Nothing is better than having a home-cooked meal with your family. Whether it’s for the holidays or just a regular dinner, oftentimes we prefer to just eat at home. However, in today’s society, home cooking has become a dying art.
In 2013, the Nutrition Journal conducted a study on home cooking and consumption in the years 1965-1966 and 2007-2008. After comparing the data they collected, it showed that home food preparation has significantly decreased starting from 1965 to the early 90s. The study also showed that lower-class Americans showed the most decrease.
Now, this is most likely because fast food has become much more prominent in the food industry.
Not only that but because it is so affordable, it has become convenient to purchase fash food or pre-made meals at the grocery store.
More people have started to rely on ready-to-eat foods that require little to almost no preparation. For instance, almost all grocery stores, major retail stores like Walmart and Target, and more modern grocery stores like Amazon Go are offering ready to eat foods. This makes frozen meals very accessible and instills in the public’s mind that it is the new norm. Also, since society is constantly modernizing, the world is constantly trying to make things “fast and easy”; thus, how pre-made meals came into the market.
Since grocery stores were meant to provide the ingredients for home cooking, grocery stores have started to adapt. An example of this would be how grocery stores are starting to instill restaurants inside the store. Stores like Whole Foods are already starting to implement their own “restaurant” for customers.
Overall, home cooking is beneficial not only because it is a healthier choice, but it’s a better financial choice compared to going out to eat at restaurants. Moreover, it seems that home cooking will continue to decline simply because the world is continuing to modernize.