How the pandemic forever changed how we feed ourselves

We can all easily agree that 2020 was a year like no other for the world. The breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic forever changed how we interact with each other and forced us to adapt to a whole new reality. Eventually, conversations around how we can strengthen our immune system and protect our metabolism started arising. Our diets, being a major factor in our overall health, were being re-evaluated in the context of a deadly virus spreading through our communities.

Ultra-processed and refined food products were one of the main focal points of researchers during quarantine. In fact, American consumption of processed food products has always been high considering the fast-paced environment we were in before the pandemic. However, when everything shut down and we found ourselves spending huge amounts of time at home, we started to pay more attention on what was actually on our plates.

“The pandemic caused abrupt changes in all of our lives. We have been eating at home with our families, and often cooking all three meals a day” stated Laura Batcha – Executive director of the Washington, DC based Organic Trade Association. In fact, during the pandemic, organic, healthy and unrefined food has never been more important to consumers. Everybody was focused on finding the best ways to raise our immunity and protect our health through wise diet choices. American consumers started to seek, more and more, products that had the USDA Organic label on them. Clean label products have, all of the sudden, became best-sellers and the Better-For-You trend continued to gain in popularity. In other words, people were more concerned about the nutritional value of food products they were consuming than the sensation of having a full stomach.

“We have seen a great deal of changes during the pandemic” said Batcha, “and some of them are here to stay.” In fact, what has come out of the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of dietary choices, is a renewed awareness about the important role of nutritious food to maintain our health and protect our metabolism. And it is safe to say that, for more and more consumers, that means buying and using Organic food products and ditching the ultra-processed and refined products that contain huge amounts of added sugar and almost no nutritional value for your body.

Almost two years since the pandemic first broke out, consumer behavior has been consistently moving towards clean label and better-for-you products. The markets for Organic food products have been growing exponentially and is expected to grow at even higher rates in the future. So the next time you start hating on 2020, maybe look back and reflect on what 2020 has taught you on how to better treat your body!

Mohamed Horchani
Assistant General Manager at Kartago Dates