The Cost of Eating
The ultra fabulous and funny Ms. Pug recently wrote a post about the cost of responsible eating. I began to write a comment, but around the third paragraph I thought a post might be more appropriate. The three points that stuck out at me most were 1. That many people prefer not to know the specifics of the food they eat 2. the idea that eating from local farmers that use sustainable, humane best practices is expensive 3. that it’s classist (this is a comment form another, not her) and the high cost of joining a CSA.
Since I’ve started to eat meat, our food budget has definitely grown and we’ve had to prioritize our budget in different ways. We have an old, tube tv, and there are definitely parts of our apartment that are woefully unfinished. It’s taken us longer to fix our car, because it was simply lower on the priority list. Our grocery bill jumped most when we started to filter out processed foods in favor of fresh ones. In some ways it has become less expensive-it’s cheaper to make your own bread than to buy it. But, I don’t have the time to bake that much bread… so we usually purchase it. In others, more so because we are purchasing a spaghetti squash ($5) instead of spaghetti(.99).
For me personally, the majority of the time that I eat, I eat the way that some people would refer to as responsible or ethical. But, it’s only classified that way because currently, that is not the norm for most people in this country (let alone the planet). I try to eat smaller portions because I want the food we purchase to go farther, and it’s better for my health. I house a moral dilemma each time I shop, and frequently when I eat. I fully admit that the way I approach food, especially meat, is different from most people. When I eat a burger, I think about the cow. From my conversations with the meat eaters I know, this does not appear to be normal behavior.
Currently the cost of a sustainable food chain is more expensive for the consumer. I think it’s a shame that farmers are being essentially bullied when it comes to what they produce, and what they are paid for it. Take note of the recent anti-trust DOJ and USDA/Dairy farm issue. As a side note, do you think cows should be fed donuts? It’s not that I think quality food HAS to be expensive – it’s that prices and certain (commodity) crops have been so subsidized that things are a bit bonkers. There has been an insane over consolidation of food producers and consumers are ultimately the ones who deal with higher taxes and unsafe food production.I want to see a point in my lifetime where this isn’t the case.
As far food politics being a classist issue. It is. But, I think it would be more accurate to call it a social justice issue. Why are there urban food deserts-why are there so many Mcdonalds and so few grocery stores in lower income areas? Why are there so many barriers for lower income people to purchase healthy, quality food? Why is there a lack of nutritional education for children of all classes? In DC, and in many other cities, food stamps are able to be used at the farmers market-but if the choice is to buy a $5 roasted chicken at Safeway, or a $30 chicken at the farmers market? Well…. you do the math. How can we work to change this structure? I’m pleased that Walmart is making efforts to purchase from local farms, revive local economies and agriculture. Though, this seems to be working out a bit better in theory than in practice. But, it’s a great step since Walmart’s business decisions have far reaching implications.
When Pug inquired about the CSA with drop offs around the corner she was told that it’s $1,000 a share. But, what I think is important to have a few important answers in regards to CSA shares: How long is the season, how many people does a share cover and what crops are included. If the season is long enough, and the crops are varied enough, a half share at $500 might not be so bad. We currently spend around $400 on groceries per month and the bulk of this is fresh fruits and vegetables. We also have just a mini fridge..so we’re shopping pretty frequently and DC food prices are steeper than in the suburbs. If you’re looking for a CSA (though, it’s a bit late to get into the summer share game) I recommend checking out Local Harvest and Eat Wild for farms and other resources. We joined a local metropolitan meat buying club, so our meat is generally not that much more expensive than CAFO meat from the grocery store. Our Hedge Apple beef that we love so much? Ground beef is only $3 per pound which covers several meals for Nick and I.
Eating in ways that support local small business is currently more expensive, and yes, some people are priced out of the options currently. Eating is a personal choice, and as time passes the personal truly becomes more and more political.
July 14th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Awesome! Thanks for the links, will definitely check them out for groceries
July 14th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Since we’ve been married Jason and I have become more conscience of the food we eat. We purchase our produce from a CSA down the street from our apt. and only purchase free range/grass feed beef, as well as free range chicken. We’ve even stopped eating shrimp presently because the Sea Turtles getting trapped and killed in the process of collecting the shrimp. We’ve become active (in a small way) in encouraging the shrimpers and government to regulate the process, so Sea Turtles are safe.
Eating healthy and responsibly not only helps us, but the world around us. The more we learn, the more we want to change.
Anyway, I’m starting to think I should just post on my blog, like you did with Pug haha…Your statement “Eating is a personal choice, and as time passes the personal truly becomes more and more political.” could not ring more true with me.I feel like I’m having a political discussion with my friends and family when I explain to them where and what we buy for our food.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
I fully understand this is a middle class argument and that low income areas don’t have a lot of access to this stuff (although arguably Berkeley is right smack in between two of the most dangerous and low class cities in the US [Richmond and Oakland] and we have PLENTY of access to local produce… and with a focus on a vegetarian diet I do believe it can still be on par with eating at McDonalds, you just have to learn how to change your diet). But for us middle classers, it’s all about what you consider your priority—ours is eating, and eating well. We don’t spend money on toys or cars or anythign like that—movies, books and video games we get are gifts, and admittedly I do buy clothes once in a while but Mark gets his all at Christmas. We spend the majority of our money on food and we don’t feel bad about it. We feel a responsibility to our local economy to shop locally in all aspects of our lives… occasionally a friend will come into town an we’ll go to the local shopping strip and find a book or something we like a the local bookseller and they’ll say something like, “You can get that for half price on Amazon.” Sure, but we love this book store and we want to see it stay in our neighborhood, so we buy our books for 2x the price. Even though it’s not the best for our wallets, it’s the best for our community. We take the same principles when we choose what we eat. We care about California’s economy and we want to see our neighbors succeed, so we spend a lot of money on the things that we want, but we consider it a way of participating in our community and being present where we live.
I commend you and everyone that has been taking a deeper look into what we eat and where it comes from. It’s people/attitudes like this that make it hard for us to leave where we live and move to the suburbs, where it’s harder to get access to “local” produce.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
I love that Maryland is intiating the farm to school program (http://www.mda.state.md.us/mdfarmtoschool/index.php) in an effort to bring fresh, local grown food into the urban schools. I hope this will encourage families to buy local!
July 14th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
thanks for all the insight–you definitely have thought about this subject and can articulate your perspective in a way that most can’t, and it’s very much appreciated.
one thing about the $1000 CSA–I should have mentioned that the price is almost twice as much as other comparable-term CSAs in the area. sorry–i was just using that extreme example for effect. because i’m melodramatic.
July 14th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
@mina – I just meant those as general questions people should ask regarding CSAs. If it’s like, all year, okay dokay $1000…it’s 3 months? no way jose! ps. thank you! I often feel that I can’t express what matters well! I can write all day about shoes, but complex economic and political issues? less so…