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In a virtuous circle that promises to provide a significant boost to the market for crackers, major marketers in turn have begun to roll out an ever-expanding line of innovative products to meet the challenge created by soft sales and slow growth in product segments such as potato chips and cheese snacks.

Dean Foods Company introduced a nationally branded fresh white milk: DairyPure. Ensuring that its milk starts pure and stays pure from farm to fridge, DairyPure is backed by an exclusive Five-Point Purity Promise.

Fast-casual brands in Technomic Inc.'s Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report increased their collective annual sales by 12.8 percent to $30 billion in 2014, and that growth rate was nearly double the next-largest increase from any other restaurant segment.

Many Americans are increasingly turning away from breakfast cereal and embracing alternatives such as cereal bars, bagels and yogurt, according to market research publisher Packaged Facts.

Thousands of new brands hit retail shelves during 2014, yet only 200 achieved best-of-the-best IRI New Product Pacesetter status. These products captured cumulative year-one sales of more than $7 billion.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) notes, "The abundance of farmers' markets and the emergence of larger scale retailers carrying local products (and promoting them) is a healthy indicator of market responsiveness to consumer demand."

Three groundbreaking voices in the agriculture industry will help raise awareness of one of the most pressing global challenges of the next 35 years: world hunger. A series of unique opportunities will take place at Harvard University for students, faculty, staff and members of the community to learn from these experts and others about the serious situation of global food security.

"If we all lived on grass-fed beef, dry-cured bacon, fresh sustainable fish, nuts, pulses, wholegrain bread, good olive oil, eggs and dairy, more fresh vegetables, less fruit, and no sugar or fast food ever, we would save billions personally and nationally," says Dr Ian White, an intensive care specialist.

The 500 largest restaurant chains in the United States accelerated their cumulative sales growth in 2014 to a 4% increase, totaling an estimated $274.4 billion. But some of the biggest brands among them, namely Subway and McDonald's, lost ground to focused-menu competitors and emerging fast-casual chains and reported overall sales decreases for the year.

More consumers are feeling time-scarce and view cooking as a chore, turning to convenient ready meals to free up more time for themselves. But to survive in an increasingly health-conscious society, ready meal manufacturers must innovate with new ingredients and premium products.