Grocery shopping is more of a quest for the freshest, tastiest, highest quality supplies available rather than simply a 'food run.' Examine people cruising the aisles and one will see a lot of poking, sniffing, and squeezing as consumers work to find the most favorable option for their dinner table. What an observer is not able to see is the constant calculation going on in nearly every mind wandering through the store selection. A vast majority of us are also observing the price of the food items we buy, occasionally passing up a luxury item in order to free up funds for a necessity, or avoiding a brand name to shave dollars off our total bill for the day. This math marathon is such a part of the store routine that we often do not think about the importance of pricing at the market.
Pricing matters. For some, disposable funding is available that allows the consumer to move up the pricing scale and shop at the 'top end' of the grocery store food chain - in the realm of local produce/meat, for example. For a majority of consumers, however, the difference between $.89 eggs and $3 Happy-Chicken-Free-Range brown eggs might as well be the grand canyon; it is simply not feasible to spend the extra money on a 'more exclusive' product. Yes, the expensive stuff is often very good, and yes, it is exciting to see that it was sourced from a relatively small farm operation, but we need not forget that the availability of less expensive food can mean the difference between a complete and wholesome meal each night for the family and a much more limited menu for the week.
It is, unfortunately, the silent majority of people who depend on inexpensive food that is the most overlooked. They are not a part of the organic discussion, or the free-range grass fed discussion, or the local food movement, they are simply out there every day purchasing what they need to survive. The folks caught up in one the aforementioned trends receive attention for their outspoken beliefs and work the media into a "eliminate production agriculture" frenzy, literally speaking out against the food supply of those who are not speaking.
We now have a situation in which it is normal to demand more limited food production and much higher prices...representatives from the HSUS in a recent discussion about the effects of eliminating caged-egg production went on the record to say that "price has never been an issue" when it comes to food production/consumption. Well guys, it has. And it always will be to many consumers. The more affluent trend seekers need to shift away from their selfish "I can afford it so everyone else should too" mindset and make an attempt to remember the other side of the spectrum. If they can spend the money on a $27 free range organic local chicken, great, buy it and enjoy it and promote it but DO NOT say that is how every chicken should be priced; such a shift would wipe chicken (and every other meat product, assuming they were following the same trend) off the menu at dinner tables across the US.
Modern, efficient, clean, productive agriculture must remain a viable option in this country to support all financial situations. Does it need to adapt and stay up to date? You bet. Are modern farmers open to suggestions and willing to change? Absolutely. The industry as a whole is currently adjusting and working to educate an uninformed public about what exactly happens on a production farm. Bad apples (producers who simply are not doing it right - repeated environmental, animal welfare, and zoning violations, etc) are being picked out and eliminated to make room for the true Farmers, those whose clean, safe, and efficient production operations continue to make nutritious, wholesome food available to everyone, not just those with deep pockets. Sounds like a cause I can fall in line with.
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If price doesn't matter - as HSUS claims - how are Walmarts' success and Bi-Lo's failure explained? The simplest explanation is that consumers' weigh the total cost of a shopping trip, including travel time and cost as well as product cost. Price always has and always will matter. It is one of the basic premises economic theory - price impacts both demand and supply.
ReplyDeleteBecause statements like this one from HSUS are outside the mainstream, they are generally dismissed as too extreme to result in real life. However, they often show the endgame goal that extremists support through government actions. Therefore, we must always be aware of the subtle effects of nanny-state government policies. These policies are more dangerous because they continuously nudge us toward the same end. Such policies include overbearing environmental, animal rights, and product quality regulations.
I say overbearing because some basic oversight is needed to protect the general populace against scam operators who have no long-term interests in staying in business. Those interested in long-term success will always need to consider their business reputation in their operating decisions. Even one isolated incident can lead to a company losing huge amounts of sales or even bankruptcy. Recent examples include Peter Pan peanut butter and meat processors who both had product recalls.
How does government policy relate to John-Scott's pricing post? Government regulations always require some additional cost to the producer, driving all producers toward the same production model as the high-end products. While regulations (almost) always sound kind-hearted and reasonable, their cumulative effect may drive prices beyond the reach of most consumers.
That is EXACTLY what I am trying to say throughout this blog - these organizations are out there working all the time just outside mainstream (and progressive) society, and are therefore overlooked by nearly everyone, yet they are manipulative enough to 'nudge' the whole towards their extreme and unproductive agenda. Thank you for seeing that.
ReplyDeleteJust a quick and interesting addition to your grocery store price weighing comment - the grocery store is the most pure location to study consumer trends. Studies have shown when the pressure is off and nobody is looking over their shoulder, an overwhelming majority of consumers will choose inexpensive mainstream products over higher priced organic/free range/local items (free range brown eggs make up just 3% of total egg sales in the US, for example).