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HE FOREST FOR THE TREES
The last thing grain farmers want to read is that “gluten-
free” (GF) is the nation’s number-one food trend
according to Restaurants Canada (formerly the Canadian
Restaurant and Foodservices Association). But bear with me as
I briefly take you inside the belly of the beast.
The lineup to enter the 2014 Gluten Free Expo in Calgary
extended well down the hallway of the University of Calgary’s
kinesiology department from the doors of its Olympic Oval
venue. The event was at capacity. Inside, visitors carried tote
bags bursting with mostly complimentary GF foodstuffs from
dozens of kiosks manned by fervent promoters of everything
from fibre-packed Holy Crap breakfast cereal and Healthy
Delights kale chips to Catelli GF pasta.
Ignore for a moment that this event and the trend that
spawned it are inherently anti-gluten, and focus your
attention instead on the economic magnitude that food
trends can attain. Market research publisher Packaged Facts
estimated U.S. consumption of GF foods will top US$6.6
billion by 2017. A study by America’s largest GF food brand,
Udi’s Healthy Foods, claimed 4.3 million Canadians had
adopted a GF or gluten-reduced diet as of 2013.
Now, imagine a similar food phenomenon springing from
obscurity—one in which every product at the tradeshow is
grain-based. It’s not a stretch. Take, for instance, Alberta Beer
Festivals, an organization that holds annual beer fests in Calgary
and Edmonton. These sprawling events embody the barley
tsunami that is craft beer and microbrews, the fifth-biggest
national food trend.
And trends change all the time.
American food culture think tank The Hartman Group suggests
consumers have inaccurately equated gluten consumption, rather
than poor overall diet, with digestive issues. The group suggests,
however, that consumers are re-embracing grains in healthier,
whole-grain forms. As improbable as it seems, one such health-
conscious, grain-based trend on the rise in San Francisco is the
artisan toast bar. According to Calgary food writer, author and
CBC Radio restaurant commentator John Gilchrist, when food
trends break in Bay City restaurant kitchens, they typically arrive in
Calgary a mere three weeks later.
That these pro- and anti-grain trends happily coexist on North
American restaurant menus illustrates that grain-based products
can capture trends and sales figures echoing those of GF.
Economics aside, to view either trend as pure fad is to
misread contemporary food culture. The cachet of products
like quinoa, goji berries and offal certainly ebbs and wanes,
The Food Issue
2014
Grains
West
22
Feature
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