naked capitalism

Yves Smith says:

The alternative theory would be that consumers are eating less, as opposed to buying less..literally belt-tightening, as opposed to figuratively.

mb says:

I hate to say it, but it would do americans a world of good to cut back on food by 20%. I lived in France a while, and the difference is astounding. Americans are ashamedly, fat and lazy. Even poor ones.

Richmond Rambler says:

Yes, mb, I also lived in France (in my teens) & thankfully have no taste for fast food. But food appreciation is _taught_ in schools in France & there excellent food is plentiful, fresh and often inexpensive. Not so here, or in the UK with the rows and rows of crisps in the supermarkets…

Anonymous says:

I can assure you that people are changing their shopping and eating habits.

We got 8 hens and because we do not use all their eggs, we have started taking them to the farmers market and trading them for other items we need.

We also get food that a local grocer is getting rid of. We never even enter a store unless it is to buy food or gas. We try to stock up on things and shop less often (So that we do not have those “extra’s you tend to pick up every time you shop).

We let the kids eat first and then survive on their leftovers. We never buy soda or any pre-packaged drink, instead we make tea or lemonade from concentrate.

We buy in bulk and focus on the cheaper items, like beans and rice. We stopped buying garbage bags and just empty the inside small can into the outside large one. We stopped buying paper towels and use cloth napkins (which we hang out to dry and wash in cold water).

We still spend the same amount as we used to but this is ONLY because I called my nana (who lived through the depression as a child) and asked her what to do. She told me to stockpile dried food, medicine and a few other things. So now my utility room is filled with jars of dried food, olive oil, sugar, flour and such. Each time I go grocery shopping I buy extra to store from what is on sale.

I thought some of you may be interested. For your reference we are a family of four making $65k a year, with a mortgage we can afford. The two things we refuse to give up are toilet paper and private school for the kiddies.

And please for the love of God, don’t call me a soccer mom. I am a professional and an artist, my kids hate sports.

Yves Smith says:

tompain,

If you had watched the retail data out of the UK, as I do, this is on top of ongoing evidence that consumers are cutting their food budgets. This comes on top of reports over the last few months of:

1. Declines in sales at food mongers that carry specialty and convenience foods (Marks & Spencer had a very big drop in its food halls)

2. Reports over several months from grocers that shoppers had notably shifted to lower priced goods

3. Reports of shoppers increasingly buying after payday; that pattern far more pronounced than before

The pattern in the US, BTW has been that grocery store sales have INCREASED because people are eating out less

When you look at the latest report in context, it is not insignificant.

Anonymous says:

Uh, the article is right. People are eating less. And some of them don’t need to lose any weight.

Face it.

Anonymous says:

This article was interesting to me because for a long time now, I’ve believed the coming recession may be exacerbated by the over-dependence of Americans (and others, too) on things that are not essential. For instance, let’s say times get financially hard for a family of four. Are they going to cut out cable TV? Not likely. How bout eliminating the TV altogether? Even less likely. Cable TV and just plain ol’ TV (along with many other things such as cell phones, the desire to drive a new car, cell phones, etc) are no longer considered luxuries. They considered essentials now. I joke with my friends that TVs are now in the consumer staples category. Funny but also sadly true I do believe. We as a people need too many “things” to help us “feel good.” Our emotional structure has become over-reliant on that which materialism offers. A widespread reluctance to emotionally adapt to new economic conditions could actually prolong and magnify the duration of the coming recession. Reluctance to give up non-essentials could cause people to dig themselves into an even deeper hole financially.

Richie

Vox Sanus says:

Nothing bad about this. Most Americans could probably stand to reduce their caloric consumption by about half, and then we’d be back where we were in the 70’s.

baychev says:

70% of americans are classified as overweight. the situation in australia is worse. i remember watching a hopman match and the camera showed the spectators: they looked like competitors in hot dog/sausage eating contest, with no interest to the tennis match going on.
ah and yesterday i saw a couple in quite good physical shape at the grocery store in Nice (FR) forking out 382 euro on food. this is the highest i’ve ever seen and the cart was only half way full, most with pastry. aside from that french are not obese

Anonymous says:

Less wasteful? I thought they already ate every part of the cow in England. haha

luther says:

anon @ 11:53:

originally coming from ohio, i agree that the entire state needs to go to diet camp.

with that said, i personally trust their sense of judgment & character more than of coke-addled finance freaks and caffiene-fueled politicos with napoleonic complexes.

here's a personal health primer: better check in the mirror for any malignant eugenic lesions before they spread any further…

cancer (of the body &/or the mind) eats its host.

paddy says:

The UK is part of the EU and placed no restrictions on workers from the new EU countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, plus the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Cyprus) coming to work in UK. France and Germany does still restrict these workers. With the UK economy downturning, many of the estmated 600,000 workers (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5273356.stm) are IMO choosing to go home. Hence, IMO lower food retail sales are not evidence for healthier eating or people being less wasteful. I wonder does the ONS data consdier this.

Anonymous says:

You shouldn’t make fun of fat people any more than you should make fun of alcoholics.

Fat alcoholics on the other hand are fair game!