One of the biggest trends in the culinary world today is the farm-to-table movement. The phrase "farm to table" is a buzzword referring to food made with locally sourced ingredients. Our society is in a rapid state of technological innovation, which means that we often compromise health and nutrition for the sake of convenience, hence the popularity of fast food and TV dinners. However, a growing number of consumers have started to seek healthier and more environmentally friendly alternatives to the processed foods that dominate grocery store shelves. Learn more about the roots of the farm-to-table dining scene to understand why it has become such an important trend in our society. Back to Our Roots: Farm-to-Table Movement History The Rise and Fall of Processed Foods At the turn of the 20th century, most of the food that Americans ate came from within 50 miles. However, as Americans began moving away from rural areas and flocking to cities, many local food sources disappeared. Interstate highways and improvements in shipping technology led us to bring in food from further and further away. For the sake of convenience, American's began to rely on processed foods as away to save time for meal preparations. Emphasizing Quality Over Convenience Farm-to-table restaurants are taking us back to our roots by valuing quality over ease and convenience. Processed foods, although quick to prepare, typically contain excessive amounts of sugar, fat, and sodium, and consuming these foods regularly can lead to health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancer. The farm-to-table scene emphasizes simply prepared food comprised of locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. From the 70's to the 21st Century The first farm-to-table restaurants can be traced back to the hippie movement in the 60s and 70s, when organic, local, and natural food became trendy and more people began supporting local farmers. Pioneers in the food to table movement include Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, and Jerry Traunfeld of Herbfarm in Washington State. However, while these types of restaurants have existed for decades, it was not until about ten years ago, where the locavore movement began to really take off. Initially, farm-to-table restaurants began in progressive cities like Boulder, Colorado; Seattle, Washington; and Berkeley, California, but today they can be found everywhere from Austin to Anchorage. | 
