Milling & Baking News - January 16, 2007 - 7

E D I T O R I A L

Making nutrition superior to convenience in buying

rying to understand the forces that drive what
and where consumers purchase food is one of the
essential studies that executives in grain-based
foods undertake. It is unlikely that any subject receives
more attention from executives in the food industry
than this one does. That is the case even though it has
been asserted by experts for some time that the single
factor, convenience, overrides all the others once the
role of price is acknowledged. Sliced, white bread historically has been considered the ultimate convenience
food, one that is readily available, is easy to use, and
requires little preparation, while also being relatively
low cost. It is only when other influences, such as taste
and nutrition, come into play that judging what will
affect the ultimate decision becomes complex.
In its latest report on consumer food shopping habits,
the NPD Group once again stresses the centrality of convenience as the guiding force in food purchasing decisions. In its latest report, replete with both good and bad
news for grain-based foods, NPD finds sandwiches have
become the most frequently served entree at dinner,
surpassing favorites like chicken and beef. At the same
time, the frequency of sandwiches served at lunch has
declined, from the 45 per cent peak inclusion in homeserved lunches in 1990 to 36 per cent in the most recent
study. NPD indicates that serving sandwiches has diminished at lunch because it is not as easy, or convenient, as
bringing home prepared food from a restaurant. It seems
almost inconceivable that something could overturn the
sandwich's lead in convenience, but that is the implication of these findings about take-out food.
The NPD study, reflecting interviews with hundreds
of consumers, underscores the rising importance of concerns about health and what they are eating or feeding
their families. Yet, the continuing domination of convenience prompts this observation, "Healthy eating will
take hold when it is easier or cheaper to do than what
we do now."
According to a study undertaken by the U.S. Depart-

ment of Agriculture to gauge the factors influencing decisions about eating away from home, taste, entertainment,
convenience and nutrition are the principal factors at
work. In some ways, the study shows the drive for convenience, when also influenced by nutrition considerations,
may lead to wrong choices. It notes that away-from-home
restaurants selected when nutrition enters into the equation more often than not offer no nutrition advantage,
and indeed, may be the poorer choice. Concluding that
consumers do not purposely choose nutritionally inferior meals when making such selections, the Department
blames primarily a lack of knowledge among consumers
about what constitutes good nutrition.
The share of meals, as measured in calories, eaten
away from home is rising rapidly but the nutritional
quality of food eaten in restaurants, both full service and
fast food, is frequently of lower nutritional quality than
food eaten at home. This "does not itself suggest that
consumers desire unhealthful foods nor does it suggest
that consumers fail to use their knowledge of health and
diet when making dining-out selections," the study concludes. What it does show is how convenience, taste and
entertainment, as attributes of restaurant meals usually
sought by consumers, often trump nutritional quality.
Acknowledging that consumers "are driven by more
than the desire for a healthful diet," the authors of the
U.S.D.A. study rely on classic economic theory to show
how consumers with a limited budget and limited
time will choose the most pleasing option. The correction suggested is for stepped-up nutrition education,
but also education nuanced by appreciating how the
desire for convenience, taste and entertainment might
still have the upper hand. For nutrition education to
succeed, the best strategy might be to appeal to a variety of consumer preferences. This is really no different
from what the NPD study suggests - that nutrition as
a driving force in consumer food purchases and in eating out will win out only when it is made "easier" to
pursue than now is the case.

Drama in different wheat area trends and yields

he concerns currently being expressed by many
leaders of grain-based foods about shrinking
wheat acreage in America reflect a situation that is
not unique to the United States. Indeed, as U.S. interests
strategize about what is the best course to follow in seeking to halt and then to reverse this downward trend, it
might be useful to realize that a situation with striking
similarities and striking differences rules on the global
stage. In this context, it is important to recognize that
while America is one of the world's leading producers
of wheat, it is not the largest and that developments in
other countries such as China and India play as large or
larger a role in supply-demand.
The similarities between what is happening in the
United States and the world is especially striking in
the way that the planted area peaks for both occurred
in the early 1980s and that the plantings for the 2006
crop for the U.S. and the world were the smallest of
the past half century. From its high of 88.2 million
acres seeded in 1981, the U.S. planted acreage last
year dipped to 57.3 million acres, a fall of 35 per cent.
World wheat plantings fell from the peak of 240 million hectares (a hectare roughly equals 2.5 acres) in
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

1982 to 206 million for 2006, a setback of 14 per cent.
The most salient difference is how production fared in
relation to these cutbacks. In the case of U.S. wheat production, the 2006 crop was down 36 per cent from the
1981 peak, falling from 2.8 billion to 1.8 billion bushels. Of
course, that nearly exact alignment of the drop in acreage
and in production stems from little or no change in yield.
In stark contrast, the 14 per cent area drop for world wheat
plantings contrasted dramatically with a 24 per cent increase in production, which rose from 472 million to 585
million tonnes. In a performance totally opposite of America's, the average world wheat yield in those 24 years increased more than enough to offset the area decreases.
During the 1980s, when wheat acreage in both the
U.S. and around the world reached its high, American
yields were at least 20 per cent above the global average.
In the latest year for which International Grains Council
data are available, the world yield, at 28.6 quintals per
hectare, contrasts with the U.S. average of 28.2.
Yield measures productivity and efficiency. That the
American wheat yield lags is not just disappointing. It
also should be helpful in providing a triumphant answer
to solving the dilemma of shrinking planted acreage. MBN
Milling & Baking News, January 16, 2007 / 7

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - January 16, 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - January 16, 2007