Food Trends and Eating Habits in 2011

At the end of each year some search engines and social networks report which subjects got the most attention over the preceding twelve months. Looking over end-of-year reports by Google, Yahoo and Twitter in search of food and dining trends, I discovered a few things:

1. We still love pizza. Google's year-end Zeitgeist report says that the top three restaurants Americans searched for were, in order: Pizza Hut, Dominoes and Papa Johns. 
2. We're obsessed with excess. Twitter names "Fried Kool Aid" as #2 on its list of Food and Drink Hot Topics for the year (I can't figure how, or why, you would try to fry a sweet beverage packed with artificial colors and flavors, but apparently it's huge trend somewhere). Right behind it at #3 on the list is the Starbucks Trenta, a monstrous 31-ounce container for caffeinated beverages, which the coffee chain released in May (and which, the Huffington Post pointed out, is larger than the average human stomach). 
3. Low-carb diets rule. The top four spots on Google's list of "Fastest Rising Diets" in the US are held by (in order) the Dukan Diet, the Four Hour Diet, the 17 Days Diet and the Slow Carb Diet, which all offer new spins on a low-carb/high-protein regimen. The low-fat, essentially vegan Esselstyn Diet also made the list, but down at #7.
4. We're intrigued by vegan. Dr. Esselstyn shouldn't despair that those carnivorous low-carb dieters are entirely ruling the day: The search term "What is Vegan?" placed #2 on Google's list of Science/Environment searches and "Is Fish Meat?" appears at #4 on the same list.
5. We're curious about gluten-free. "What is Gluten?" is the fourth most common question on Google's list of Quirky "What Is" questions (After "What is Love?" "What is Planking?" and "What is Twitter?").
6. The DIY/backyard farming trend continues. Past years have seen a rise in Americans growing some of their own food in backyard raised beds and community gardens, and in 2011 it seems we took the trend further, doing internet searches on Backyard Chickens (the #2 search on Google's Quirky/Environmental list), How to Compost (#1 on Google's list of Science/Environment searches) and Reusable Canning Lids (#5 on Google's list of "What People Are Reusing" and indicating that Americans are jamming, pickling and otherwise preserving our backyard and farmer's market bounty). 
7. Cake pops really might be the "new cupcake." This much-hyped cake/lollipop hybrid is #3 on Yahoo's list of dessert related searches. If you haven't tried them, think a sphere of barely cooked batter coated in crispy chocolate-like candy and eaten off a stick. If you're so inclined, you can buy one at Starbucks while consuming a coffee drink that dwarfs your stomach.

Cheers to more culinary explorations (and hopefully no fried Kool-Aid) in 2012!