21. Buy local and farm-to-table trends.
Toward the end of the twentieth century, a backlash occurred against the American agribusiness, perceived as hostile to healthy living. It began with an investigative report on the use of Alar on apples, broadcast on CBS’s 60 Minutes in February, 1989. After a massive public reaction, which included accusations the report was false and Alar posed no danger to the public, the EPA banned the substance, claiming “long-term exposure to Alar poses unacceptable risks to public health”. It was the first shot in an ongoing war between consumers and food producers over food safety in the United States.
Debate over the risks posed by Alar and other chemicals used in American agriculture continued for the rest of the century, and continues today. They gave birth to the organic farming movement, debate over what can and cannot be called organic, the free-range movement, the cage-free chickens and eggs movement, and the push to buy locally sourced products rather than those produced and processed by large agribusiness firms. By the end of the 20th century, even large supermarket chains such as Kroger and Safeway were supportive of the sale of locally grown produce in their stores, with advertisements in-house touting the produce from nearby farms.