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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI am laughing out loud watching the TODAY show talking about the downturn in cereal for breakfast.
They mentioned everything about consumers looking for more healthy eating choices, the pandemic, people going back to work and looking for more substantive food choices. The one driving force for the down turn never mentioned was PRICE. They mentioned it in passing as "value" but that word passes over the heads of most moms looking feed breakfast to four or five hungry kids in the morning and emptying a box of cereal that now holds 4 to 6 oz less of cereal.
Yes, the media is in partnership with the food industry that pays exorbitant ad fees that keep the media in business.
Consumers are slowly seeing the pricing greed and making different choices. Our local grocery store can't even stock many of their new inventories because last weeks stock is still on the shelf. Meats and seafood have been repackaged from a few days ago and being sold as "managers' specials" with price drops as much as 60%. But you have to by the specials and use them the same day to be sure they are safe to eat or they will spoil withing two day.
All the food industry, that is making record profits these days, is to lower prices and/or package fair weights and measures of their products. War is a racket. And so is food a racket.
And don't allow them to blame it all on increased wages. If you pay attention you have become the workers in these stores and their staffs have been cut my at least 40% as prices have gone up in some cases as much as 80% and content has gone down by 30%.
Fresh fruits and veggies are now a better bargain than packaged foods.
The rich don't complain because they hardly notice any difference because they have unearned income coming in at record levels too. Only working men and women can turn it around by fighting back with their consumer choices.
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jimfields33
(19,382 posts)They throw on “family size” which is what a regular box was ten years ago. Jerks!
TheBlackAdder
(29,981 posts).
The small boxes are $5 now and you only get 3 -4 bowls from them.
Bacon & eggs with a side is as cheap along with steel cut oatmeal with yogurt and a side.
.
fredamoss3
(82 posts)The package had gone up $5.00 since two weeks ago. I was shocked and asked if it was a mistake. To ad to the price scamming, the yellow ticket "sale" price for the smaller packs of 18 was 2/$26. Two weeks ago the large pack was 20.99 now it's $26.
I don't know how working families with children make it today.
fredamoss3
(82 posts)all condiments, hot doge, bacon, eggs.
There is no longer a supply chain issue and it's not wages because wages for farm workers and other average workers have not increased that much if at all. Same is true for gas and utility bills. The prices do not reflect true increases in costs. It is simply what the industries and corporations want to charge. There are no consequences for price gouging and there is no windfall profit tax to help the government revenues. It's just plain and simple greed and gouging with out consequences.
I have a bedridden father to take care of and the costs of his medical and hygiene supplies have tripled in the last year.
Walleye
(44,806 posts)
hatrack
(64,887 posts)Nibble nibble nibble, cut cut cut, gouge gouge gouge . . . they can never, ever ever get enough of your money, can they?
TexLaProgressive
(12,730 posts)I love it when they lie that it is for the customer’s’ convenience 
Extra sarcasm to account for shinkflation.
CrispyQ
(40,969 posts)I've seen 14-ounce cans instead of 16-ounce cans. WTF? Two ounces makes a diff in a lot of recipes.
Wednesdays
(22,602 posts)8 ounces. Then in became 7 1/2 ounces, then 7 ounces, then 6 1/2 ounces...
The standard now? 5 ounces. Enough for one sandwich. Barely.
Walleye
(44,806 posts)
bedazzled
(1,885 posts)I like their French vanilla but NO WAY!
keep_left
(3,210 posts)Coffee roasters like Peet's started doing that a few years ago. Peet's single-origin coffees (Brazil, Sumatra, etc.) are even less: 10 ounces/bag. Starbucks is still 12 ounces/bag, but they do the same thing as Peet's with their single-origin and specialty coffee (10 ounces/bag). 
Walleye
(44,806 posts)
keep_left
(3,210 posts)A lot of the K-Cup makers went from 12 cups to 10 cups per package...and usually raised the price. 
ProfessorGAC
(76,704 posts)The Folgers we buy is 32 or 48 ounces. So, they haven't reduced the weight of their product.
Which coffee is it that has reduced to 12 ounces? Want to be sure I avoid it.
Walleye
(44,806 posts)ProfessorGAC
(76,704 posts)But, I just checked the two 3# tubs we have on the basement shelf. One of them is 43.2 ounces. The other 48. So, they have jumped on the bandwagon.
