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Medical Forum / General / Nutrition / June 2006Nutrition and $
Hi. To be able to function, feed the body, perform properly, what differentiates between eating a $1/lb plain beef steak and a $ 8/lb NewYork steak ? And a plain lettuce, compared with the fanciest and pricey one; chicken compared to pheasant; what are the nutritive differences? A common cheap bean, compared to expensive kinds; tilapia fillet compared to yellowfin tuna fillet; peanuts compared to brasilian nuts... Do they really deserve the price because of nutritive content or is it all about taste or nearly only taste ? Miguel > Hi. > To be able to function, feed the body, perform properly, what [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Miguel Supply and demand drives prices. If demand exists for any reason, valid or not, reality-based or not, and the demand exceeds the supply by even a small margin, price will rise significantly. Demand could be high due to the silliest reasons and rarely, or ever, is it related to true nutritional value. Caviar is not an essential food product nor is it any more or less nutritious than other fish roe, yet some brands are thousands of dollars a lb. Kobe beef is no more nutritious than any other well-raised beef, but the mystique around it makes it expensive. Same with some mushrooms. In these cases taste is a factor, but mystique and rarity of the product is also a significant factor in the price. The better tasting the food and the lower the supply, and the more mystique and exoticism (ie. buzz), the higher the price will be. TC Thanks TC. I disagree with "supply and demand" being the reason for prices; but that is subject for another forum (to me, it is pure speculation and not a bit of anything else) I take it as yes; the nutritional value of food is unrelated to its price. Shame. Miguel "Externet" <externet@inorbit.com> wrote in part: >Thanks TC. > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >price. Shame. >Miguel Nutritional value increases cost in many cases. Examples are grass-fed meats, organic produce, and the like. Foods made with oils rather than trans-fat are more perishable and hence more expensive, but more "nutritious." Highly processed flours and their products are cheaper than similar flours and products made from whole grains or whole kernels because they have higher shelf-lives and can be shipped and stored more cheaply. I'd say that in general whole foods cost more than processed ones. Orange juice from a concentrate is cheap; the same amount of oranges is much more expensive unless you are at the grove. That's across single product lines. When it comes to comparing across products, such as caviar vs chocolate or black beans, supply and demand of course still control the price, but comparisons get more complex. -- Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA jchinnis@alum.mit.edu > Thanks TC. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I take it as yes; the nutritional value of food is unrelated to its > price. Shame. Completely unrelated???!!! Shame. |
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