01/17/06 Trends for the coming year

The dawning of each new year finds us contemplating the proverbial question, what is in, and&what's out? Despite the fact that trends become obsolete seemingly overnight, top ad agencies still invest millions with forecasters who attempt to decipher what it is that you and I will watch on television, download from the internet, subscribe to on our cell phones, decorate our houses with, wear or drive. In the case of 2006 trending, the move towards sleek contemporary styling will prevail in fiber, technology and fashion. The one notable exception to this modernist movement will be in the food we consume. Trend expert Faith Popcorn is predicting that Americans will return to the traditional dinner table. Mealtime values will grow in importance and Ms. Popcorn expects a new category of "faith-friendly" foods to emerge like Christian raised chicken. In 2006 the fact that meat and produce are locally grown will supersede the importance of the organic label as consumers regard organic as another line extension for mega food corporations. I'm Susan Allen and this is Food Forethought. Source: FFT article: Trends fascinating or frightening FFT.org January 2006