Future Market Requirements of Flavors

Perhaps I should start by acknowledging the great deal of speculation expended on this subject by others. Some prognosticators deal in numbers. For example, Predicasts, Inc. has forecast an increase in flavoring agents in the U.S. from 52.8 million lbs in 1978 to 98 million lbs in 1990. I know of no complete estimate for the rest of the world. Other prophets have predicted various trends, some of them contradictory. It seems to me that a reexamination of the underlying basics may be in order.

Let us begin with the demographics. There appears to be virtually no disagreement that the flavors of the future will depepnd on the state of science and technology, the safety and health issue, and most importantly on what we shall eat and drink. The latter will in turn be heavily influenced by the projected growth of the world's population from four and a half to nearly seven billion over the next two decades. Just to stay even, which infers no chance to wipe out hunger in the world, we must therefore increase our primary food production in the same time period by more than 50%. This is no easy task.

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