American Farmers Saved by Hummus

The Tobacco Farmers of America are struggling to make a living, as tobacco sales continue to decrease due to an increasingly health conscious population. Looking for the future crop to save their farms, farmers are turning to the Middle East for inspiration and investing in chickpeas. 

Hummus has vastly grown in popularity, travelling beyond its borders, and currently ruling America's health conscious market. As growing campaigns continue to highlight the dangers of cigarettes, tobacco has become a less valuable crop, resulting in farmers looking for new crops to supplement their decreased income.

The healthy food trend sweeping America is arguably a result of the food revolution brought on by the Food Network channel. At the same time, many celebrities like Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake have definitely helped increase the popularity of hummus, which is why consumer spending on hummus is said to have reached $1 billion a year with an annual growth of 18% over the past five years.

Even Google acknowledges that it is one of the fastest growing trends, explaining that in January 2004 the healthy food had a score of 26, and that by 2014 jumped to a score of 88. As such farmers and corporations are jumping all over this trend, planting a record 214,300 acres of chickpeas this year.