Grocery prices

[Sergius]

I thought it would be interesting to compare prices of everyday foods, what they are now and what they were last year, as well as what they may be in the future.
Rice, potatos, various vegetables, flour, etc.

[Susi]

I'll check around here (in Canada) where there is well, a lot of arable land. But everything is still rather expensive I think, at least for students.

[Arthur Gordon Pym]

Originally Posted by Sergius

I thought it would be interesting to compare prices of everyday foods, what they are now and what they were last year, as well as what they may be in the future.
Rice, potatos, various vegetables, flour, etc.

Here it has gone up, to almost exorbitant levels, in the last month. Especially fruit and vegetables.

[Susi]

Bread here was 2$, then 2.50$, then 2.99$, then 3$, now 3.69$ for the same loaf. ._.

[Menydh]

Better write down a list of basic and common foodstuffs, so that we can compare.

The price of bread in Spain is per gram. A typical loaf of bread of ¼ Kg costs around 0.75 to 0.80 euros in a traditional bakery, and around 0.50 euros in a supermarket.

[Erik P]

In the bakery an ordinary (which here often means fiber rich with lots of seeds and stuff) would be about 20-25 SEK = 2-3€ and 15-20 SEK = 1½-2€ in the supermarket. 1 litre of milk is about 1€.

Even if the prices are rising, I think you should see it from a historical perspective. We have never used such a small percentage of our total income (production) for food. Extremely cheap food means either importing meat from beef herded in devastated rain forests in South America, cruel animal factories separating animals completely from their natural habitat, genetically modified beasts that can't mate and hardly even stand up, or heavy government subsidies.

[bombadillo]

Originally Posted by Erik Puke

Extremely cheap food means either importing meat from beef herded in devastated rain forests in South America, cruel animal factories separating animals completely from their natural habitat, genetically modified beasts that can't mate and hardly even stand up, or heavy government subsidies.

Quite so. Indeed, the economic way of looking at food is an aspect of our money-dominated capitalist society. In the past, our lives revolved around the production and consumption of food, and the notion of cheap or expensive didn't enter into consideration as our societies were not money-based. It appears that agriculture and livestock -- and by implication our land and our bodies -- are yet another area where capitalism has wreaked havoc.

Unfortunately since many of us are wage slaves in a society whose rules we did not make, we gaze with horrified fascination on the rising prices of foodstuffs. There can be scant doubt that our lives will become more austere.

[Carnyx]

Prices are exorbitant. It's simple, I don't eat anymore.

The price of bread is not fixed. It depends on bread varieties, bakeries, cities. On average, one baguette costs... I buy my baguette 0,90 €. I remember when it was around 0,20 Francs in the early 90's.

[Arthur Gordon Pym]

Originally Posted by bombadillo

Quite so. Indeed, the economic way of looking at food is an aspect of our money-dominated capitalist society. In the past, our lives revolved around the production and consumption of food, and the notion of cheap or expensive didn't enter into consideration as our societies were not money-based. It appears that agriculture and livestock -- and by implication our land and our bodies -- are yet another area where capitalism has wreaked havoc.

Unfortunately since many of us are wage slaves in a society whose rules we did not make, we gaze with horrified fascination on the rising prices of foodstuffs. There can be scant doubt that our lives will become more austere.

Let us all start to cultivate our small parcels of land and try to feed ourselves off out of it.

It is easy to say though, but hard to accomplish.

Then there is the despotic rule of the euro(c)rats trying to restrict agricultural production, in order to prevent any country from even attempting to attain some level of self-sufficiency, then further in order to maintain the ruling system of speculation, to which - among other things - the fictitious "value" of the disgusting piece of paper called "euro" is bound.

For cultivating land you need fertilizers, oil etc.

[Susi]

Originally Posted by bombadillo

Unfortunately since many of us are wage slaves in a society whose rules we did not make, we gaze with horrified fascination on the rising prices of foodstuffs. There can be scant doubt that our lives will become more austere.

The other interesting point is that since the 1960ies, the cost of basic foods like wheat and sugar have gone down in price by 60% in Europe. Perhaps if we go back to 1960ies pricing we will also reduce the problems of overweightness and obesity (In 1960 Europeans consumed on average 2300 calories of intake and in 1998 it was around 2800)... I found all of this data on the WHO Europe website today when I was doing some research at work (and yes, it was for my job -_-).

Originally Posted by Laocoon

The price of bread is not fixed. It depends on bread varieties, bakeries, cities. On average, one baguette costs... I buy my baguette 0,90 €. I remember when it was around 0,20 Francs in the early 90's.

I guess for purposes of comparison... "Baguette" here can cost anywhere from 99 cents for something that tastes and has the consistency of cardboard to 2.99$ for something that is about the same... the best is around 1.50$-1.99$... I cannot remember paying under 99 cents.

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by Susi

I guess for purposes of comparison... "Baguette" here can cost anywhere from 99 cents for something that tastes and has the consistency of cardboard to 2.99$ for something that is about the same... the best is around 1.50$-1.99$... I cannot remember paying under 99 cents.

In supermarkets it's cheaper (but it's industrial quality and doesn't taste good). You can have a baguette for ~ 0,70 €.

[Menydh]

Are your baguettes like our quarter loafs? (250gr)

[Susi]

I'll take a photo of this baguette that I get here next time I have bought one... ._.

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by Menydh

Are your baguettes like our quarter loafs? (250gr)

Yes, more or less.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Laocoon

Yes, more or less.

What I've bought in the FrOG (French-Occupied Gascoigne ) is always like our rustic varieties, which are different for each place and often bigger.

[Susi]

For some reason, on a bread-related note, the bread that I've had in Canuckistan is much, much worse in terms of quality and taste (and cost, for that matter) than the bread I've had in England or in any other location I've been in Europe. I wonder what causes this disparity... Canada has plenty of grain growing regions, so why is bread both (relatively) more expensive and of poorer quality/taste?