Why is food so much cheaper in almost every country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some things are cheaper in Europe because there is a social safety net which means workers don’t need to be paid enough to cover health insurance premiums and retirement savings. The costs are spread elsewhere.

I did find restaurants in Rome somewhat cheaper than DC. London and Paris seemed about the same. Was looking at Madrid recently and was surprised by how expensive restaurants were.

That is a good point. There is a social safety net, plus healthcare in most countries except the US now.

This is a very simplistic view of the welfare benefits provided in both Europe and the US. Could you be that ignorant of what we spend on people in the US?

[Anonymous]

I encourage you to watch the documentary Rotten. It's literally slave labor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some things are cheaper in Europe because there is a social safety net which means workers don’t need to be paid enough to cover health insurance premiums and retirement savings. The costs are spread elsewhere.

I did find restaurants in Rome somewhat cheaper than DC. London and Paris seemed about the same. Was looking at Madrid recently and was surprised by how expensive restaurants were.

That is a good point. There is a social safety net, plus healthcare in most countries except the US now.

This is a very simplistic view of the welfare benefits provided in both Europe and the US. Could you be that ignorant of what we spend on people in the US?

Most posters are totally ignorant of the safety net we have. They should leave to other countries where they se the "safety net". Then they will realize we have one and in many circumstances, it's better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From East Asia, to Europe, to Latin America. Every place I’ve visited the food and especially restaurant costs are dramatically lower than the US. Not having to tip makes it even better.

Why are restaurants in the US so much more expensive than even most other developed nations?

Ask ceos of food companies they set prices

And now with no labor and no overs it’s food will be even more expensive

[Anonymous]

I was just in London and food was definitely not cheaper. It was the same price if not more.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think this is really true except with cultural specialties. In Italy a typical pasta + house wine meal will be much less than any U.S. restaurant. Germany has super cheap (and delicious) brats and pretzels, same with France and bakeries. But a typical trip to the grocery store or high-end restaurant meal will be comparable in price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think this is really true except with cultural specialties. In Italy a typical pasta + house wine meal will be much less than any U.S. restaurant. Germany has super cheap (and delicious) brats and pretzels, same with France and bakeries. But a typical trip to the grocery store or high-end restaurant meal will be comparable in price.

People make much less money. You cannot charge more for meals than people can pay and still, those meals are expensive to italians.

Essential foodstuffs in certain quantities have prices fixed by the govt (a baguette, a liter of milk, etc) BUT the quality of those items has gone down dramatically (essential loaf of bread is garbage now in europe because of high price of flour, it's just full of cheap white flour and additives. To get a good loaf of bread, you have to go to an artisan bakery, but who can pay 5 euros for a loaf of artisan bread that goes bad in two days when they make 1200 euros a month and rent is 800 euros a month because all the affordable housing in their town is now airbnbs?

The EU wants to cut down on sugar consumption. Sugar is also super expensive in Europe (old colonial sugar plantation contracts) so many sodas use fake sugar (without any labeling other than the ingredient label--EU pepsi, Fanta, etc all have fake sugar in them to save on costs.) Mass produced baked goods also by law have to have less sugar, so the supermarkets replaced the sugar with fake sugar. Yummy sorbitol supermarket croissants!

Yes food in europe is cheaper but it all comes at a price. Obesity is on the rise in Europe, too, and all those food additives ain't helping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think this is really true except with cultural specialties. In Italy a typical pasta + house wine meal will be much less than any U.S. restaurant. Germany has super cheap (and delicious) brats and pretzels, same with France and bakeries. But a typical trip to the grocery store or high-end restaurant meal will be comparable in price.

People make much less money. You cannot charge more for meals than people can pay and still, those meals are expensive to italians.

Essential foodstuffs in certain quantities have prices fixed by the govt (a baguette, a liter of milk, etc) BUT the quality of those items has gone down dramatically (essential loaf of bread is garbage now in europe because of high price of flour, it's just full of cheap white flour and additives. To get a good loaf of bread, you have to go to an artisan bakery, but who can pay 5 euros for a loaf of artisan bread that goes bad in two days when they make 1200 euros a month and rent is 800 euros a month because all the affordable housing in their town is now airbnbs?