Walleye
(44,806 posts)So down from probably 2 pounds to about a pound and a half and that’s a pretty good deal as it is
samnsara
(18,767 posts)..esp grapenuts with yogurt and fresh berries
....or a big ol bowl of Captain Crunch!
TheBlackAdder
(29,981 posts)MOMFUDSKI
(7,080 posts)but smaller quantities to stay within your carb range
phylny
(8,818 posts)It's not good to skip two meals a day. It kills your metabolism. Spread them out into smaller portions throughout the day. And MOVE! Exercise is really important.
Sky Jewels
(9,148 posts)Last edited Mon Sep 18, 2023, 12:28 PM - Edit history (1)
safe, healthy, and effective for most people. It mirrors how we ate in our long evolution as primates. We weren't snacking constantly throughout the day in the cave. It also helps control insulin levels, and a lot of doctors are recommending the practice for their diabetic patients.
When I do IF, I don't starve myself. I eat about 1500-1800 calories a day. I just eat it in a smaller window of time. It's fine for most people to not eat right away when they wake up -- it won't harm them to wait four or five hours to eat.
"Increase your metabolism by eating frequently" is actually a good way to gain weight. There have been many reputable studies that have debunked the metabolism/eating frequently/weight loss myth.
But I agree with you about exercise!
moonscape
(5,722 posts)agree with everything you said. I have more energy and feel much better eating in a small window.
Sky Jewels
(9,148 posts)I don't know if you've seen any of Dr. Jason Fung's videos. He is the guy on IF. He said something that really helped me with my mindset about hunger and IF. He pointed out hunger doesn't steadily increase until you eat -- it rises and falls with your leptin levels throughout the day. So if you're feeling hungry before it's time to break your fast, and you can ride it out for a little bit, your hunger will soon decrease.
In our culture we have become accustomed to putting food in our mouths at the slightest twinge of hunger. In the past, I'd feel almost panicky when I experienced an empty stomach. It took me a little while to kind of just roll with the slight hunger waves. I tell myself that that hunger is my body burning off some calories. 
moonscape
(5,722 posts)done a long fast for atophagy, much as I wish I could, because haven’t been able to for some reason. I did do 2 10-day fasts when I was in my 20’s in the early 70’s when fasting was a rage, but didn’t know what the blinkety-blink I was doing, i.e. how to properly break it, etc. So, I broke the 2nd one in NYC on a dinner of sole with red peppers in wine sauce, rice, a veggie I forget, and way too much wine. It might be the sickest I’ve ever been and I can still taste the entree! Stupid, ignorant youth.
Now, wouldn’t mind a more modest 3-4 day fast done properly, but might be too old to give it a whirl. Fung would say I’m not, but getting past the 2nd day is tough and I’m a wimp now.
a half portion of oat meal with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. Add Sweetener of your choice. If you like cheesecake , you'll like this. I add Raisins and chopped Walnuts. Don't use instant oat meal, it's worthless
Orrex
(67,111 posts)A few years back, while actual things were happening in the world, five adults on GMA chuckled sagely about breakfast cereal for 15 minutes. I clocked it, because I couldn't believe that I was seeing millionaires spending air time on this.
Then I realized that pretty much every segment on these morning shows, and for that matter on most long-form news programs, boils down to overpaid adults laughing about corn flakes.
housecat
(3,138 posts)housecat
(3,138 posts)
Dulcinea
(10,088 posts)She eats half a box at a sitting. I like cereal too, so I buy cereal BOGOs at Publix.
Freddie
(10,104 posts)My grandkids like corn flakes and they’ll eat the store brand which is way less than Kellogg’s. Their school has a free breakfast program which saves tons of time and $$.
PCIntern
(28,367 posts)Costs much more than the contents.
niyad
(132,440 posts)twenty years. I almost passed out from sticker shock. And then seeing cartts with four or five boxes of that stuff. .and complaining about their high grocery bills.
doc03
(39,086 posts)things, like cereal. But I can imagine feeding several kids, it has to be expensive. I buy the store brand on a lot of things, cheaper and about as good. The price of beef is what blows my mind steak $18 a pound. I asked the lady at the cheese counter in Kroger how much this wheel of cheese weighed she has, I think it was 84 pounds. She is selling it at $18.99 a pound $1600 for the wheel. I always check the out of date meat, sometimes get a real good price.
3Hotdogs
(15,368 posts)But at least they didn't raise the price.
hatrack
(64,887 posts)Steel cut oats or maybe oatmeal, but at least then you're getting ten or twelve breakfasts out of it.
