Shocking food prices: WHY??????????????
Hi, Everyone:
I'm newly arrived from accross the proverbial pond (NYC to be exact, the MOST EXPENSIVE city in N. Amer.) and am SHOCKED at food prices.
First, I started looking for Atkins-branded product right at the airport... suprisingly I found them relatively easily, but quickly reailzed that they cost me TWICE as much as what I was paying 7 hrs before. Well, this must be due to the airport location, aided by the the novelty factor, plus the fact that it is an "import", etc. Not to worry, I said to myself... BIG MISTAKE! I found them at Boost only slightly cheaper, still close to twice as expensive as I was buying them in NYC...
Oh, well, had to give up on Atkins branded stuff, I said to myself... Then I found some Carbolife and other LC brands at GNC, H&B, etc... Unfortunately, they were still grossly overpriced, at about twice the NYC level.... OK, let's forget shakes/bars, etc., and look for "real" food. Next thing to try: Burger King... well, a BK is a BK, is a BK, or is it? Try this: a US$7.00 dollar whopper (just the sandwich, not the "value meal")... and if you want an $US8.00 burger, no problem... order a double whopper with cheese & bacon (throw out the bun, of course), and you've got it, an EIGHT-FREAKING-US-DOLLARS fast-food burger.... UNREAL even by NYC standards... You may have to pay, if you try real hard, $4 for a fast-food burger in NYC... maybe, really maybe US$5.... but US$8 for a fast-food burger, I have never had the displeasure of seeing it in NYC. Well, at that point I said, it must be ALL US products/restaurants that are grossly overpriced...
Then I tried reasonably sounding local establishments (yates, etc)... and found out that anything I order, ANYTHING, was OVER £5 (which sounds cheap until you realize it means OVER US$10 for the cheapest item)...
OK, better go to a supermarket and start doing some cooking (at first I was staying in a hotel, so cooking was not an option)... So, found a Tesco (cheapest deal in town) and then realized that ALL FOOD ITEMS (local or othersise) cost somewhere between 150% to over 200% of what they cost in the MOST EXPENSIVE city in N. America...
yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fine, I've heard about hormones, subsidies, and other things available/allowed in N.A. which may not be available/allowed in the UK... but I couldn't possibly imagine how that would raise food prices to 200% level... Anyhow, I mentioned this to some "continental" people I know, expecting them to tell me food prices in the continent were similar to UK's, and much higher than in N.A....but surprise, surprise.... they were also bitterly complaining about the UK food prices they had to pay while visiting/living in Britain... they also find them about TWICE as expensive as what they pay in the continent....
WHAT THE H*LL IS GOING ON???????????????
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DISASTER? WHO IS TO BLAME?
WHY AREN'T PEOPLE MAD AS H*ELL ABOUT THIS?
WHY HAVEN'T POLITICIANS BEEN FORCED TO FIX THIS UNDER THREAT OF BEING KICKED OUT OF OFFICE???
ARE PEOPLE HAPPY ABOUT PAYING TWICE AS MUCH FOR FOOD????
Inquiring minds want to know!!!
__SP
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