Individuals have it good, in a sense, in that we spend less than many other first-world nations on food, which is fairly essential. Granted, farming subsidies do have a fair bit to do with it. Nonetheless, we have also been investing more on junk food than almost any other type of food item.
Spending less on food
The typical family of four with pets will find it difficult to get by with a $50,000 a year income, and that is the average in the country. There is good news. Compared to other developed nations, we are really spending a lot less on food.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics explained that in 2009, the average household spent $6,372 on food. About $2,619 of that was for food from home and $3,753 was for food in the home. Mother Jones reports that the spending is only 6 percent of the $32,051 yearly outlay for the year. The French spend 14 percent on food of the outlay while the British spends 9 percent on food.
An NPR article points out the reason for this. It said that in the last 30 years, American food costs have been dropping.
Michelle's thoughts
Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates yearly household expenditures on food have ticked up to around 8 percent of yearly outlays. However, that is considerably less than the typical household in 1982, when food spending was closer to 13 percent.
During that time, only one fruit and vegetable increased in price, and this includes grapefruit with a 6.5 percent increase and bell peppers with a 34 percent increase. No meats have gone up in price. In fact, the cost of steak has decreased 30 percent from 1982 going from $7 a pound to $4.90 a pound on average. Overall, food prices have dropped a ton.
What some may view as troublesome is how much is spent on what type of food. Meats declined from 31.3 percent of food expenditures in 1982 to 21.5 percent of expenditures in 2012. Vegetables and fruit stayed broadly the same at 14.5 percent in 1982 and 14.6 percent in 2012. However, processed foods and sweets doubled from 11.6 percent in 1982 to 22.9 percent in 2012. Michelle Obama can be criticized for advocating feeding children more vegetables and fruit, but she can be on to something.
Subsidies do it
According to Mother Jones, part of the reason we pay less for groceries is decades of agricultural subsidies, which amounted to $261.9 billion from 1995 to 2010. Since 1970, the amount of corn produced in America has gone tripled, rising from 4 billion bushels to 12 billion last year.
Some costs are going up. According to Forbes, grain and meats have both begun rising recently. In 2011, the price of meats went up by 8 percent. Grain prices doubled.
The low costs also don't benefit the farmer much. Besides not much money in nominal terms, the Department of Agriculture estimates 15.8 percent of revenue from selling food goes to the entity that produced it, according to a post on The Daily Green.
Spending less on food
The typical family of four with pets will find it difficult to get by with a $50,000 a year income, and that is the average in the country. There is good news. Compared to other developed nations, we are really spending a lot less on food.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics explained that in 2009, the average household spent $6,372 on food. About $2,619 of that was for food from home and $3,753 was for food in the home. Mother Jones reports that the spending is only 6 percent of the $32,051 yearly outlay for the year. The French spend 14 percent on food of the outlay while the British spends 9 percent on food.
An NPR article points out the reason for this. It said that in the last 30 years, American food costs have been dropping.
Michelle's thoughts
Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates yearly household expenditures on food have ticked up to around 8 percent of yearly outlays. However, that is considerably less than the typical household in 1982, when food spending was closer to 13 percent.
During that time, only one fruit and vegetable increased in price, and this includes grapefruit with a 6.5 percent increase and bell peppers with a 34 percent increase. No meats have gone up in price. In fact, the cost of steak has decreased 30 percent from 1982 going from $7 a pound to $4.90 a pound on average. Overall, food prices have dropped a ton.
What some may view as troublesome is how much is spent on what type of food. Meats declined from 31.3 percent of food expenditures in 1982 to 21.5 percent of expenditures in 2012. Vegetables and fruit stayed broadly the same at 14.5 percent in 1982 and 14.6 percent in 2012. However, processed foods and sweets doubled from 11.6 percent in 1982 to 22.9 percent in 2012. Michelle Obama can be criticized for advocating feeding children more vegetables and fruit, but she can be on to something.
Subsidies do it
According to Mother Jones, part of the reason we pay less for groceries is decades of agricultural subsidies, which amounted to $261.9 billion from 1995 to 2010. Since 1970, the amount of corn produced in America has gone tripled, rising from 4 billion bushels to 12 billion last year.
Some costs are going up. According to Forbes, grain and meats have both begun rising recently. In 2011, the price of meats went up by 8 percent. Grain prices doubled.
The low costs also don't benefit the farmer much. Besides not much money in nominal terms, the Department of Agriculture estimates 15.8 percent of revenue from selling food goes to the entity that produced it, according to a post on The Daily Green.
