and very young kids—eating even more cheap, low-quality, unhealthy food than they currently do, as cash-strapped parents are forced to substitute fast food and junk food for more nutritious fare in the current economy. “There is a concern with ‘recession obesity’ apart from the general trend toward an increasing number of obese American children,” said Kenneth Land, project director of the foundation’s Youth Well-Being Index Project, which issues an annual composite assessment of how U.S. kids are faring in terms of education and health.

In issuing the report, the foundation and child advocates called for the creation of policies that help families during tough economic times and strengthen early childhood education. “We should be doing a lot more to invest in children and youth, and it’s pretty clear we’re not doing that,” Ruby Takanishi, president of the Foundation for Child Development, said June 3 during a presentation of the foundation’s report.

The idea of the recession erasing the progress that has already been made on the childhood nutrition front is pretty frightening. And, although the nation’s poorest children are likely to suffer the most nutritionally (and in many other ways) from the economic crisis, not everyone believes the economy will have parents turning toward the cheapest food possible in an effort to weather the economic storm.

In fact, some people argue that the economy is driving parents to expect more value from the products they purchase, and this could present a competitive advantage for those companies selling products that truly pack a healthy punch. “In this poor economic time, parents are a lot more conscious of how they spend their food money,” Denise Devine, president and CEO of Froose, which makes a patented children’s beverage that combines organic whole fruit and whole grains, told Nutrition Business Journal. “The value proposition is so much more important these days. Why would you pay more for a 50% watered down juice? Half the time [those products] don’t give your child any nutritional value. My product is not just a juice with isolated vitamins. It is a whole food that has all of these wonderful things, including gluten-free brown rice.”

As a mother who is more focused than ever on keeping her kids healthy by feeding them nutritious foods, I tend to agree with Devine on this one. But I also think that much more needs to be done to make healthier foods available, accessible and affordable to all children, especially in the current economic environment, and I’m hoping President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture live up to their stated promise of making improved children’s nutrition a top priority. In addition, I urge more companies to invest in helping make healthy food and nutrients available to children in need, such as Revolution Foods is doing by supporting bringing healthy school lunches to inner-city schools and Vitamin Angels is doing through its many programs here in the United States and abroad.

NBJ’s newest report—Healthy Kids’ Market Report: Breaking the Entry Barrier—was created to help companies operating in, working to move in to or simply evaluating the U.S. healthy kids’ product market better understand this market and its opportunities and challenges. Order your copy of the report via the NBJ Website.

Related articles:

U.S. Healthy Kids’ Market Positioned to Tackle Obesity and Other Top Health Issues

Kids’ Obesity Epidemic Spurs Paradigm Shift in Schools’ Vending Machine Policies

Renegade Lunch Lady Takes on School Lunch Programs

Vitamin Angels: ‘We Are Saving Kids’ Lives, And We Can Prove It’

Nest Collective: Building the Next-Generation CPG Company

According to a February 2009 study conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Society for Quality (ASQ), 73% of Americans are just as concerned about food safety as they about the global war on terror. Perhaps more scary is the fact that only 48% said they trust the government’s ability to ensure the safety of food products.

On the heels of the ASQ consumer survey, President Barack Obama announced on March 14 the creation of a new cabinet-level food safety panel. The announcement comes just months after a peanut recall that could end up costing the peanut industry more than $1 billion dollars, according to the Georgia Peanut Commission’s executive director, Don Koehler, who recently testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ small business committee.

Obama went on to detail how food borne disease outbreaks have been on the rise since the 1990s and cited outdated laws, underfunding, and a diffusion of responsibility between government agencies that have left many food processing plants uninspected. “That is a hazard to public health,” Obama said. “It is unacceptable. And it will change under the leadership of Margaret Hamburg, whom I am appointing today as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.”

“The United States overall does have a safe food supply,” said Steven Wilson, member of ASQ’s board of directors and a food safety expert. “However, whether food manufacturers have process controls in place or not, some have plant sanitation issues that they need to address.” During his announcement about the creation of his new food safety panel, Obama stressed the importance of not only designing stricter laws, but enforcing them.

The total U.S. food market grew 5% to $618 billion in 2008, according to NBJ estimates. Sales of natural and organic foods, often viewed as safer alternatives by consumers, grew nearly 14% to $35 billion in 2008.

Related links:

Consumers Seek More Detailed Food Labeling

Country of Origin Meat Labeling Set to Take Effect

You may or may not know that New Hope (NBJ’s parent company) and Supermarket News launched a trade show June 18-19, 2008 called Healthy Foods International Expo.

As part of the education program, Nutrition Business Journal presented on the findings of a series of surveys of consumers, conventional retailers and conventional food manufacturers regarding their beliefs about healthy foods. The presentation was entitled New Insights into the Motivations, Attitudes and Behaviors of U.S. Grocery Consumers.

The presentation drew over 100 attendees and two breakouts on retailers and manufacturers were well attended as well. No matter how much credit we give them, conventional retailers and manufacturers of healthy foods still don’t completely get it. They have alot to learn, which made it all the more important that we were there to impart some of our industry knowledge to them over two days.

The show, though a launch, was perfectly produced and went off without a hitch (at least from my perspective). Attendance was a bit sparse, but understandably so in this economy, setting the stage for growth down the road. Approximately 100 exhibitors presented their latest healthy foods offerings to conventional retailer buyers and executives who pounded the floor.

While in the Dallas Convention Center, I took a few videos to show you what the show really looked like. Please excuse the fogginess of the video - my camera didn’t handle the humid climate so well.

This video is of the rush to get on the show floor when it opened Wednesday at 12 noon so you can get an idea of what the show looked like.

This video is of the crowd gathered to hear Samuel Fromartz, author of Organic, Inc.: Natural Foods and How They Grew, give the keynote address Wednesday evening after the show floor closed

This video is from celebrity& author Devin Alexander

To learn more about NBJ’s research on the healthy foods market, go to NBJ’s Healthy, Lesser-Evil and Functional Foods channel, where all of NBJ’s information on these categories is aggregated.

Enjoy.

-Patrick

I would like to introduce you to the new website for Nutrition Business Journal - www.nutritionbusinessjournal.com.

Alot has changed in the world of web design since we first launched NBJ’s website in 1998, so you will notice MANY changes in the look, feel and efficiency of the new nutritionbusinessjournal.com.

NBJ’s mission has always been to deliver strategic business information, analysis and market data to those in or interested in the nutrition industry to fuel better business decisions and promote healthier lifestyles. The new nutritionbusinessjournal.com is our new way of delivering on this mission.

I welcome your feedback and suggestions, via this blog or via my email prea@nutritionbusiness.com

Enjoy!

-Patrick

Michael Pollan, author of “Omnivores Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food”, gave a riveting keynote speech at Natural Products Expo West 2008. I was fortunate to hear it in person, but if you were unable to make the Mr. Pollan’s speech, you’re in luck.

I am delighted to inform you that Michael Pollan has allowed New Hope to post his keynote address on www.expowest.com.

Click on the link by the words “audio recording” on this page

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Please feel free to comment on his speech via the comments function below.