14 ms·
A meaningful comparison is difficult, granted. If anything, doesn't that make OP's point about food prices being low due to agricultural subsidies less tenable
by n4r9 7y ago
A meaningful comparison is difficult, granted. If anything, doesn't that make OP's point about food prices being low due to agricultural subsidies less tenable though?
- padobson 7y agoNo less tenable than the food standards proposition, unless you have data that shows the difference in industry expenditures on food quality.
- n4r9 7y agoI found a USDA publication [1] which is a little dated but raises a large number of factors that affect food household expenditure differences between the US and EU. Broadly speaking these are: - Food prices inc. agricultural protection & consumption taxation; - Income; - Food availability; - Consumption patterns; - Preference trends inc. health, food safety, production process & taste; - Demographic trends; - Retailing & regulation (e.g. consolidation laws). Some of the factors it highlights that may cause lower expenditure on food in the US than in the EU are: - Lower food pricing due to protection & taxation; - Food safety concerns in the EU since mad cow disease and dioxin in chicken feed (and foot & mouth disease in the UK) leading to lower confidence in food supply regulation; - Greater willingness in the EU to pay more for higher animal welfare in the food chain; - Higher proportion of organically grown food across the EU and differing definitions of "organic"; - Longer history of consolidation laws in the US.
- n4r9 7y agoApologies I missed copying the actual reference in my last post: https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/40408/30646_wrs0404f_002.pdf?v=41465 https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/40408/30646_wr...