High Food Costs?

In Canada? It's undeniable that basic food prices have risen gradually and sometimes steeply in the past year. But then, the cost of everything has risen gradually. Still, a refreshingly small portion of most peoples' disposable income in Canada is given over to the procurement of basic, nutritional foods, inclusive of fresh fruits and vegetables. It always astonishes me how well we are able to eat for relatively low cost in this country.

Now it astonishes me to read that a survey appears to have established that food prices have risen so steeply that people with diminished incomes relating to the downturn in the economy - and supposedly those who represent the working poor or those on welfare, the contraction in the economy aside - are finding it increasingly costly to eat well. The survey's results, contained in the Journal of Consumer Research appear to point out regional pricing differences.

And those regional differentials in pricing have always been there; the larger, more centrally-located the places of residence, the more challenge in pricing between retailers, the greater the opportunities to find bargains. The more isolated the geographic locations, the costlier it is to truck or fly in foodstuffs. The reasons are obvious in these instances. Somewhat less obvious is a real difference in pricing between co-located cities.

There is a fear being raised with respect to rising food prices that people will become less careful and selective about the food they eat, accepting stale-dated foods at a reduced cost, for example. Yet there are always people for whom reduced-cost items are seen as a bargain, irrespective of their ability to pay. And despite the findings of the research that concluded greater difficulties for people trying to stretch their food dollar, food remains a bargain in this country.

To begin with, fresh products while not cheap, are not expensive, either, compared to food costs in other countries. Canada has a good distribution and wholesale system, its agricultural trade with other countries is exemplary, and we are well positioned to feed ourselves handsomely. Seasonal foods imported from trading partners are available in our winter season, and at reasonable costs.

Basic food necessities remain reasonably priced. It is the food that has undergone processing that becomes more expensive, and one supposes in this busy world where fewer people even contemplate cooking their meals, happier to rely on pre-prepared foods, costs are rising. In response to which, we need to re-adjust our priorities, realizing that healthful eating relies upon basic foods transformed in one's own kitchen into an edibly-pleasing end product.

It's as easily done as said. What it takes is an appropriately practical turn of mind, to value home preparation and eschew commercial preparations. We'd all be a lot better off for that transition. It's not all that time-consuming once you become accustomed to preparing basic meals. And pay far less for them, as well.