Every edible gets its day

I love this time of year. And I’m not just referring to Christmas, New Year’s Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or even Boxing Day.

No, I’m talking about those other holidays that are less revered, but still worthy of hearty celebration.

Did you know, for instance, that Dec. 18 is National Roast Suckling Pig Day?

If that’s not cause for joy, I don’t know what is. Christmas Eve is National Egg Nog Day, but just to be certain that the drink with the highest fat content known to humankind gets its due, all of December has been designated as National Eggnog Month. Take that, Diet Coke!

Of course, we all know about the most wonderful day of the year. It’s Dec. 25, otherwise known as National Kiss the Cook Day.

A few more worth mentioning: Dec. 16 is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day; the day after Christmas is National Candy Cane Day, and two days later comes National Fruitcake Day. The bounties of the season are truly glorious.

Yes, this is the season of banished diets and wavering commitments to personal food philosophies. We might be decking the halls and stuffing stockings, but food is what really matters to us. Consider that the number of Pinterest searches for holiday food and drink items is more than double that of gift and holiday decor searches combined.

The aroma from holiday cooking can test the most steadfast among us. Out of the two dozen guests at my Thanksgiving table, there were one vegetarian, one lactose-intolerant individual, another who is gluten-intolerant, and a few who are supposed to be limiting their sugar intake.

Did any of them cheat? I can’t say for sure, but I might have spied a few shrugs and overheard murmured surrenders to stuffing with bacon, cheese-laden green bean casserole and apple-pecan crisp.

I am hardly one to judge. In the past few weeks, talk of cookie recipes and celebratory meals wipes my brain clear of all other thoughts and sets my stomach grumbling. Concentrating on work becomes hopeless, my Christmas to-do list goes untended, and what little in the way of tennis skills I possess are lost. All I can think about is food.

This monthlong indulgence is all the more striking nowadays because we live in such food-aware times.

Indeed, food industry experts are predicting that in 2017 Americans will continue to grow more in tune with what they put in their bodies, and consumers will increasingly make their food choices based on what makes them feel better and healthier.

There will be a greater push for more clear-and-concise food labeling. Reducing sugar consumption will be a priority.

Flavored water drinks will continue to cut into soda sales.

We’ll see increasing emphasis on consuming green foods — both green in color, and green as it denotes friendliness to the environment. The new kale, we are told, will be seaweed — unless it turns out to be the nutrition-packed leaves of the Moringa oleifera tree, grown in Haiti, parts of Latin America and Africa.

There are also many food trends that tap into our increasingly globalized, technology-enabled culture. Exotic herbs and spices are getting more attention. Words like “craft” and “artisanal” will be used more and more when describing foods and beverages, and we will continue to pretend that we know what they mean. “Smoked,” “infused,” and “barrel-aged” will also be popular.

Apps and drones will increasingly figure into food choices and deliveries. Hybrid restaurants will pop up in unlikely locations, garnering followers through social media. Addressing food waste is considered by many advocates to be one of the world’s most pressing issues going forward, and technology will be used to help reduce that waste and increase sustainability in food production and service.

Yet many of these concerns are also fostering divisiveness in our society. In a new report released this month by the Pew Research Center, researchers found that food has become a “flashpoint in American culture and politics.”

Yes, there is growing awareness about food, the study indicates. In recent times, our society has witnessed the introduction of genetically modified crops, the growth of the organic food industry, and increasing attention paid to health issues such as obesity and food allergies. Books about food are best sellers, television cooking shows garner respectable ratings, and top chefs are now celebrities.

All of these developments have contributed to the adoption of personalized food “ideologies” that shape our relationship to food, the researchers reported.

Even so, there remains a sizable chunk of the public that doesn’t give a figgy pudding about any of it.

For instance, nearly half of adults don’t consider genetically modified foods to be inferior to non-GM foods, while 41% think there is no difference between organic and conventionally grown produce.

Interestingly, the divided opinions about food don’t appear to be linked to any particular political ideology, nor to other common fault lines such as education, income level, geography, or whether those responding have minor children.

Perhaps the researchers should have conducted their study during the month of December. I suspect they might have found greater unity in attitudes about food.

After all, who can argue with the logic of making Dec. 31 National Champagne Day?

PATRICE APODACA is a former Newport-Mesa public school parent and former Los Angeles Times staff writer. She lives in Newport Beach.