But 8.5 ounces of Diabetes Corn Puffs for $6.95? Yeah, nah.
Freddie
(10,104 posts)You could actually support a family on a cashier’s job. I knew a guy with an accounting degree who worked at the Acme because it paid better. Those days are gone and grocery jobs are like any other retail job now. Plus with self-check they’re using fewer cashiers. So I don’t want to hear their garbage about how wages are driving up the price of food. It’s greed.
Ferrets are Cool
(22,957 posts)it gets very difficult to eat a healthy breakfast. Oatmeal is my go to, but even that gets expensive.
ebbie15644
(1,244 posts)Was diagnosed diabetic and even the "healthiest" cereal is full of carbohydrates. I now eat plain greek yogurt with berries most days.
You got it right! Add some hemp and chia seeds to get a little more fiber. Maybe some granola. It really will balance out your breakfast.
ebbie15644
(1,244 posts)When I can find it without a ton of sugar. Walnuts are good too
Try Trader Joe's granolas. The have gluten-free ones too, if you need that.
ebbie15644
(1,244 posts)GoCubsGo
(34,914 posts)I also add ground flax seeds and a few chopped nuts. Sometimes, I'll have half a chopped apple or pear, instead, depending on fruit prices. I always found that I was hungry within an hour of eating a bowl of cold cereal, even bran flakes. I'm sure the fact that I used skim milk didn't help matters, either. But, that was back in the days when they shoved low-fat/fat-free down our throats. (Don't get me started on that...)
ebbie15644
(1,244 posts)
RobinA
(10,478 posts)to be a decent snack or quick meal. I avoid the sugary kind, which I seem to have naturally grown out of. Raisin Bran! Keeps me going for awhile.
DFW
(60,186 posts)Self-made Müssli (oat flakes, wheat germ and flax seed) with dried cranberries and sliced nectarines. Skim milk.
Then hot tea, sweetened with home-made Apricot-cinnamon marmalade.
We got sidetracked before we could squeeze some orange juice.
EYESORE 9001
(29,732 posts)The nasty odors I picked up while passing didn’t exactly inspire confidence in their processes.
Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)America may be being gouged by free enterprise with little regulation, but by comparison it’s still a bargain…calorie wise and choice and abundance wise… not healthy wise.
Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)That's a big deal, and many people take it for granted. It costs tax money to enforce this safety.
DownriverDem
(7,014 posts)I would leave my cart before ever doing self check out. I complained at my local Krogers and they have more check out lines opened now. Also I'm lucky because I have other grocery choices.
Sympthsical
(10,969 posts)At Costco, you can get the huge double bag boxes for $5-$7. Sometimes less if it's on sale. We get Cheerios sometimes (I like it with bananas).
Then you go to Safeway and see the increasingly slender boxes for $6 a pop. Who's buying cereal at Safeway?! Even when they have coupons like 2 for $5 it still doesn't feel like good value.
Whenever I see anyone asking, "Why don't Americans feel like the economy is doing well?" my very first thought is, "Because they go to the grocery store."
housecat
(3,138 posts)
appleannie1
(5,457 posts)I make my own pancakes, waffles etc. or buy day old bread and make French toast or bread pudding and freeze what I don't eat right away to use later. Most of the cereal companies are now conglomerates and as such do not have much in the way of competition. Post and General Mills are now owned by Kraft/Heinz. They have bought out so many brands that it is hard to keep track. I tend to buy a lot of things at an overstock grocery store in our area. They have meats that have been frozen on their sell by date. You just have to be careful with things like dairy products. Some things I buy in bulk at Sam's or Costco like paper products etc. So I only buy paper towels or TP about twice a year. I never get fresh produce there because it would go bad before I could eat it and I don't have that much room in my freezer to freeze a lot. In the summer I have a container garden. I just finished canning and freezing all my tomatoes. I still have bell peppers to freeze yet. I have enough to keep me going all winter.
Xavier Breath
(6,640 posts)The famers make the same pennies on a boxcar no matter what brand you buy, so why pay two extra bucks a box to line the pockets of Kelloggs' stockholders?
edbermac
(16,449 posts)A month ago a carton contained 59 ounces, just bought one yesterday that was 52 ounces. And paid more than the 59 ounce one.
