apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I don't think it's unreasonable to think in terms of value for money - after all, where did that money come from? You had to work for it (well, most of us do), and so really you're trading your time and energy for that fancy ingredient. Would you rather spend another hour at work to pay for the gourmet olive oil? Or would you prefer to have that time back, and use the store brand stuff? There's no right answer for everyone... but as someone who works freelance/hourly, I find I'm VERY aware of that balance.

I'm a volunteer with the Friends of the World Food Program. Learning about hunger really puts an expensive meal into perspective. I think that my willingness to spend is lessened and I do have more thoughts about if something was worth it. Feeding a child for a day is 25 cents, and feeding her for a year is $50. This is something I think about when buying groceries and going out with friends. Do I go out less? Probably not. Do I spend less? Yes. I'm less like to spend more than $60 on myself for a dinner. My grocery bill is often determined by what's in season since it costs less to buy things in season and from nearby vendors/farms.

BetsyGinDC, do you donate the extra money that you now don't spend? If not, how does your not buying expensive meals benefit starving children?

With respect to Wurgraft, he is making the wrong comparison. The question is not whether the taste of the "real" bluefish compares to the intangible value of $14. The question is instead whether the taste of the real bluefish is worth more than the T-shirt from Old Navy that I could buy with the $14, or the seven containers of delicious Ronnybrook yogurt that I could buy with the $14. To say, "that bluefish was worth $14" is to use the term "$14" as a shorthand for all of the other experiences, tastes, and things that could be purchased with that money. Ultimately, as SisterRae points out, you can also look at the time that you would work to earn that $14.

But I will confess that my whole perspective on food and money is mixed up right now. On the one hand, I am more aware of the cost of food, and I am trying to be more conscious of what I spend, to spend less, and to waste less food. On the other hand, I continually read articles that say that we (as Americans) spend too little on food; that it's better to spend extra money on grass fed beef or wild salmon instead of spending less money on regular beef or farm-raised salmon. So far, I don't have any answers; I think I'm actually just in some sort of paralysis. One thing I've tried to do is to eat "lower on the food chain" by eating, for example, mackarel instead of bigger, more expensive, more environmentally destructive fish. But that's not always an easy or obvious choice.

What I really wish is that the price of food was better correlated with the cost of food, including the environmental cost of raising and shipping those products and the economic cost of subsdizing certain products over others.

Wurgaft is correct in that we very quickly attach or try to attach dollar vlues to ephemeral, "priceless" (as the mastercard ad goes) experiences. On the other hand, I try never to buy anything that is so expensive that I cannot enjoy it. Can I live with it if I ruined it somehow or woudl I forever kick myself? I regularly buy $20 olive oil and it is fully justifiable to me because I want a quality tasting oil organically grown. That costs more.

If we didn't spend at least $250.00 dollars a month (plus a $25.00 co-pay when, god forbid, we actually need to go to the doctor) on health insurance, then I might be able to spend more on food, and to enjoy myself when we go out to eat. Mostly I'm thinking about how much cheaper it is to eat at home, and no, I would not be willing to work more in order to eat bluefish or any other fish. I do agree that it's far better to spend more money on sustainably-raised meat, but even for two people that's some serious money and I always tally up the cost of that meal, then spend less that week to make up for the extravagance. I make my own condiments, bread, ice cream, butter, etc. so I can afford to buy quality, expensive products I can't make at home (like olive oil). An added bonus is that most of them taste far better than anything you could buy.

All of this isn't a bad thing, and most of the time I eat without guilt. But I'm always aware of cost. I would love to have that extra $250.00 a month to spend on food, but maybe it's better this way. Maybe this is how Americans should be thinking about food instead of taking for granted that it will always be there in cheap abundance.

Kudos to anyone who cares about hunger around the world, but . . . it's really not that simple. Spending extra money on ingredients (or even on a meal out) is not necessarily selfish or self-absorbed. Indeed, sometimes it's "better" -- organic (or pesticide-free) produce, for example, is often a good thing -- not only for the eaters but also for the people who work in the fields and for the fields themselves. I don't kid myself that I'm saving the world by spending a little extra on food (or clothing -- I am spotty about this but I try to spend just a bit more for organic/repurposed clothing, or to get my clothes at thrift stores, or not buy anything new at all on a whim). One person is not going to make that much of a difference -- and large-scale change can really only be brought about through the political process (hard to imagine that happening, but you never know) . . .

As for the eating-out experience, it has to do with more than just the food. I love to cook, so I don't eat out all that often, but when I do I want to enjoy the whole experience. This doesn't necessarily involve spending lots of money, of course -- my most memorable recent meal was two tacos from El Gordo, a taco truck in Fruitvale (Oakland, CA).

That's a question I struggle with also. Not just because of the cost and what it represents factually, but because of the balances between personal food philosophy, cost, and many larger issues. It isn't easy to sort out.

I wrote a bit about this today at foodvox after reading a fascinating article by the food historian Felipe Hernandez-Armesto which ran in yesterdays TimesOnline titled "Food Shortages and Civilization". Reading his article did not bring me closer to any final decisions but it certainly offered a lot to think about.