U.S. Consumers "Get the Cheap Stuff."

The prices are killing me too but I refuse to compromise.

I still buy organic and still cook from scratch.

Maybe this will finally get my weight under control. Buy the same and eat less.

lol

*runs off to make some bread*

It's not a surprise to me. The US at large sees certain foods and styles of eating as necessary as the food pyramid was once taught. They see ease of use as paramount and are blind to alternatives that require slightly more work, but endlessly more rewarding. I've seen my friends in one hand talk about how poor they are with rising prices and that same day order a pizza.

It will keep going this way until they reach rock bottom and have to start their own gardens and farms. The US is mostly locked into a consumerist lifestyle and anything out of the norm like cooking from local or their own raw materials doesn't even make a blip on the radar screen.

RIP American ingenuity.

I become dismayed when I see people purchase fake packaged foods by thinking it's more affordable. In reality, buying crap food is more expensive when you consider the costs to your health, wealth, and self. It is so simple to make frugal and affordable meals by soaking beans, eating at home, and making extra. Cooking simple stews and soups is very affordable. Using fresh fruits and veggies is NOT more expensive than nuking packaged single servings. Besides, people are confused to think "sugar cereals" are food. Oatmeal is food. Oatmeal is healthy and very affordable. The marketing of packaged products is what makes it expensive.

...while local farmers go under for want of a fair price on their crop. Meanwhile Scotty Pippen and David Letterman are bagging big farm subsidies...

Wonder what we'll eat when society collapses under it's own weight? Perhaps the cardboard box that Millville Marshmallows and Stars came in...

Everywhere I go I see 25% - 50% of the people are obese. How about cut down on the food a little. Eat some veggies, cut out the Doritos.

Cybercat - Don't be busting on pizza. We often do pizza, salad, wine for date night. Cheap and fun.

If Whole Food shoppers want me to eat healthier, maybe they can fund a non-profit to invent some healthy foods that are cheaper and as easy to prepare as the crap I buy at Wal Mart.

Until then, I'm going to try to enjoy these off-brand Lucky Charms despite basically being called the undermensch for doing so.

nom nom nom

@Cybercat: American Ingenuity is not gone. It is, however, in most cases only available as a reactionary response.

@Cybercat: American Ingenuity is not gone. It is, however, in most cases only available as a reactionary response.

This is a pretty bourgeois attitude! Ever walked into a supermarket lately? Fresh produce is expensive! And when people are working overtime to fill their cars and their bellies, I don't think many people have the time to lovingly prepare everything from scratch. It's unfortunate that the least expensive foods are often the least healthy as well.

fresh veggies are more expensive. i can't grow my own, not for lack of desire to do so, but because I don't have time or space and because i learned the hard way i kill plants.
I buy frozen (rarely canned) veggies to supplement what i can afford to buy fresh. If I could buy veggies in bulk, they would be more economical - but only if we could eat them before they go bad, which we can't.
it may be hard for people to comprehend, but even here in "rich" america, there are plenty of people who survive on ramen noodles and not much else. I've known people who's weekly food budget was less than $20 after rent and utilities.
Sure, maybe that mom should by oatmeal instead of some sugary mess of a cereal, but maybe her kid won't eat oatmeal and she just needs him to eat SOMEthing before school.
And, wierd as it may seem, sometimes, it is cheaper to order in than to go to the store and buy raw ingredients and then cook a meal.

And Emily the broken record says: BUY LOCAL.

Find your farmer's market, and if your farmer's market is lacking then go to LOCALHARVEST.ORG and find a CSA/local farm.

Argument #1: Fresher tastes better and buying in season forces variety.

Argument #2: Husband found the local farmer who sells eggs at our market: farm fresh, local eggs: 20 for $4 and they're HUGE and DELICIOUS.

