As humans have become more settled than nomadic over the last 100 or so years, there has been drastic changes in our lifestyle habits. Food has come a long way since it was costing over £200 just for a pineapple as now it it easier for people to get new food items to our doors and these changes to name a few are:

Increase consumption of ready meals

Ready meals as a whole tend to get a bad reputation as a economy food product but if you buy economy brand ready meals, they tend to be pretty good . For example, Co-op truly irresistable range is of high quality and the beef stronganoff is the 3rd best meal I personally have ever had.

Takeaways

Again the word takeaway brings to mind a greasy kebab made in a messy environment but that is a common mistake. Normally they are quite healthy depending on what you order and have a more authentic taste to the food. It also makes people understand what makes food food. This combined with the cheapness of the food and the quickness of it that can be delivered is what I think makes takeaways so popular.

Healthy eating initiatives

New government programs like change 4 life have been set up to cut obesity and heart problems among young people. So far it has worked with figures in 2013 being that 15% of 15-21 year olds are obese and the figures in December of 2014 show that numbers have dropped in just a year to 13.5 % and are predicted to drop at least another 1-2% by 2020.

Organic food

With the increase of intensive farming and the media outlook on how it is destroying the soil, a lot of people have chosen to start a organic food trend. The raw ingredients all grown without the use of fertilizers and pesticides reducing the damage to the ground to almost zero.

Vegetarianism

If from personal beliefs religious laws or dietary restrictions  people have started to change to vegetarianism as it has positive health benefits is one reason and also it on average is cheaper than meats.

Fashion / fads

A lot of fads have become popular in the catering industry and can make a business a lot of money. for example the molecular gastronomy aspect of food is one key point many critics believe a reason for Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant the fat duck to earn its 2nd and even 3rd Michelin star

Increase in eating out

As celebrity chef have become more famous there food in turn has become more famous and that is the reason why I think there is an increase in eating as people want to experience the greatness

Availability and appreciation of fine foods

Food as a whole has become underappreciated as it become more available, one example of this is jamon iberico ham. considered the best cured ham in the world made from black Iberian pigs in eastern Spain and also Portugal close to the border used to cost around 200$ a leg as it is fed on chestnuts all year round for its fat to get nice and marbled though out the meat now is available in Lidl for 29.99 as is described as ''too fatty'' and ''not bacony enough'' by customers.

Income / economy

When a recession hits the most of the people goes through a period of austerity where they have no money to spend on fancy foods in Michelin starred restaurants. one example of this was back in the 80's in Brittan people went through it and a lot of places closed down and this carried on until Marco Pierre white put on his 3 starred menu fish and chips utilising the cheap cuts of cod and haddock and the humble potato he revived the catering industry and possibly helped a lot of people to keep their jobs as they followed suit and used cheap cuts of beef or pork to maximise profits