It’s holiday season, which means entertaining family and friends, parties, and leftovers. And if I needed any reminding of the proper storage and throw out date, I have my FSIS Twitter feed to remind me (see below). While the information provided is good, I find it a bit out of touch.

You see, last time I checked, millennials don’t eat leftovers. All you need to do is read about the “tiny turkey movement” to see that millennials aren’t going to be consuming ten pounds of turkey days later post-Thanksgiving.

In addition to not enjoying leftovers, with smaller incomes and family size shrinking, many millennials are turning to much smaller holiday feasts. In addition, millennials just don’t enjoy leftovers like their predecessors. Now I hate to make blanket statements about millennials, but this one is mostly true. Nonetheless, with millennials preparing smaller meals, there are no leftovers to be had.

I have to admit I was one of those “small feasters” this year. My family typically rotates between my in-laws in Chicagoland and my parents in Houston; however this year because of our family’s upcoming relocation to the Carolinas we stayed home just my two kids, husband and I. This was an unusual set of circumstances, and since I’m not accustomed to cooking a full Thanksgiving dinner I refused to for just our tiny family (against my husband’s wishes I might add). So, I did not buy a turkey, ham or all the fixins and we joined our friend’s family for dinner. But I digress. Back to my main point…

Some of you may think I’m reading too much into this, but here’s the fundamental issue I with this twitter post. From my vantage point, I think government has always been a bit out of touch with industry and the realities of how consumers are or are not consuming our product.

It really even goes beyond government in that there are many players up and down the supply chain that don’t understand the other side. In animal agriculture, we say that the consumer just doesn’t understand what we do every day to keep animals healthy and food safe. Consumers say that farmers and ag supply chains don’t understand them, their wants, their needs. And you know what – they’re right on both sides. I have too often witnessed players on either side not have a great understanding of what the other does or what they’re trying to accomplish. I think this simple, yet unsuspecting twitter post is an example of that.

This month, Mindy Brashears and Frank Yiannas will begin their new careers in the federal government. A move, in my opinion, that is in the best interest of food safety progress. Bringing in food safety advocates who have worked with and in the industry will hopefully bring the government closer in touch with actions consumers are taking, so that they might be more effective in their education and outreach to those consumers.

I remain optimistic and excited to witness the industry perspectives that both bring into their positions.

Millenials and leftovers – not so much

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