To think that food in the U.K. is not expensive and we need to change our expectations?

[Notcontent]

This is something I have been thinking about a lot, as there are so many threads with people complaining about the price of food. Yes, obviously there are a lot of people who are struggling to make ends meet, but that’s more of an issue around inequality and low wages in the U.K., rather than the price of food.

I have lived in many other countries and whenever I come back to the UK I am always shocked at how cheap food is. Of course it depends on what you are buying, but when you think, for example, what it takes to raise a chicken, it’s pretty amazing that you can buy a good quality one for £5 or £6.

In the past people used to spend a much bigger proportion of their income on food, and much less on other goods and services. The expectation in the developed world that you should be able to buy lots of stuff really cheaply has really skewed things, and not in a good way, particularly given that it’s not sustainable.

But people are struggling to make ends meet. There is massive inequality and many on low wages.

The rest of your post seems to say, but let's leave those people out of the equation, all food should be expected to be more expensive.

You can't leave those people out of the equation, the low paid play a big role in society the same as the higher paid or independently wealthy do and they have to eat to stay alive too.

There currently exists a food marketplace in the UK that provides food from low grade to very high grade with prices to match and there is not much wrong with that so long as people can get something to eat that's tolerable to eat and is within their price range.

Maybe basic cooking should be considered a life skill and taught at schools from an earlier age ? When I started Uni, I was the only one in a house of 4 that could cook a meal from scratch (as in peeling veg etc).

You'd be as well pointing out that clothes are stupidly cheap. You'd be right, but there would be a great pushback.

As for food, it is really bloody cheap here. So much unnecessary foodstuffs at low prices. So many convenient foods, so much misunderstanding/lack of knowledge about the real cost of cooking simple 'boring' foods.

I work in a food bank, used to run cooking classes, and know really well how some low waged people do and do not interact with food and cooking. There is a lot more than just cost involved. There is a lot of fear, based in unfamiliarity, around cooking.

Neither raising or lowering the price of food staples would make much difference to very many people with low socio-economic status.

I agree I think that food is cheaper here than in many countries and we do spend a smaller % of income on it compared to our grandparents. I think the problem is that the costs of housing, fuel and transport are so high (and generally fixed) that food is the one thing that people feel they should be able to spend less on. The problem is that if you want cheaper food you have to accept that somewhere down the line that will mean even lower wages for low paid agricultural/factory workers.

I remember hearing on radio 4 that if a chicken had gone up in line with house prices we would be paying £50 for a chicken!!!
Things have gotten really skewed. Housing now takes up so much of peoples wages that food being a real price would mean millions starving.
Food should be more expensive, farmers should make a profit without being subsidised, workers should be paid a decent wage to be able to afford to put food on plates but we can't afford more expensive until we address all the other issues.

Jack Monroe's kidney bean burgers used to be nine pence each. Now they're 15p. This is a huge increase. Many of us on the breadline know how to cook on a tight budget but the prices are increasing and it's unsustainable. Obviously those who are not well off will feel it the most. I'm glad you do not have to worry about the cost of food - it's a really miserable existence.

The chickens you mention are "cheap" because they're kept in awful conditions - their lives are wretched so that they can go from egg to fully grown chicken in seven weeks and give the farmer the most profit. They suffer so that you can have a chicken for a fiver. I cannot afford that and, in any case, I'd rather spend that money on dried beans - I can get much more protein and calories for the same price.

OP is right though in saying that food is more expensive in other countries. If those people are managing without food banks, and I presume they are? Then what is the difference? It is low wages, and things like housing costs etc. People here are struggling to pay everything and have any money left for food. The other things, housing, utilities, travel to work etc are non negotiable so the only budget pot left is the grocery one which then gets cut to the bone.

My friend who lives outside London pays around £500 p/m for her travel to and from London to work. A friend in Japan lives the same distance outside Tokyo, their commuter pass is £100 a month. Big difference. All across Europe there are affordable long term rental properties. It's hard to find that here. Food cost isn't the real problem.