Dawlish Discussion

Anyone else noticed reductions in amounts when buying food stuffs?

I'll give some examples.

I noticed when I was using some stuffing the other day that there wasn't quite the same amount in the pack as usual. So I checked with a packet bought previously. And yep! sure enough the amount had been reduced.

I noticed the same thing when buying some over the counter cold and flu sachets. You know that type of thing that you pour hot water on and they usually taste of lemon. Same price. Fewer sachets in the pack.

And instead of getting five pieces of frozen chicken per pack produced by a certain frozen food manufactuer I see it is now four.  

And it might be my imagination but I'll swear the fishcakes we buy are getting thinner and thinner.

And anyone else notice that the amount of crisps in a packet seems to be getting less and less?

No doubt there are countless more examples (recent ones highlighted in the media have been to do with chocolate bars reducing in size).

Point is - that the money in our pockets isn't buying as much as it did. 

Which really hits home if you are on a fixed income.

And even more so if that fixed income is a low one.

Its very true Lynne i suppose they do it to make us believe prices are not rising i have noticed it with things like garlic puree, and tomatoe puree in the squeezy tubes, the weight has reduced by a few grams.

Prescriptions have gone up 20p.

Of course supermarkets are going to mantain profits above value for money. Why expect any differently?

We're getting toward peak oil, we have a growing global population who will need feeding, whilst simultaneously global food producation is negatively effected by climate change and over exploitation of natural resources.

Food production cost are bound to go up.

Many countries are experiencing economic growth and increased wages, higher living standards, longer life expectancy and their citizens now hold aspirations that seek to emulate the West.

Of course food prices will rise in the UK, when populous countries like China move from a predominantly vegetarian diet to eating meat, poultry or fish everyday - like people have taken for granted in the West. In no way is it sustainable.

I can empathize, change is threatening and it's exacerbated by this Tory government's policies that only benefit the rich minority.

Wagon Wheels are smaller and Curly Wurlies shorter. 

First world problem or what?

@From The Grave yes, i agree chocolate is not a necessity and nor are crisps. really the standard of living should also be about health and diet.

Most chickens are battery reared, injected with antiobiotics and infected with faecal matter from the cramp cages or the abattoir itself- no wonder people get ill so easily. A healthy diet and lifestyle negates the need for medicines like flu and cold sachets too - the immune system is restored and functions properly when the body doesn't have to digest flesh every day and expell additives and other things that should not be part of our food.

Convenience foods are pricier and far less nutritious than fresh food - stuffing is easy enough to make as are fishcakes. For the latter best use a sustainable species, if we keep consuming cod and haddock for example, prices will just keep rising until they become endangered species. And future generations will only read about what we ate in the C21st.

Why buy pureed garlic and tomatoes? The tube probably costs more to manufacture than the contents. Just get a a garlic crusher or fresh tomatoes, They're healthier and without the salt, sugar and other additives. 

A first world problem,  but people have become accustomed to eating meat, poultry, etc on a daily basis and in quantities which aren't sustainable in the long-term. Many like their confectionary too. Yet expect the healthcare service to be there when personal over-consumption results in diabetes, obesity, cancers, etc.

It's understandable, as a society we're largely ignorant about food education and the effects on our own bodies, our own finances and environmentally upon the planet as a whole of making certain dietary choices. And there are also many psychological factors that determine what goes in the shopping trolley and how much we consume, even if we know it is damaging our health. Advertising is another problematic factor for those who buy a lot of branded, processed food and it fuels food addictions and compulsive over-eating. It's all about the dopamine release really.

Jeez!

The point I was trying to make is that the cost of living is increasing and that it is those with low fixed incomes (those only in receipt of state pensions for example) who feel the brunt the most.  

dont worry @Lynne, Andrew is bitter and likes to attack anyone and show off his 'superior knowledge' at the first chance he gets

The reduction in the weight has been going on for quite sometime, although the manufacturer's have tended to keep the packaging the same size. As has been pointed out chocalte bars have shrunk in size, but the price goes up.

Over the past year I have experimented with some of the cheaper supermarket branded foods, tins, poultry etc. In the case of one supermarket their owin brand chopped tomatos in 35p over the 95p for the branded one I used to buy. These 35p chopped tomatos are as good as the branded one's.

Were I used to buy a small pack of chicken parts I now buy a large bag, which is cheaper, and split, bag and freeze so saving a fair few pence.

I think you just need to spend a little time checking out and experimenting with what the different supermarkets have to offer and choose accordingly. You can save quite a bit of money with a little effort.

Food manufacturers and supermarkets spend a lot of money on their packaging and marketing to get us to bu what they want, Put in the same effort to see past all they hype and shop smarter and save money and possibly eat better.

Or become an m.p. and get a sizeable, non receipt fund every month to buy what you like! Those that rule do not go by the same rules. M.p's salary increases are a case in point and don't tell me that it is now an independant body that decides on their pay rises, independant my back side.

there is nothing bitter or showy about advocating a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, why would anyone take my previous post personally? i was writing in generalized terms and not about any individual, but the foodstuffs mentioned by @Lynne and @leatash are good examples of both costly and less healthy food items - this thread is about getting less for our money, but it is all also linked to the other thread about the cost of social care and health in general if the main focus is food.

@SickOfIt i do hope @From The Grave didn't offend anyone who eats curly wurlies and wagon wheels!

I also mentioned I was empathetic to those confronted with change and I've been very critical of the Tories. 

Surely a Lib Dem wouldn't oppose someone's criticism of the Tories?

And why have you taken umbrage and gone off-topic mr @SickOfIt? i've not mentioned cllr Wrigley or the Lib Dems at all on this thread. Sounds like you're the one going on the offensive and just trying to stir up trouble.

Are you going to tell me to 'shut up' again or comment in a derogatory way in relation to every post I write from now on?

And not just those with any reference to Cllr Wrigley?

If you didn't like hearing criticism on other threads don't get involved in politics.

Politicians are criticized all the time on this site as they are in the media and society as a whole, it's what happens, they're accountable to the public, they'll come under scrutiny - get used to it.

You always have the option to report me, if you think I've contravened site rules and you can substantiate it.

I'd like to get back to the thread; about getting less for our money. I've studied sustainability  which is relevant to shopping habits, food prices, diet, health and global ecological welfare and I also take an interest in politics. Most contributors on here offer interesting perspectives based on their own backgrounds and knowledge.

@SickOfIt, why not engage in the discussion, or don't you have much to say?

ironic you assume i'm a man or a lib dem @Andrew. incorrect on both counts! if you post on a public forum then your posts are also up for scrutiny. don't like it? then don't post. 

@SickOfIt is that it?

Of course my posts are up for scrutiny like anyone else's. Some of my posts scrutinize a few local political figures and I believe it is justified given what's in the public domain. 

I haven't seen you scrutinize anything I've written so far. So I have nothing of any substance to like or dislike.

Why personalize this when counter arguments about political points made on this site would be appropriate? Or even comments relevant to this particular thread.

Why personalize this given that my comments about Cllr Wrigley elsewhere, which appear to anger you, are in fact about both a male and a Liberal Democrat?

Please enlighten me.

Are you opposed to all political opinion on this website or only about specific individuals?

Who'd like to get back to the thread; about getting less for our money?  Before we get lots of 'yawns' or have we exhausted the topic?

I go to Newton Abbot Asda sometimes as you get a lot more for your money, as long as you stay away from the named brands. Everytime I go I think wow, can't belive it's so cheap.

Well worth going there once a month to get long life products such as canned fish, beans, meat, long life milk etc.

Definitely a good saving.