I recently read an article on Yahoo titled, "Things Babies Born in 2011 Will Never Know." We've all heard (and questioned!) our parents' stories about walking 10 miles to school up a snow-capped mountain and not having a single TV in their homes. Of course, times and technologies change, but I was kind of set back after reading that I'll be passing along stories to my kids about how a mailperson used to deliver paper mail to our house each day and we used to dig around libraries for books and videos to check out.

This led me to think about what else will change in the upcoming years, including how and what people eat. While I'm not going to predict what my kids and future grandkids will be eating in 2050 or 2080, I have come across some predictions for changes to our foods and eating and purchasing behaviors for the upcoming year. Here are some common themes:

• Mobile food apps - download grocery coupons, restaurant deals, meal ideas, recipes, you name it
• Smaller food stores - rediscover the local butcher, baker, cheese maker, and farmer's market
• Home growing, canning, and preserving - do it yourself to avoid concerns about food safety
• Men in the kitchen - it's chic to cook, more men are at home, and TV chefs are showing men how to do it
• "Local" on the label - buy locally grown produce, meats, and seafood and locally produced wine and beer to support sustainability
• Make educated choices - label reading's much easier when the emphasis is on a few key ingredients and vague terms and claims are eliminated

What do you think? Will these trends take over in 2011? What other food trends might you forcast for this year or futher into the future? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

Food trends 2011. (2011, Winter). ADA Times: a publication for members of the American Dietetic Association, 8(2), 1.