Back in the 90’s,EatingWelldebuted what would become a tradition for several years: a “State of the Plate” article that looked at a year’s most memorable moments in food and nutrition—the good, the bad and the just plain bizarre. As part of our anniversary celebration, we’re bringing back that tradition, with a twist: in addition to delving into today’s culinary landscape, we’re contrasting it with where it was three decades ago. The perspective is both eye-opening and, in some cases, cringey.
Does Eating Fat Make You Fat?What’s the Difference Between Saturated Fat and Unsaturated Fat?13 Healthy High-Fat Foods You Should be Eating4 Good Foods to Eat Full-Fat
Does Eating Fat Make You Fat?
What’s the Difference Between Saturated Fat and Unsaturated Fat?
13 Healthy High-Fat Foods You Should be Eating
4 Good Foods to Eat Full-Fat
While the word “clickbait” had yet to be invented, we encouraged readers to look beyond the glowing headlines on things like therapeutic herbs and red wine, to seek credible science and a more nuanced read. And then, as now, we kept our eye on the future, always looking for new ways to help readers make informed decisions about what they ate and drank.
One thing that hasn’t changed: you, our readers, who have always been curious, well-informed and adventurous; skeptical of quick fixes and fad diets, yet open-minded to evolving research. We connect with you now more than we ever have, and welcome your ideas and feedback in all the channels in which you’ll find us. Here’s to the next 30 years!
Three Decades of Food Milestones
Several things have changed over the last 30 years. Here are some of the notable food trends from 1990 until now.
This Man Is Helping
We’ve learned a lot from Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H., over the years, and so have our readers. A professor of epidemiology and nutrition atHarvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, his research (more than 1,700published studies) has examined critical nutrition issues—from the impact of sugary drinks on heart health to obesity’s role in cancer risk—and he’s still our go-to for solid, science-backed nutrition wisdom.
Willett has also played a key role in shaping nutrition policy for the better. Last year he was a lead author on theEAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Healthreport that urged, among other things, reducing our meat intake significantly—for both human and environmental health. But perhaps he’s best known as the man whose research and tireless advocacy helped get trans fats out of our food supply. We named Willett “Nutrition Educator of the Year” in our first “State of the Plate” feature (as well as one of our American Food Heroes in 2018) and recently checked back with him on the changes he’s seen over the past 30 years—and the ones he sees ahead.
Question: For decades, one of your main goals was to get trans fats out of our food. Now, they’re pretty much gone. What have you learned from that success?
Answer:That the pathway from scientific evidence to policy is a very indirect, meandering path, with lots of obstacles. And just because the evidence is there doesn’t mean it’s going to be acted upon automatically, or that policymakers will follow through. The change really happened from the grassroots up, rather than policy from top down. It took getting the word out to the public to make it happen.
Question: What are the most critical public health challenges you see today, nutrition-wise?
Answer: Overall diet quality is still very poor, and the most visible aspect of this is the obesity epidemic. Five or six years ago, it looked like it might be plateauing off, but now it’s clearly continuing up with a vengeance. The latest data are showing that 42% of American adults are categorized as having obesity, which is astounding. In the early 1970s it was 10%. We’re starting to see a reverse in a lot of the gains that had been achieved with so much hard work over 50 years. And it’s clearly, strongly, related to income. We can really connect the dots between poverty and poor diet quality, obesity, diabetes, diabetes mortality and nowCOVID-19. Obesity, and the consequences of it, are major factors (apart from age) that are related to people dying from the virus.
Part of the U.S. population is doing very well—the part that has access to knowledge and the ability to act upon it; we see them shopping at health food stores and running along the river. They are getting healthier and living longer. But the other part of the population is stuck due to lack of resources, and getting worse in terms of obesity. So the gap is growing.
Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H.I think there will be a greater shift toward plant-forward diets. More people are realizing that the consequences of our current animal-centric diets are disastrous for planetary health and future generations, as well as being unhealthy for us today.
Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H.
I think there will be a greater shift toward plant-forward diets. More people are realizing that the consequences of our current animal-centric diets are disastrous for planetary health and future generations, as well as being unhealthy for us today.
Question: What do you see on the horizon for American eating habits?
Answer:I think there will be a greater shift towardplant-forward diets. More people are realizing that the consequences of our current animal-centric diets are disastrous for planetary health and future generations, as well as being unhealthy for us today. More people are realizing that we need to change our national leadership to help get us on a track leading toward a sustainable and healthy future. This gives me some hope.
The Diet We’ve Loved Since Day 1: Mediterranean
Why the Mediterranean Diet Is So Healthy
7 Science-Backed Lessons We Learned From the Real Mediterranean Diet
Over the decades, our love for the Med diet has only grown, and so has the world’s. We’ve featured hundreds ofMediterranean-focused recipes, and devoted multiple issues entirely to this style of eating. And, like a nutritional Meryl Streep, the Mediterranean Diet has continued to win with nutrition experts—including a recent three-peat asbest overall dietfromU.S. News & World Report—while amassing a pile of research linking it with better heart and brain health and lower rates of diabetes and some cancers. Best of all, eating a traditional Mediterranean diet is just plain delicious and epitomizes theEatingWellapproach of putting flavor and health first.Kalí órexi!
What The Future May Look Like
We’ve made lots of guesses at the Next Big Thing in Food over the years. Energy bars, for example. In the ’90s, we pointed to their fast-growing sales as a sign of It-dom—and today, the $3 billion energy bar category is expected to grow another $1.4 billion in the next three years. Likewise, we predicted dairy-free milk was going to take off. And you’ve seen the “dairy” aisle at the supermarket recently, right? OK, our vision that broccoli rabe would become all the rage has yet to come true (although we still love it). But we’re going to go out on a limb and call out three food trends we see coming now. May future history prove us right.
Designer produce will explode
We’ll see more and more varieties of “branded” produce bred for richer flavor and textures, rather than for shelf life or picture-perfect beauty—for example, new apple hybrids like ultra-juicy Cosmic Crisp and bite-size Rockit, or the deliciously sweet Butternut 661 squash from the Row 7 seed company.
Home cooking will continue its surge
While the pandemic may have sent us back to our kitchens, larger numbers of us will want to keep experimenting with new ideas, foods and recipes—beyond sourdough. And thanks to technology, we’ll have access to experts in regions and cultures around the world, and hyperlocal “micro” cuisines that allow us to explore even more types of dishes.
Dieting will be done for good
Getty / Tim Robberts
We’ll finally wake up to the fact that following a regimen of temporary deprivation to achieve a health or aesthetic goal is an exercise in futility—and that healthy eating for life is about building ongoing habits, not quick fixes.
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!Tell us why!OtherSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Tell us why!OtherSubmit
Tell us why!
