James Beard Foundation And Good Housekeeping Present Joint Survey Results On Money, Media And Food At Jbf National Food Conference

Survey results announced at James Beard Foundation's National Food Conference "Sustainability on the Table: How Money and Media Influence the Way America Eats"

New York, NY (October 13, 2011) - As part of the James Beard Foundation's Food Conference "Sustainability on the Table: How Money and Media Influence the Way America Eats," the nonprofit culinary organization teamed up with conference co-host Good Housekeeping to survey chefs and readers of the venerable Hearst publication on a wide range of issues surrounding food culture in America. Susan Westmoreland, Food Director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, and Susan Ungaro, President of the James Beard Foundation, presented the results on October 12, the first day of the two-day Food Conference.

Good Housekeeping's "How America Eats" Survey Reflects

Healthy Eating Habits among American Families



According to the respondents of Good Housekeeping's "How America Eats" survey, American families are turning to healthful food options, with nearly half (49 percent) saying they buy organic fruits and vegetables at least occasionally, with 1 out of 5 (19 percent) buying them very often. Nor do they eat at fast food chain restaurants as often as everyone believes. More than half (53 percent) said they eat at fast food restaurants once a month or less. In addition, 77 percent said their family eats healthfully whenever possible or all of the time and the majority of respondents said heart health (60 percent), fat content (69 percent), sodium content (60 percent) and sugar content (64 percent) were all somewhat or highly influential in their food purchasing choices.

The respondents also said that ensuring healthier and sustainable eating habits is a responsibility that should be shared among individuals, parents, schools, food corporations, and the government: 85 percent believe schools should serve healthier food to children; 83 percent believe parents should set firm limits to prevent their children from eating junk food; 79 percent believe food corporations should do more to ensure that they produce healthy foods; and 76 percent believe people should take it upon themselves to eat more locally-grown food. When buying packaged foods, those most influenced by locally-grown claims were respondents age 25+, particularly 25-34; these claims are less influential among the 18-24 year-old respondents. Influence was highest among those living in the West, lowest among those living in the South. Respondents with children rated locally-grown claims slightly more influential than those without children.

James Beard Foundation Survey Reveals Chefs' Opinions on How Money and the Media

Impact the American Food System



The working chefs who responded to the James Beard Foundation survey not only have concerns outside the kitchen, but they actually consider themselves agents for societal change. When asked about their role in impacting the American food system, 68 percent said they feel that chefs and restaurateurs have a responsibility to encourage and support healthy eating habits in America; 66 percent believe that chefs are at the forefront of food system change; and 56 percent agreed that chefs have a lot to teach the public about nutrition.



Additionally, the chefs' observations give a unique insight into how economic fluctuations impact their industry. When asked what aspect of the restaurant business was most affected by economic factors, their responses were: wine sales (89 percent), client morale (79 percent), average check (72 percent), reservations (64 percent), and food costs (56 percent).



The results also indicate that chefs are not voracious consumers of media. The type of news outlet