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What are some food items that cost less than what they "should"? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 10 months ago by otp@sh.itjust.works to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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Bananas are ridiculously cheap even up here in Canada, and they aren't grown anywhere near here. Yet a banana can grow, be harvested, be shipped, be stocked, and then be purchased by me for less than it'd cost to mail a letter across town. (Well, if I could buy a single banana maybe...or maybe that's not the best comparison, but I think you get my point)

Along the banana's journey, the farmer, the harvester, the shipper, the grocer, the clerk, and the cashier all (presumably) get paid. Yet a single banana is mere cents. If you didn't know any better, you might think a single banana should cost $10!

I'm presuming that this is because of some sort of exploitation somewhere down the line, or possibly loss-leading on the grocery store's side of things.

I'm wondering what other products like bananas are a lot cheaper than they "should" be (e.g., based on how far they have to travel, or how difficult they are to produce, or how much money we're saving "unethically").

I've heard that this applies to coffee and chocolate to varying extents, but I'm not certain.

Anyone know any others?

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[-] PP_BOY_@lemmy.world 33 points 10 months ago

Rice. A 20lb bag can provide 70% of your food volume for a month and costs like $10. Easily the best poverty food hack there is.

[-] nodsocket@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Unfortunately a lot of rice is contaminated with arsenic due to pesticides. The only way to remove the arsenic also removes most of its nutrients. So you might be better off going for a different grain like wheat, oats or barley.

Arsenic aside, rice is probably one of the best deals when you consider how long a bag can feed you.

[-] intensely_human@lemm.ee 5 points 10 months ago

Seems like quite the FDA violation. Is it true?

[-] ilovetacos@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10375490/#:~:text=The%20investigation%20concluded%20that%20the,'%20dry%2Dbrown%20rice%20cereal.

[-] nodsocket@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

It should be an FDA violation, but the demand for rice is powerful and rice is a staple food for much of the world. It's like if the FDA tried to ban alcoholic beverages because they contain toxic chemicals (alcohol.)

[-] DaBPunkt@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

As far as I know just cooking the rice with enough water solves the arsenic problem for the most part.

[-] nodsocket@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

This is true for white rice. But using a lot of water also removes the vitamin fortification and makes it less nutritious. So you are left with the dilemma or either eating the arsenic or losing the vitamins.

For brown rice, no amount of water can remove all the arsenic since a lot more of it is in the outer part of the grain. This is unfortunate because in all other respects brown rice is the healthier option.

Also, some regional varieties of rice have less arsenic than others. Basically avoid rice grown in any country that uses or has ever used arsenic based pesticides. Even then, the rice will have a little arsenic since it is a naturally occurring mineral.

[-] DaBPunkt@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

That is good to know, thank you 🙂.

[-] otp@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago

We can't grow rice in Canada, so that definitely applies to us! Still cheap here, though.

this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2024

160 points (97.1% liked)

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