Read Plenty. If that doesn't motivate you, then go stand in the supermarket and read the ingredients...once people start to realize that there's no food in their food they're sure to come around. If not, well, I'll just be smug in my health. ;-)

Emily, it's a wonderful idea, however here in the north we are still a month away from any crops being ready. So there is nothing fresh and local. Even the asparagus which can be grown in the area is not available anywhere I can find. Everything that is available is shipped in from another state. If you have choice it is great and in the warmer months we do, right now however it's walmart or nothing.

the nadir - the whole point is that we shouldn't really be "inventing" food. Any food that is invented isn't really food, but a food-like substance, in the words of Michael Pollan.

Notwithstanding our local CSA is very pricey, soaked beans with some spices don't seem to set us back much. I am a big fan of stone soup too (whatever you find goes in it)

I would love to be able to give my family fresh, localy grown produce daily but unfourtunatly our local farmers market is arther away than the grocery store. I can barely afford to go there. As it is I only shop twice a month to conserve on gas and have my husband pick up things like milk and bread on his way home from work. Oh, did I mention that we are a family of five with one income, and I homeschool. (I homeschool because I was tired of my kids failing because the teachers did not care, my boys have learning disabilities due to being premature) So that means 3 meals a day every day for the kids, my husband and I only eat dinner to make the groceries last longer. I am growing a garden but that does not help when we are months away from our first veggies. I try to stock up on healthy items and 90% of our meals are homemade and we have not eaten out in at least three weeks (even that was a treat for my sons birthday). And yes my kids eat a lot of oatmeal and if they get boxed cereal it is a treat. I for one am so tired of trying to streach out our money and food when a year ago I bought the same dollar amount and we would have exess. I shudder to think what kinds of issues my children will face in the future.

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"fresh veggies are more expensive"

That's kinda B.S. I'm a run of the mill "poor college student" and cooking at home allows me to eat like a king. Rice is a delicious, nutritious and easy to prepare pillar of my diet and runs about $12 for a 20-lb bag that'll easy last a semester (even in a household of three hungry young men). I was a member of a CSA that cost me like $7.50/week, and I had trouble using up all that fresh, local organic produce before it went bad. Beans and eggs are cheap, easy-to-prepare sources of protein. Perhaps you're just shopping in the wrong places? My neighborhood chain supermarket charges like $3/lb for fresh green peppers that I can get from my local greengrocer for half the price. If you really want cheap, fresh, quality food, I'm sure it can be found with just a bit more looking.

The other thing about buying in-season is, it'll be cheaper.

Think about it, if something is in season it means there is more of it. If it's not in season, it's probably spent a few months (at least) in refrigeration. And then some which are shipped in from overseas. Both add to the cost of a product, as well as increase the carbon footprint (if you are into that stuff) of that product.

The media reckon a similar thing is happening down here (in Aus): http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/foodcost-surges-lead-to-poor-diets/2008/04/30/1209234958375.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Personally though, I think it's about shopping smarter and not compromising on the quality of the product you purchase. Scour those weekly supermarket catalogues that come your way. If say, pumpkins are on special, then plan to buy and use that pumpkin. Maybe pumpkin soup or something else? Basically, plan out a few dishes with that in. If you're worried about nutrition of certain foods, then look it up on the net. Also you can look up the net for recipe ideas on that particular food you found in season and cheap.

As I said before, if it's in season, it's more likely to be cheaper. Also, make sure it is as fresh as possible. Don't buy something that has been sitting in the store for too long. If it's not yet ripe, it'll store slightly longer. However, ripe fruits/veg is likely going to be cheaper. Markets prefer to sell ripe fruits cheaper than to throw it out (small loss, rather than throwing away). So if you can eat it fast, then buy ripe from markets (this also tends to happen towards the end of the day).

Also, proper budgeting and planning does help. Don't buy non-essentail crap (whether food or otherwise). Just buy what you actually do need. Everything else is essentially, a luxury.

I think we are living in the "I WANT IT NOW" generation. This way of life does make an impact on our wallet.

