Good question: Why ARE the prices at your Co-op so much higher?

[TygrBright]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=222&topic_id=103897&mesg_id=103897

Short answer: It's not that the prices at your Co-op are so much higher, it's that the prices at your average chain supermarket are so much lower. In fact, they are artificially low. Here's how:

First, most of the minimally-processed items (produce, meat, eggs, milk, etc.) at your supermarket are produced at giant food factories that no longer even remotely resemble farms, but are eligible for large "farm subsidies" that keep their costs of production artificially low. They also (generally) pay their laborers starvation wages, and use large amounts of cheap chemicals, hormones, artificial enzymes and GMOs to inflate yield while ensuring that the actual produce will have very little nutritional value. In addition, the minimal processing that they must do (washing and packing for vegetables, pasteurizing and packaging for dairy, slaughtering and packing for meat) is done at gigantic industrial facilities that use machines designed to produce the appearance of food while further degrading its actual nutritional value. These facilities are approved by the corporate-controlled USDA and because they process vast amounts of product, they achieve extreme economies of scale, thereby further decreasing the cost of the final item that appears in your supermarket.

By contrast, the food grown by small local producers that you Co-op may buy from is almost never eligible for "farm subsidies," and requires skilled labor and not-cheap organic soil amendments, fertilizers, and pest and disease control to produce. They are frequently processed on-site or at small local and regional facilities that take time and care to ensure that the product's nutritional value and taste are retained and that the appearance is not damaged to the point where it will be unsalable. These are costly. And, since they are generally not owned by the corporations who control the USDA, they are frequently subject to harassment and required to make costly alterations and 'upgrades' to their facilities and equipment designed to run them out of business and thus drive more business to the corporate-controlled megafacilities.

Second, most of the moderately-processed items (cheese, grains, cereals and flours, frozen and canned items, etc.) are not produced using massive industrial facilities, additives, chemical and enzyme treatments, and packaging equipment and techniques that maximize shelf life and result in pristine appearance and artificially-"enhanced" flavores while robbing the items of most of their nutritional value. Since this process can be (again) done on a scale that produces huge economies of scale, as well as "stretching" the actual raw ingredients with cheap additives like injected air, corn syrup, etc., it results in a less-expensive product at your local supermarket. This is not true of most of the items at your Co-op, which are generally produced in smaller facilities and usually produced using methods designed to preserve the actual nutritional qualities of the food rather than maximize shelf life and artificial flavor.

Third, most of the processed items (packaged ready-to-eat items) at your supermarket have very little food in them. They are mostly comprised of substances derived from corn and soy using advanced deconstruction technologies that render the original food molecules into "components" that can be reconstituted into food-like substances that can be manipulated with artificial flavoring, coloring, etc. into attractive pseudo-food with virtually unlimited shelf-life and microscopic production costs. This, again, is not true of most of your Co-op items, which are usual comprised mostly of actual, undeconstructed ingredients--which makes them more expensive to produce and often results in a shorter shelf life. Shorter shelf life means that they must "turn over" more quickly, and therefore are generally produced, ordered, and shipped in smaller quantities, and re-stocked more frequently. Not only does this minimize any economies of scale, it increases cost.

Finally, the network of industrial processing facilities, warehouses, distribution centers, and transportation that serves commercial supermarkets is vast, corporate controlled, pays its labor shit wages and treats them like serfs. This means that they can actually make substantial profit while keeping costs very low. Needless to say, this network does not serve your Co-op.

Hopefully this helps explain why you pay something closer to the actual cost of your (real) food at the Co-op, than the artificially-low, subsidized corporate profit-maximizing prices for the industrially-produced foodlike substances at your local chain supermarket.

helpfully,
Bright

[BanzaiBonnie]

1. I knew someone would be able to answer this

much better than my feeble attempt. I forgot and was not even considering the subsidies that mega-farms receive.

Now, you are paying the price no matter what. With one, you just don't see it up front. Want smaller government? Quit subsidizing the mega-farms. Let's be honest about the cost of food. The policies over price supports, at least what I know, were orginally put in place in part to help farmers when a crop failed.

And then there are all these future costs to our environment that mega-farming brings. Which is truly a better deal? Mega-supermarket or co-op?

[undeterred]

2. I just totally lost my appetite.

[prairierose]

3. What a great explanation... thanks Bright...

I think that you covered all of the various levels of production too. Thank you.

