18 July 2023
Economist Jeremy Horpedahl strongly refuted the notion that capitalism intentionally creates food scarcity for profit, providing evidence of a significant decrease in household food expenditure as a percentage of income over the years. However, recent developments have raised concerns. When prompted by Jordan Peterson about the last two years, further investigation revealed a notable surge in food spending during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent government interventions.
Although the spending proportions have seemingly returned to their pre-pandemic levels, there is a disconnect between the quantitative data and the qualitative experiences of consumers. This discrepancy is attributed to the phenomenon known as “shrinkflation” and “skimpflation.” To maintain prices, businesses resort to reducing the quantity of food in packages, diluting products without changing the advertised amount, or implementing cost-cutting measures that may go unnoticed by consumers initially.
Mouseprint.org has highlighted instances of such practices, such as reduced weights of bagels, fewer sheets in paper towel rolls, and smaller volumes of dish soap containers. Moreover, some cases of skimpflation involve maintaining the same net weight but decreasing the quality or proportions of essential components, such as protein content in frozen dinners.
Additionally, consumers themselves have responded to rising prices by altering their purchasing habits. The January 2023 report on consumer inflation sentiment reveals that a significant percentage of respondents have reduced the quantity, quality, or both of their grocery purchases due to price increases. This indicates that consumers are making compromises and adjusting their choices based on affordability.