We (as a generalisation) tend buy items on impulse. Try to give yourself 5 different reasons why you really need to buy that non essential item, and 5 different reasons not to buy it before you buy. Other times it's the "oh I have a craving for ", so we go buy that food. Even if it's not in season and hence more expensive (or we just go out to a restaurant to eat that).

We also want things to be simple, easy and fast. This philosophy is very much a part of modern society. It impacts upon our everyday living, as well as our environment.

At a restaurant, a nice meal (with drinks etc) may cost you $15. You can do better at home, especially if you invite some friends over to share the costs (cook together etc), make it an evening of shared involvement rather than going out to eat. Just simple food, nothing complex made of fresh ingredients.

If a recipe asks for something not in season, try something that might go well with that meal which is.

You know, i've been following this blog for about a month now and am serious about trying to go green (living in Eugene, the pressure is strong), but i have to say, i get so turned off by the high-horse, condescending tones of everyone already doing the green thing. And it's in every comment section on every blog it seems.

It's always this "I do the right thing, stop making excuses, you can too and if you don't you're flat out wrong and bad".

Guess what? I've been trying to make the changes and i can tell you IT'S NOT EASY! This topic for example: I'm a poor poor college student and i've tried to embrace that buying fresh, organic food is cheap and healthy... guess what? It's not. You know why? I can't cook. And neither can pretty much any of my friends. And therefore i don't know how to shop. And so i spend more than i would buying mcdonalds and packaged food for way less meals and am dead broke in the end. And yeah, there's help, you can learn, but it's not easy!

For example "cooking at home allows me to eat like a king". Awesome. Being my own mechanic allows me to drive a really nice sports car that i can't afford otherwise (though now i ride a stupid bike). I don't go around telling non mechanics that they're dumb by throwing away money and buying new parts and taking their cars to shops. You can learn to work on your car, but it takes a lot of time. I understand that you have to really want it to make that change and that commitment.

"[The US sees] ease of use as paramount and are blind to alternatives that require slightly more work". Now we're not. We know what's healthy and what's not and know that we could figure it out with a little more work. But where do we start? How much more time is this going to cost us? How do you buy cheap, fresh, groceries to feed a family for a week? What recipes do you use? How many months/weeks thrown away grocies and over spending is it going to cost us?

Ok, i digress. Venting done.

Bottom line: We're not there and maybe we won't make it, but more and more of us are trying every day. Just because we don't, it doesn't me we don't want to or don't care. Get off your high horse and help.

Bravo John!

There is a great silent majority that agree with you and are in the exact same shoes as you. It can be a real challenge to go green and it is not a lack of will - sometimes it is a lack of green (cash) or simply a lack of experience doing it.

Make small changes - and feel good about each step you take - as long as you are heading down the right path it is all good.

Cheers - Eric

This actually hits home for me. I have to make everything from scratch. I have Celiac Disease. Premade food is often gluten filled, and will hurt me.

What I have found, is that despite the skyrocketing food costs, I do pretty well. I buy fruit and veggies in season. I eat very little meat, so that's a cost savings. I can't always buy organic, but I try when I can.

I am hoping to get into an apartment or house next year that has a deck, so I can try to grow my own veggies.

"What I have found, is that despite the skyrocketing food costs, I do pretty well. I buy fruit and veggies in season. I eat very little meat, so that's a cost savings. I can't always buy organic, but I try when I can."

That right there is the key to this whole debate. I think this is really a hard dose of reality for Americans that yes, meat is not something that has to be a part of every meal!!! Once people start realizing that higher food prices mean a fundamental shift in their diet then we might start to get some where.

And stop eating crap food! It's really just an excuse for being lazy.

@John: AMEN, brother!

You will find a lot of my brethern in the green movement are condescending and seem to have a "high and mighty" attitude. But some of us are more grounded and are willing to help.