[swilton]

4. Thanks Bright!

I've been a local foods/CSA-local farms advocate since 1997. It's always good to hear such an eloquent presentation of the argument! We need this more than ever in these days of challenges to our health care.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. I'm lucky to have a food co-op within walking distance

and I find that for the things I eat, it's not significantly more expensive than the conventional supermarket a few blocks beyond that. For things like free-range eggs and grass-fed beef, the co-op is actually cheaper.

[crickets]

6. Excellent summation

...because they sell actual, unsubsidized FOOD. :thumbsup:

[MedicalAdmin]

7. Ironically I save money by shopping at the co-op.

First of all I am eating more nutrient dense food so I eat less. Second I get discounts as a member on case lots, special orders and just because. Third, bulk foods section is a real money saver.

I co-ordinate local deliveries for one of the CSA's in the area and I did a cost analysis for them about actual costs and it breaks down to slightly over $35 a week to get enough organic veggies to feed a family of 4. Of course you still need to buy spices, grains, meat, tofu etc, but the cost savings are enormous even if the cost per pound is higher in some cases.

I won't shop anywhere else for my food.



Don't panic - buy organic.

[truedelphi]

8. I find that to be very true.

One night a week our dinner here is a porridge made from split peas, often with sauteed onions and red curry. (Yum)

And another night or two we prepare veggie chili and things like veggie stir fries as our feasts.

If a person lives on meat and artificial foods, their appetite control mechanism usually goes bonkers, and as a result the person is always hungry. (Younger people can often get away with it, but once you are in your fifties, that's not usually true.) So they need more food to keep satisfied.

[MedicalAdmin]

13. You are absolutely right but if I may add a few details.

Many processed foods have a marked estrogenic effect which upsets the hormonal balance and can cause food cravings. I beleive this is what you were referring to in regards to bonkers appetite control. The other factor that I would like to mention is emply calories. The human body needs more than raw calories; there are a host of macro and micro nutrients that are necessary for optimal or even survival performance of the human body. In highly processed foods many of these nutrients are either missing or are added in a form that are hard to digest (known as bio-availablity). Thus the body craves food not for the empty calories but for the missing nutrients.

Big Macs, et. al., do not work to nourish a growing part of the population. While there are some genetic anomolies who could thrive on big macs, they are not the norm.


Eating nutrient dense food is pretty key to saving money on food (due to lower consumption of amounts - once your body gets the nutrition it needs it will be asking for fewer meals) as well as health care.


You really are what you eat.



My rule of thumb is that if it comes from a bag, box or window, I don't eat it.

[truedelphi]

15. Greatly appreciate the additional information

On how the body works.

I too try to avoid any food from a box, bag or window.

One other thing I am able to do in the spring is eat up a bunch of greens (ie weeds.) Really good when boiled up, and then I also like the young dandelion leaves in salad. And totally free.

[mountainlion55]

9. another example

It seems that many of people in this country are happy to let corporate america rob,cheat and kill them. But don't make them late for American Idol! It is so sad!

[RoccoR5955]

10. Brilliant observation

I couldn't have said it better!

[bertman]

11. Excellent commentary, TygrBright. I'm not a coop member but we do buy

locally at our farmers' markets--which are exceptionally good and large and varied.

This weekend our Carolina Farm Stewardship Association had a farm tour of member farms in our region. These farms range in size from five acres to 50 acres and are all family-or individually-owned and farmed by the owners. Thousands of citizens showed up to talk with the farmers, learn about their operations, admire the crops and the livestock and the beautiful farms, and support these small farmers.

There's nothing like going to the farmers' market and buying food from the people who actually grew it, who take immense pride in the quality and healthfulness of their vegetables, fruits, meats, and eggs, and who love and honor the land that provides them with such bounty.

Bless them all and the people who help them.

[Celebration]

12. And if identical items cost more in the coop

that probably means that the huge chain was able to negotiate volume discounts.

And, there really is efficiency in bigger size sometimes. My guess is that it isn't just lower wages keeping expenses down, but also fewer labor hours per food item.

[fasttense]

14. Very well done. I think I will pass this along to the other members of our Co-op

We are certified Naturally grown farmers that provide food to our local Farmer's Market and our farmer's Co-op.

One thing you didn't mention though was the lost produce due to bugs, disease and fertility decrease when you grow without pesticides, chemicals and poisons.

I may plant 50 honeydew and get 150 melons. But the farmer who uses poisonous bug sprays, chemical fungal and disease sprays and artificial fertilizers may get twice that many. We lose a lot of crop to bugs and diseases, not to mention we can't fertilize our crops with excess nitrogen like most conventional farmers do. So our crops maybe smaller and fewer.

But in my opinion the wonderful taste, higher quality, better nutrition and poison free food is well worth the extra work.