Sustainability Trends

The Lempert Report
February 01, 2023

Our food world is about to get more confusing. We come up with all these new diets, we come up with all these labels of consumers, we try to segment people. And now there's some new phrases coming out. Climavore. Reducatarian, we've heard before, but it looks like all these new terms are really focused on Gen Z, millennials and frankly the environment. Basically a report from the consulting firm, Kearney came out and saying, by 2030, our food routine choices will be climate directed. They're much less concerned about taste, but it's all about climate. What do you think about that and what do you think, you know, is the industry gonna really embrace this? 

Sally: Well, I think that, you know, some, some companies feel, you know, we're seeing are embracing this. There are restaurant chains like Just Salad, Chipotle, and Panera Bread that are using carbon labels now on their food. Some that are adding Climatarian as a filter on their apps if you want to filter out items in that way. And so it does seem that some of these terms are taking off. Now they can get a little confusing because you're not, you know, there's so many that you don't know which one means what. But I think the premise is basic for all of them. You know, that they all, that they all are about not focusing on on the ingredients, but focusing on if those foods support a healthier planet. So, you know, it's not about not eating meat, but maybe you're eating pasture raised meat. That's kind of how it works. What I'm curious to see is if there's a lot of companies that end up doing some greenwashing and kind of taking advantage of this situation and misleading consumers to believe that their products are actually fulfilling these claims. 

Phil: Absolutely. And that's always an issue that we've got. The New York Times talks about one in particular that's trending. Regenavore, which is the latest and hottest eating label according to the times. And what it means is a new generation wants food from companies that are actively healing the planet through carbon reducing agriculture, more rigorous animal welfare policies and equitable treatment of the people who grow and process foods. So clearly we're gonna start to see more labels than ever before.