For starters: 1.Plenty. Website and magazine usually has a few receipes and tips.
2."Amy's Organic". Frozen nuke-o-meals that are actually not too expensive. There are others you can try also, while not the best route, it's at least an alternative to other packaged or fast-food routes.(..and yeah yeah, SOMEONE will attack me for recommending Amy's because of the "food miles" it travels, at least it's a start)
3.On campus, try to start a Meetup group centered on Organic living/cooking, etc. Then maybe meet others who can foodshare and learn from each other.

All said, especially in college, it can be more challenging, but stick with it and at least get a start. Then after graduation you'll have the framework.

Good luck and welcome aboard!
Tom-tom

Cooking from scratch requires knowledge and time, and Americans don't have much of either.

It takes knowledge to know how to prepare the foods, which they didn't get in school and, because of the presence of cheap processed food, didn't get at home either.

It takes time to learn how to cook and cook the food, which they don't have because they're working longer and longer hours to make more money to afford to drive to work.

So maybe everyone else in the world can afford to buy organic, but I'm lucky if I can buy a few things here and there. I'm also a poor college student; I work two jobs and barely have enough to pay for gas, bills, and groceries for my boyfriend and I. It's really quite frustrating when people try to dog those of us who really are trying...if you would like to go ahead and send me a thousand dollars to go grocery shopping with, I would be more than happy. As it is, I do what I can, buying fresh vegetables and looking for sales on organic products. Otherwise, it's processed crap for me, due to the nature of my dollar is not stretching quite as far as it used to.

believe me, if I could go all organic, I would. It's better for me, and for the environment.

From Icelander:

Cooking from scratch requires knowledge and time, and Americans don't have much of either.

I think you have a point. I was talking with a friend the other day, and she was going on and on about how overpriced food was. It turns out she only cooks from boxes, and mixes. It's meat heavy, and premade.

She was shocked that one could make mac'n'cheese from scratch cheaper, and faster (if you use gluten free rice noodles) than a box of her premium stuff. It had never occurred to her that you could make it from scratch.

I was a cook for many years, so it's second nature to see how to make what I want. Not everyone has that kind of experience. It's really obvious in the Celiac community. Those that can cook from scratch do way better because premade gluten free stuff is more expensive than the normal already overpriced stuff.

I think it would help folks, if kids did get a home ec class. Something that talked about basic nutrition, and basic cooking. If you can make it, you don't need the premade, overpriced, crap that is filled with fillers (like wheat starch in icecream, and cheese dishes for god's sake!).

It's like the entire Ameican culture lost it's ability to cook.

Hey, poor college students and everyone who is just trying to get by: you know what? I could barely SPELL "organic" when I was in college, let alone know what it was and that it was good for me. I applaud anyone who is trying to do something healthy for themselves, their families, and for the planet. Every little change you make counts and eventually becomes habit, and then you make another change that becomes a habit...

Homemade hummus is an awesome source of protein and is great with pita, wheat crackers, veggies, and is cheap to make. If you Google "Hummus" you'll get tons of recipes. A good batch lasts me and my husband about a week. We can have a great dinner with a big plate of hummus, pita, cheese, crackers, carrots, apples, and peanut butter. You can spread hummus on your sandwiches. It's such a great staple.

We live in the north that is still in the process of thawing also. Frozen store-brand veggies go a loooong way, are cheap, and don't go bad.

It's easy to compare ourselves to each other but unless you actually live in someone's shoes you have no idea why they make the choices they do. It does no good to be snide and condescending; there's enough of that in the world. Let people see your example and make them WANT to live that way too.

65% of Americans are overweight, obese, or morbidly obese.

This means that 20-50% more food is being consumed than is necessary.

Also note that for every calorie of modern food (average of all foodstuffs) 10 calories of petroleum are used for production and transport.

If Americans and thier ilk could simply put the fork down once in a while, food and fuel prices would be significantly lower.

Cooking is easy (you just have to believe, which is really the key to life). You too CAN do it. Just start simply.

I learned how to cook soup years ago when I bought a little Consumer Reports book - "Soup Wisdom". This has basically turned into my beginning for almost everything.

