By JORDAN STRICKLER Kentucky Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. — Millennials are eating fewer grains and red meat than previous generations. A new USDA study on the eating habits of generational groups stated that Millennials – those born between 1981 and the mid-2000s – are demanding healthier, fresher and faster foods. The study also found those this age group, on average, devote less of their food budgets to grocery store purchases and make fewer trips to the grocery than the other generations examined. The Economic Research Service (ERS) study, which used 2014 data from Information Resources, Inc., shows that current differences from older generations could have implications for future food demand. “It will be very interesting to see if these patterns continue and their impact on agriculture,” said Annemarie Kuhns, an economist in the Food Markets Branch, Food Economics Division, with the USDA and a co-author of the study, in an email to Farm World. Millennials made up roughly 20 percent of the households included in the ERS analysis. U.S. Census Bureau data, on the other hand, show the generation accounted for 26 percent of the total population in 2014. In 2016, a Pew Research study showed Millennials overtook Baby Boomers as the largest living generation. Income was recognized as one of the largest factors on food purchasing behavior, as consumers’ purchasing habits are largely dependent on their budgetary limits. Since a large portion of the Millennial group entered the workforce between 2008-09 during the Great Recession, the study stated that economics could play a part in their decisions to lean away from red meat and, instead, opt for more affordable meals. “Since our study is looking at shares of spending, I think one of the bigger factors is that Millennials have a stronger preference for prepared and/or ready-to-eat foods,” Kuhns noted. “As income rises, expenditure shares for vegetables, fruits, red meats and sugar and candies for all four generational groups increase, while shares for poultry decrease as incomes rise,” the report states. “Poorer Millennials assign lower shares of at-home food spending to vegetables than poorer Traditionalists (born before 1946) and Baby Boomers (1946-64), but they increasingly apportion more of their food budgets to vegetables as income rises, surpassing Traditionalists when per capita household income reaches about $30,000. “Specifically, the wealthiest Millennial households (per capita income greater than $100,000) dedicated 8.1 percent of their food budgets to vegetables, compared to around 6 percent for the other generation groups in the same income decile. The share of at-home expenditures for fruit was similar for Millennials and Traditionalists – just over 6 percent – with fruit’s share of expenditures also rising with income.” Millennials and members of Generation X (born 1965-80) were also found to spend the least money per person per month on food-at-home. Additionally, Millennial shoppers generally purchase a larger share of prepared foods, pasta and sugar and candies than the other generations. On average, Millennials devoted 13.6 percent of their at-home food expenditures to these three categories, compared with 12.4 percent by those of Gen X, 11.5 percent by Boomers and 11.2 percent by Traditionalists. Millennial households also devote the smallest share of their at-home food expenditures to grains, poultry and red meat, and spend the least amount of time preparing food at home – 55 minutes less than Gen X, who spend the most time at 143 minutes. To access the full report online, visit www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=86400 |
