This is at all times an important matter, but the notable
increase in food prices, during the last decade, has made it a
matter of interest to all. The cost of food is one item only
in the whole cost of living, and this is affected by many con-
ditions in manufacture and commerce and the business of
the nations. Economists and others interested in social
questions are studying the problem, but as yet they do not
agree upon the cause, or causes, of the increased cost of living.
We cannot hope, therefore, to understand the situation fully ;
but we must be determined to spend money as wisely as we
can, and to learn what we may about food prices in relation to
food values. There are a few causes of the difference in price
between one food and another that are more or less unchang-
ing. The cost of food may be considered from several points
of view. The question of the cost for each individual a day
and relation of cost and nutritive value are studied in Chapter
XVIII. The proportion of the income to be spent for food
is taken up in Chapter XIX.
Labor and prices. — The amount of labor involved in
producing a food material affects its price. Meats cost
more than staple vegetable foods, like corn, wheat, or beans,
because we must raise the com first to feed the animals.
Meat is as cheap as vegetable foods only when the animal
can find its own food, as in the pioneer days of any country,
when only a small part of the land is under cultivation. To
the Pilgrim Fathers, meat was cheaper than com, in terms of
278
THE COST AND PURCHASING OF FOOD 279
labor, with deer at hand m the forest and com raised with
difficulty in small clearings. Meat production is now an
industry, and the product an Expensive one, especially as the
wide cattle ranges of our West, where the animals have for-
merly found natural food, are now used more and more for
other purposes.
Transportation. — Carrjdng food from place to place in-
creases its cost. In one sense this is another form of labor.
Each person who handles the food material from producer
to consumer adds something to what the consumer pays.
We have heard much discussion of late of the " middleman,"
and the effort to bring the producer and consumer closer
together. This simply means doing away with some person
who handles the product after it leaves the producer and
before it reaches the consumer and who must have something
for his labor. In transportation there is another element in-
volved, the original cost of the means of conveyance ; and the
natural wear and tear on the product are items that increase
the final cost. The modern farmer who carries his produce
to market in an auto truck must have a return for the original
cost of the truck and the keeping of it in repair. The long-
distance railway furnishes cold-storage cars, and the cost of
these and their maintenance aflfect freight rates. A peach
from South Africa costs from fifty to sixty cents in the Boston
market. It is probably true, in this case, that a fancy price
is asked because African fruit is a novelty here ; but the diffi-
culty and expense of long-distance transportation naturally
make it costly.
Page 138
Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
This is at all times an important matter, but the notable increase in food prices, during the last decade, has made it a matter of interest to all. The cost of food is one item only in the whole cost of living, and this is affected by many conditions in manufacture and commerce and the business of the nations. Economists and others interested in social questions are studying the problem, but as yet they do not agree upon the cause, or causes, of the increased cost of living. We cannot hope, therefore, to understand the situation fully ; but we must be determined to spend money as wisely as we can, and to learn what we may about food prices in relation to food values. There are a few causes of the difference in price between one food and another that are more or less unchanging. The cost of food may be considered from several points of view. The question of the cost for each individual a day and relation of cost and nutritive value are studied in Chapter XVIII. The proportion of the income to be spent for food is taken up in Chapter XIX.
Labor and prices. — The amount of labor involved in producing a food material affects its price. Meats cost more than staple vegetable foods, like corn, wheat, or beans, because we must raise the com first to feed the animals. Meat is as cheap as vegetable foods only when the animal can find its own food, as in the pioneer days of any country, when only a small part of the land is under cultivation. To
the Pilgrim Fathers, meat was cheaper than com, in terms of
labor, with deer at hand m the forest and com raised with difficulty in small clearings. Meat production is now an industry, and the product an Expensive one, especially as the wide cattle ranges of our West, where the animals have formerly found natural food, are now used more and more for other purposes.
Transportation. — Carrying food from place to place increases its cost. In one sense this is another form of labor. Each person who handles the food material from producer to consumer adds something to what the consumer pays. We have heard much discussion of late of the " middleman," and the effort to bring the producer and consumer closer together. This simply means doing away with some person who handles the product after it leaves the producer and before it reaches the consumer and who must have something for his labor. In transportation there is another element involved, the original cost of the means of conveyance ; and the natural wear and tear on the product are items that increase the final cost. The modern farmer who carries his produce to market in an auto truck must have a return for the original cost of the truck and the keeping of it in repair. The longdistance railway furnishes cold-storage cars, and the cost of these and their maintenance affect freight rates. A peach from South Africa costs from fifty to sixty cents in the Boston market. It is probably true, in this case, that a fancy price is asked because African fruit is a novelty here ; but the difficulty and expense of long-distance transportation naturally make it costly.