In a pot: Take some diced onions (Julia Child taught me how to dice onions quickly and painlessly - the only thing I ever learned from a cooking show).
Mince some garlic. Cook them in some olive oil, saving the brown bits for flavor!!! Or skip this step, and dump onions, garlic in water below. Amounts don't matter - too your liking. I use LOTS of garlic and onions, personally. Experiment.

Add some water, chopped vegetables (celery,leaves and all, carrots, etc.), spices (salt, pepper, etc). You cook this as long as you want and it becomes a vegetable stock, or a vegetable soup, or whatever you want depending on what you add. Chicken bones make it a chicken stock, beef/bones make it a beef stock, boullion cubes add flavor, tomatoes/paste, potatoes, beans, rice, lentils, bits of leftovers, whatever - you can keep your soup pot going for a while. It is amazing, and it usually gets better the next day. YUMMY.

A time saving/energy saving device is a pressure cooker. Amazing device.

brennan says "If Americans and thier ilk could simply put the fork down once in a while, food and fuel prices would be significantly lower. "

Hmmm. So you are blaming everything on fat people? Is that really your solution to gas/food prices, to say "fat people caused all my problems"?

I am fat. I have MS, and over the years my activity level has plummeted at times, as my weight has slowly crept up. I no longer walk/hike/ski /garden etc etc etc for hours as I used to just 3 years ago. I cannot lose weight unless I eat less than 1400 cals a day of good food (a little good protein, lots of certain vegies/some fruits, a little good fat) - I'm 5'7" and 51 years old. Oh well. But I have never bought an SUV or a truck. I have been driving a Prius for 4 years now, and have not used pesticides or herbicides in my yards for well over 20 years. I have bought organics for years, I keep my thermastat at 60 or lower all winter in New England. In the summer the heat is a HUGE PROBLEM with MS but I try not to use any AC unless the temp is too high to alleviate my symptoms with a fan - above 80F and humid is a problem, I admit. I rarely watch tv or turn on lights. I compost all I can, eat little meat, have little trash every month. I have been as conscientious as I can, and I am always looking for new ways to cut energy, cut waste, etc.

And YOU are blaming ME for the price of YOUR FOOD and YOUR GAS/OIL?

I have never quoted Jesus in my life, I haven't attended any church in SO LONG. But "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" As Eckhart Tolle explains: this makes you FEEL superior. Maybe you should pick up his latest book "A New Earth".

Yes, America as a whole is overweight. There is a lot of waste. But it is simple to look at others and say 'THEY ARE the problem.

Maybe the solution to the current crisis can be helped if we all look at ourselves for solutions, instead of merely pointing at others and playing the victim.

Peace.

Everyone here has some good ideas, and I thought I would offer some advice too, for the poor college students. I, too, am one, and I am currently living in Japan, where food is at least twice what you pay in the US ( 1.45$ for ONE apple! ), and I had to feed myself for 4 months in the dead of winter with no such thing as fresh local produce available. I really REALLY learned a lot about cooking. One of my staples was to cook some noodles, and put stir-fried-in-olive-oil veggies on top. About all I could get here in winter was peppers, garlic, sprouts, and onion. But it was tasty, I added different spices, sometimes a little cheese. Another thing I did was buy some rice andd eggs and make fried rice, sometimes adding peanuts or chicken. I budgeted carefully for those 4 months, eating meat 3 times a week only. I survived just fine, and I have to say, I was much healthier then than I am now ( I'm back to eating cafeteria food because classes started up again).
I know it's hard to do green things, I even have trouble remembering to recycle. (Japan doesn't recycle nearly as much as America, by the way.) I didn't use much electricity or hot water, kept my thermostat really low, etc. Sometimes it made me feel bad, because I felt like even through my effort, I wasn't making a difference, but I realize I am now. I buy second hand clothes and house-hold items here, I try to get other people to join the environmental club. It's a struggle, I know but try as much as you can. Even changing a lightbulb to a compact flourescent helps.