Posted on 04/29/2008 9:17:37 PM PDT by blam
American portions reduce as food prices rise
By Tom Leonard and Alex Spillius
Last Updated: 1:57AM BST 30/04/2008
Faced with growing delivery costs driven by higher fuel prices, many US restaurants have done the previously unthinkable and introduced smaller food portions served on smaller plates.
The increase in fuel prices was identified yesterday as the biggest issue affecting the lives of ordinary Americans. It surpassed even unemployment and home repossessions, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Until now, Americans have taken for granted the relative cheapness of petrol and food. Although $3·60 (£1·80) for a gallon of petrol still seems inexpensive by European standards, the 25 per cent increase from last year is causing considerable pain in a country that continues to run big gas-guzzling vehicles.
The Petroleum Marketers Association of America has reported that motorists are increasingly driving off from the pumps without paying.
The increase has hit the haulage business hardest. Truckers, who are now paying up to $1,500 (£750) to fill up with diesel, have launched a series of protests in US cities.
William Lockridge, of the Washington Metropolitan Area Truckers' Association, said drivers were barely breaking even. "If the truck stops, the economy stops. We need help and we need it now," he said.
The US has also been feeling the pinch from the rising cost of wheat, which has pushed up bread and pasta prices. The acreage devoted to the crop has fallen by 27 per cent since 1981, some of that because wheat farmers are turning to producing ethanol for biofuels.
President George W Bush tried yesterday to play down ethanol's role, but still estimated it was responsible for 15 per cent of the food price rise.
Me either but then I’ve really cut down on eating out so I might not be noticing.
We just had dinner at a place where we were never able to have dessert because of the portion sizes. Tonight I had Apple Pie, and Mrs. Submareener had Chocolate Cake.
This article seems like a DNC press release. “Facts” taken from lefty blogs.
Wow, would people really get by eating a 12oz cut of steak rather than 16oz? It’s unthinkable! I wonder if our society can survive going back to 1/4 pound burgers after being accustomed to 1/2 pounders.
Next Headline.....”70% of American’s lose an average of 20% of their weight”.....Oh, wait.....that’s the 70% who are 30% OVER weight.....sheesh!
More US grocery prices have been falling than rising over the past couple of months (for non-convenience foods at Sam’s and Wal-Mart).
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I warned bad things would happen if the Democrats got into the majority!
The problem with the 12 oz steak is when it costs more than what you would have paid for the 16 oz.
Hmmm Could this be the govts forced healthcare prevention plan?
Food so spendy everyone will have no choice but to eat Amer. Diabetic portioned meal plans.
Hmmm - maybe it’s an evil Government plot to get all fat Americans to lose a few pounds????
That’s not bad. In the valley we are paying 5 dollars for a gallon of milk and eggs are over 2 dollars a dozen. All the staples have rose in price too. As someone posted above, strangely the prepared foods are staying stable for now.
Me either here in Orlando but I’m beginning to wonder why.
Bought some sirloin tip roasts today for $2.99 a pound. Sirloin steak for $3.99 a pound, whole chickens for $.99 pound. Granted, they were all on sale ...
Fast foward 2 years.
T-bone - $12.95.
With meat - $49.50
Next we'll be hearing about hard times faced by health clubs, dietitians and obesity-reliant industries.
That said, we buy whole cuts at Sam's and portion them ourselves. We also hunt/fish and grind our own burger, usually from the scrap ends of whole cuts like top sirloin and chuck roasts and equal amounts of venison. For meatloaf/meatballs, I use 1/3 each beef, pork and venison. This sort of hamburger usually costs out at under $1/pound, is high quality and we control the amount of fat added by weight.
There is a phenomena right now called the Grocery Game (can be googled). They sell a list each week of specials, reduced price and free items by location/store. From their message forum, the market is young mothers with several children who are stockpiling until they reach the point where all they have to purchase are perishables and a few replacements of canned/dry/frozen items. They also do this with cleaning/pharmaceutical/health and grooming items. It is couponing and stockpiling taken to an almost ridiculous degree, but everyone is reporting 40%-50% savings on their purchases/week and much of this is being recorded on spreadsheets. Obviously, they see prices as too high and are spending a lot of time/energy to reduce their expenditures.
I do a much lighter version of this and have for a long time.It will carry you through hard times at a reasonable cost, but it seems from the GG site that some have taken it to a Y2K level and are experiencing storage space problems and expiration date anxiety.
I don't know where you're talking about but here in the piney woods of East Texas the price of food and eat out has been rising steadily, a little less for dining out but the grocery bill has more than made up for it. I'm already looking at brands, buying more house brands and less name brands among other cost saving methods.
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