Believe it or not, Americans spend less on meals than most of their counterparts in developed nations. Though less is spent overall, more is being spent on processed foods and sweets than on more wholesome fare.
Spending less
Compared with other developed countries, Individuals spend less money on food annually. Still, the average American income is $50,000 per year, and that is not quite enough money to look after a typical family of four with pets.
Compared with other countries, the United States is not looking too bad since the typical British family spends 9 percent of the yearly outlay on food and the typical French family will spend 14 percent. Mother Jones points out that Individuals only spent six percent of the $32,051 annual outlay for 2009. That adds up to $6,372 total on food for the year: $3,753 for food in the home and $2,619 for food away from the home.
The cost of food in America decreasing for the past 30 years is the most important reason, according to the NPR article.
The First Lady advocating better food
Data from the Agency of Labor Statistics showed that now, about 8 percent of yearly outlays is spent on food. That is much better than the 13 percent we saw in the average household in 1982 though.
Food costs have actually decreased a lot in that time. In fact, no meats went up in price. Steak costs dropped from $7 a pound to $4.90 a pound from 1982 to 2012. Grapefruit costs increased 6.5 percent and bell pepper prices increased 34 percent. Other than that, no other vegetables and fruit increased in price.
Michelle Obama's complaints about kid food health are entirely justified whenever you consider the percentage of what individuals spent on different foods. From 1982 to 2012, there were many changes in the amount used on food. For instance, Vegetables and fruit went from 14.5 percent to 14.6 percent, staying relatively the same. Meats decreased from 31.3 percent to 21.5 percent. The worst part is that processed foods and sweets increased from 11.6 percent to 22.9 percent.
Thanks to subsidies
According to Mother Jones, part of the reason we pay less for groceries is decades of farming subsidies, which amounted to $261.9 billion from 1995 to 2010. Since 1970, the amount of corn produced in America has gone tripled, increasing from 4 billion bushels to 12 billion last year.
The price of meat went up 8 percent in 2011, and the price of grain doubled. This just shows that prices are beginning to go up, according to Forbes.
Only about 15.8 percent of the money brought in from selling food goes to the farmer who produced it, which means farmers do not benefit from the low costs, according to the Department of Agriculture. The Daily Green points out that this means farmers need higher costs.
Spending less
Compared with other developed countries, Individuals spend less money on food annually. Still, the average American income is $50,000 per year, and that is not quite enough money to look after a typical family of four with pets.
Compared with other countries, the United States is not looking too bad since the typical British family spends 9 percent of the yearly outlay on food and the typical French family will spend 14 percent. Mother Jones points out that Individuals only spent six percent of the $32,051 annual outlay for 2009. That adds up to $6,372 total on food for the year: $3,753 for food in the home and $2,619 for food away from the home.
The cost of food in America decreasing for the past 30 years is the most important reason, according to the NPR article.
The First Lady advocating better food
Data from the Agency of Labor Statistics showed that now, about 8 percent of yearly outlays is spent on food. That is much better than the 13 percent we saw in the average household in 1982 though.
Food costs have actually decreased a lot in that time. In fact, no meats went up in price. Steak costs dropped from $7 a pound to $4.90 a pound from 1982 to 2012. Grapefruit costs increased 6.5 percent and bell pepper prices increased 34 percent. Other than that, no other vegetables and fruit increased in price.
Michelle Obama's complaints about kid food health are entirely justified whenever you consider the percentage of what individuals spent on different foods. From 1982 to 2012, there were many changes in the amount used on food. For instance, Vegetables and fruit went from 14.5 percent to 14.6 percent, staying relatively the same. Meats decreased from 31.3 percent to 21.5 percent. The worst part is that processed foods and sweets increased from 11.6 percent to 22.9 percent.
Thanks to subsidies
According to Mother Jones, part of the reason we pay less for groceries is decades of farming subsidies, which amounted to $261.9 billion from 1995 to 2010. Since 1970, the amount of corn produced in America has gone tripled, increasing from 4 billion bushels to 12 billion last year.
The price of meat went up 8 percent in 2011, and the price of grain doubled. This just shows that prices are beginning to go up, according to Forbes.
Only about 15.8 percent of the money brought in from selling food goes to the farmer who produced it, which means farmers do not benefit from the low costs, according to the Department of Agriculture. The Daily Green points out that this means farmers need higher costs.
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