also: コメばなれ
noun
shift away from rice consumption; declining interest in eating rice
Refers to the trend, especially among younger Japanese, of eating less rice as dietary habits diversify. Often used in discussions of agriculture, food culture, or health.
若者の米離れが進んで、コメの消費量が減っている。
As young people shift away from rice, rice consumption is declining.
米離れの原因
One cause of the shift away from rice is the spread of bread and noodles.
Similar pattern meaning 'shift away from fish consumption'; 米離れ specifically refers to rice.
Means 'shift away from printed materials'; 米離れ is about food habits.
Compound of 米 (こめ, 'rice') and 離れ (ばなれ, 'separation, distancing'), from the verb 離れる (はなれる, 'to separate'). The ばなれ reading is a rendaku form.