There are some healthy food trends that are taking hold, even though they may still be a bit under the radar.
For instance, environmentally sustainable food is a massive topic that encompasses many areas, but it would be difficult for most people in society to be able to identify just what that is.
Even when you ask somebody who works in this field, the response can be turned into a five minute monologue.
Environmentally sustainable food is an important trend that is going on worldwide, but even those in the industry are attempting to compartmentalize it so they can make it work in the real world.
Yet it is true that many large and very recognizable companies are taking this issue quite seriously.
And is what is most admirable is that it's costing them money in the short-term without really knowing what the long-term benefits will be.
But these companies that purchase vast amounts of product realize that if they don't concern themselves with where their raw materials are going to come from years down the road, they could be out of business.
It often starts on the farm level.
Sustainable farms encourage such things as biodiversity, building and keeping healthy soil and conserving scarce water resources.
Sustainable ranchers only raise the number of animals that the land can support, and also rotate their animals allowing pastures to recover.
There is payback for this, but it is often in the long-term.
There is an example of a farm using these practices that had only 3 inches of topsoil when the farm began, but now has almost 2 feet.
But this all takes time.
This trend has also shown itself in food that is produced as part of a local food hub.
The rise of the local food movement can offer benefits for all involved, but there has to be interaction and cooperation between farmers who produce the food and the end-user, be it a supermarket, restaurant or the consumer directly.
One such success story involves the Chicago public school system.
They serve a half million meals a day and six years ago began a local food procurement program where they began buying from regional farmers.
In time they expanded this to buying chickens locally, and now have the first large-scale program of antibiotic-free chicken in public schools in America.
Stories like this are popping up all over the United States and the world, and for all the bad news we hear about the way food is produced, these are really refreshing stories to hear.
One of the benefits that we can see from buying local when it comes to supermarkets, restaurants or other wholesale buyers is the quality of the food.
Locally grown fruits and vegetables taste much better, provided they are fresh; this is in comparison with product that is shipped in from across the country and might be a week old.
Perhaps the big reason people don't eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables are because when they are not fresh they don't taste nearly as good.
This is a trend that perhaps goes back to the way it is done in many parts of Europe, and I remember especially in France.
Many of the restaurants serve product that was locally produced, and it tasted amazing.
Food safety laws and other concerns are part of the issue, but hopefully this is a trend that committed people will make happen.