Chi67
(1,285 posts)Breakfast for me is yogurt, hemp seeds, berries and granola. Great start to the day.
housecat
(3,138 posts)Chi67
(1,285 posts)housecat
(3,138 posts)Xavier Breath
(6,640 posts)and I put it in a bowl, cover it with milk and eat it with a spoon. Yeah, I'm calling it cereal.
jaxexpat
(7,794 posts)Or as so much of the world sees as " extreme" wealth.
helpisontheway
(5,378 posts)I wish I could have a simple bowl of Raisin Bran right now. Soon..Will be heading home in a few days. In regards to price I switched to the off brand Raisin Bran at the commissary on base and Aldi. Much cheaper than the name brand.
multigraincracker
(37,651 posts)stores and no prepackaged foods. Read the ingredients and stay always from those with ingredients I can’t say or know what they are.
I suggest reading Highly Processed People. The author nails the food industry and health.
Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)He asked me once if I had made changes in my diet. I told him I was reading the labels on the foods I was buying. He told me if my food had a label on it I was eating the wrong foods. That is somewhat true, I suppose. He may be onto something, because he is retired nor and travels the world doing Iron Man Triathlons. He's in his 70s.
I'm still a carnivore, but I do eat healthier than I did in years gone by.
multigraincracker
(37,651 posts)buy store beef or pork.
I eat meat, mostly fish and lamb and an occasional goat. Most of those are not grain fed. I also eat deer, mostly fresh road kill and once in a while one I’ve shot. I end up shooting one about every 7 or 8 years. Has to be a perfect shot.
That’s just me and each to their own.
About the only cereal I buy is oatmeal. Old fashion type.
I try to follow this, but not religiously.
No matter what you eat, you can still get run over by a school bus or train.
multigraincracker
(37,651 posts)buy store beef or pork.
I eat meat, mostly fish and lamb and an occasional goat. Most of those are not grain fed. I also eat deer, mostly fresh road kill and once in a while one I’ve shot. I end up shooting one about every 7 or 8 years. Has to be a perfect shot.
That’s just me and each to their own.
About the only cereal I buy is oatmeal. Old fashion type.
I try to follow this, but not religiously.
No matter what you eat, you can still get run over by a school bus or train.
Response to Mr.Bill (Reply #64)
multigraincracker This message was self-deleted by its author.
Marthe48
(23,175 posts)and the giant food corporations are diligently pursuing profit at the cost of a starving world population. I can't say how many things I've crossed off my list. Forget processed food. I get store brand cereal, bake my own bread, and any low carb sweets. I look for bargains. If I buy fresh meat or fish that is marked down, I use it right away or repackage and freeze.
High food prices used to be linked to high fuel prices. Now, it is naked greed, using fear tactics to justify their obscene profits. And what the hell, we all have to eat, so the inhuman monsters in suits will make obscene amounts of money and brag to any other 1 percenter doing the same thing.
Bernardo de La Paz
(60,320 posts)Sky Jewels
(9,148 posts)are still usually pretty cheap, especially if you buy them in dried form (split peas, lentils, quinoa, etc.).
Response to fredamoss3 (Original post)
elocs This message was self-deleted by its author.
spooky3
(38,633 posts)Smaller cups, higher price.
RainCaster
(13,715 posts)Most of our produce comes from a local farm. Fantastic quality, costs less and more money goes where it will do some good.
Bulk food items come from Costco, where the profit margin is much lower. The quality of their meat is superior to any grocer.
We also buy from a local restaurant supply store which has much better pricing if you can handle the larger sizes of food items. Similar to Costco in that regard.
Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)serves a good lunch every day. They recommend a $5 donation, but it's free if you can't afford it. What they serve is good, and plenty of it, but it's not very healthy. I talked to the director of the place and told him they were serving a lot of calories for a lunch. He said the food is served with the assumption that for many it is their only meal of the day. Sad, but probably true.
NowISeetheLight
(4,002 posts)I DVR Today every morning. My routine is to go to bed at 9 pm, wake up around 1am with nightmares, and sit up until 4 am, then go back to bed (thanks PTSD). I just watched the episode. I had to think "slow news day."
The funny thing was I had cereal. I was out of eggs. I usually have 2 eggs w cheese and 3 sausage links. But my husband loves Rice Krispies. So I had a big bowl, with sugar, of course, as I watched it.
Cereal and gluten don't sit well after sleeve gastronomy surgery, so I paid for it. But I have to admit. It tasted GOOD.
hunter
(40,690 posts)
I've got meds for that and they're working for now, they suppress the nightmares somehow, but I'm not enjoying some of the side effects.