The EU wants to cut down on sugar consumption. Sugar is also super expensive in Europe (old colonial sugar plantation contracts) so many sodas use fake sugar (without any labeling other than the ingredient label--EU pepsi, Fanta, etc all have fake sugar in them to save on costs.) Mass produced baked goods also by law have to have less sugar, so the supermarkets replaced the sugar with fake sugar. Yummy sorbitol supermarket croissants!

Yes food in europe is cheaper but it all comes at a price. Obesity is on the rise in Europe, too, and all those food additives ain't helping.

Are you saying each European country fixes the price of milk and bread?

What do you mean by old sugar plantation contracts? Most sugar in Europe is from beets grown in Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think this is really true except with cultural specialties. In Italy a typical pasta + house wine meal will be much less than any U.S. restaurant. Germany has super cheap (and delicious) brats and pretzels, same with France and bakeries. But a typical trip to the grocery store or high-end restaurant meal will be comparable in price.

People make much less money. You cannot charge more for meals than people can pay and still, those meals are expensive to italians.

Essential foodstuffs in certain quantities have prices fixed by the govt (a baguette, a liter of milk, etc) BUT the quality of those items has gone down dramatically (essential loaf of bread is garbage now in europe because of high price of flour, it's just full of cheap white flour and additives. To get a good loaf of bread, you have to go to an artisan bakery, but who can pay 5 euros for a loaf of artisan bread that goes bad in two days when they make 1200 euros a month and rent is 800 euros a month because all the affordable housing in their town is now airbnbs?

The EU wants to cut down on sugar consumption. Sugar is also super expensive in Europe (old colonial sugar plantation contracts) so many sodas use fake sugar (without any labeling other than the ingredient label--EU pepsi, Fanta, etc all have fake sugar in them to save on costs.) Mass produced baked goods also by law have to have less sugar, so the supermarkets replaced the sugar with fake sugar. Yummy sorbitol supermarket croissants!

Yes food in europe is cheaper but it all comes at a price. Obesity is on the rise in Europe, too, and all those food additives ain't helping.

Are you saying each European country fixes the price of milk and bread?

What do you mean by old sugar plantation contracts? Most sugar in Europe is from beets grown in Europe.

"Another important element of the EU’s external sugar market policies is the presence of preferential market access for African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) countries, under the Economic Partnership Agreements, and for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)"
https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/document/download/77e0723f60776f33c2ed56cfce01439b.pdf/Berger,_Brümmer,_Fiankor,_Kopp_-_2021_-_Sugar_Market_Policies_in_the_EU_and_International_Sugar_Trade.pdf

Price controls set by EU governments for essential food items: https://apnews.com/article/food-prices-europe-inflation-pasta-strike-386319f11769d4070d5fa34d02b000dd

The US also has a complicated milk pricing system: https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/wisconsins-place-in-a-bewildering-milk-pricing-system/

[Anonymous]

I haven’t found this to be the case when I’ve traveled at all.

[Anonymous]

You can't ignore the effect of the exchange rates on how prices feel in other countries. When the US dollar was weak, and it was weak for about 20 years, dining out in Western Europe was quite expensive by American standards. Now the dollar is strong, dining out has suddenly become reasonable by American standards. Except, of course, for London/UK.

[Anonymous]

I haven’t found this to be true. US food prices are very competitive on average. Sometimes prices may be higher or lower depending on the season. Overall, prices are decent here.

[Anonymous]

In Europe a lot of it is alcohol prices. Wine is cheap in France and Italy and much of Spain. Beer is cheap in Germany, the UK, Ireland, Belgium. If you are on vacation and kind of living it up a bit, this can keep your dining out costs a lot lower than in the US. But the food in many of these places costs about the same as the US.

If you add in not needing to too and a favorable exchange rate, it can be much cheaper to eat for a week in Europe, even in an expensive city, than in the US. But the food itself is not actually cheaper.

But also you have to drink the right thing. If you order cocktails in Paris or French wines in Berlin, you'll pay US prices. And in Scandinavia, prices on dining (including alcohol) are similar to the US and can be higher many places unless you are willing to eat a lot if herring and smørrebrød.