There’s a new buzzword a blowin’ in the wind amongst the politicians’ run-of-the-mill pandering and false promises that are typical in an election year here in the good old US of A.
It’s apparently such a threat that Elizabeth Warren has even introduced a bill to crack down on it.
The dreaded word is Shrink-flation.
In case you somehow haven't heard about it, Shrinkflation is the phenomena whereby the handful of corporations that own a majority of the companies that make our food are gradually shrinking the amount of food in packages and containers and charging us the same or, in some cases, even more for them.
I get that this is a real problem for American families in these tough economic times but shrinkflation doesn’t seem to register anywhere near the top of the list of our country’s more pressing problems. I find it rather interesting that our politicians have chosen this particular issue to wage war against. The concept of shrinkflation comes across as only scratching the surface, or maybe even a smokescreen for a more the larger issue.
I think the real threat here is actually Greedflation.
Sorry, I know this word is pretty lame but I was hard pressed to come up with a better one. For decades corporations of all kinds have increased their profit margins by lowering the quality of the materials and ingredients they sell us. This applies to pretty much everything you can think of.
Now that they’ve cheapened the ingredients as much as they possibly can, the only trick left up their sleeves to keep profits growing is to come up with sneaky ways to give us less of the same low quality crap than they did before. In the case of junk food they might actually be doing us a favor by giving us less.
I was perusing YouTube the yesterday and I came across this interesting video about Chef Boyardee (a bit of trivia—the chef’s surname was actually Boiardi before it was changed to the phonetic spelling to be more marketable).
Anyone growing up in America in the last seventy years probably remembers Chef Boyardee’s line of products. The quality of their food was already declining significantly in the 1970’s. I mean it was palatable but not the greatest tasting or healthiest thing you could have on your table. The meat was especially suspect. Without fail, seconds after opening the cans you were enveloped with a fragrance that was a cross between the metallic scent of the can and dirty feet (likely from the low-budget parmesan cheese).
What I didn’t realize is that this company, now owned by mega food corp ConAgra, used to sell extremely high quality food made from healthy ingredients. I remember all too well what Chef Boyardee spaghetti tasted like in my childhood and I wanted to compare this to what the original recipe tasted like.
I found this original Chef Boyardee spaghetti dinner recipe from the 1930's online. I can’t help but taste for myself how much greedflation and the megacorp ConAgra have changed it.
I’ll be buying all of the ingredients and making this original Chef Boiardi spaghetti dinner recipe next week. Who knows, I might even buy a can of Chef Boyardee spaghetti to conduct my own side-by-side taste comparison.
Now, even my taste buds will get to experience how far we've fallen because of greedflation. I can almost guarantee the original recipe doesn't have a bouquet of metal and feet.
If you decide to try this recipe for yourself please let me know what you think!
Buona giornata. Thank you for reading!
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The recipe sounds really good. I might try it.
I bought a package of pepperidge farm cookies a month ago. The package was the same size, but the cookies were noticeably smaller. The uproar over this is stupid, though. Would we rather the prices were raised? Clearly, inflation is real, however much the Biden administration would like to pass that buck to the corporations. We are better off with less of this food. I am certainly better off with fewer cookies.
So stupid. Smoke and mirrors. "Don't look at what the war machine is doing world wide! Look closely at your cookies instead!"
I'm definitely going to be making it this week. It seems simple enough, that's my kind of cooking. : )
Oh I used to love the Pepperidge Farm brand, especially their Gold Fish snacks. It always seemed upper echelon to us compared to other brands when we were growing up. I remember a small loaf of white bread they used to sell, I think it was marketed for hors d'oeuvres and small sandwiches. The sugar content must've been pretty high in it because my brother and I would usually make it disappear quickly.
Smoke and mirrors, for sure. It's insulting that they think this kind of pandering will work but, sadly, it probably will. I see people jumping on the "shrinkflation" bandwagon everywhere.
I owned a bakery for many years. When times got tough, my products got smaller. No one noticed, not like they would had I raised prices. There's no shame in trying to keep a business alive. I find this insulting too. Biden, or whatever is handling him, thinks we are very stupid. Unfortunately, many of us are, perhaps even those of us who think we know what's really going on, you and me! I'm now aware that we are all being played, layer upon layer of players playing the folks "beneath" them, or in their control in some way. I've been blaming doctors, for instance, for the covid con, but they are being played by the players above them. Check the trailer out below; I gotta get this movie, my thanks to @activistpost for providing the info. We are all being mind controlled in some way. MSM is a control device, shackles on our minds. There are other shackles, all around us, in our hands, on our tables, in our utility meters, cars, bar codes. Everywhere. They tell us what to think and do. Not an easy situation to get out of!
And did you see this movie?
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/28/three-identical-strangers-review-triplets-research-tim-wardle
You are absolutely correct! Many of their efforts hurt small businesses much more than they do the big corporations. Even the most wide awake among us are probably many steps behind. We are all getting played in multiple ways and it's been that way for quite some time. We're watching West Wing now and it's interesting to measure how much has change and how much has remained the same since the late 1990's. The biggest changes I've noticed since we started the series are our reliance on technology and how much "political correctness" has expanded. It's been quite educational. Thank you for the links, I haven't seen the movie yet but I'll check it out!
Wow, that is pretty interesting. I used to love the make your own pizza kits back in the day. It wasn't like pizzeria style dough, but it was still good. I remember we used to get to make our own pie and it was such a special occasion. The whole bill seems like a bait and switch to me. I used to really like Warren, she had some positions on human rights issues that I could really get behind, but lately her fiscal policies have been quite concerning. I'm looking forward to hearing how the recipe turns out!
We loved that pizza making kit too! We didn't have it often, it was more like a treat for us too but there was just something special about making your own pizza.
I never knew how corrupt Warren was until recently either (aside from her Native American debacle). Her close ties to Wall Street and actions and decisions surrounding crypto have been inexcusable. She's also not a very good politician, very few of the bills she sponsors even pass. I guess if you're going to have a corrupt politician it's best for everyone if they're ineffective. : )
I'll be sure to report back on the recipe! I hope you try it.
She has definitely gone off the rails a bit. I'm starting to think a third party vote is more and more likely for me this year. I will just need to be sure I do my research.
I agree! I'm looking at RFK Jr. It's going to all depend on who he choses for his running mate.
Mmmnn, can and feet....Your description is giving credit where none is due LOL. There is nothing good coming from one of those cans. We were fed the spaghettios as kids decades and decades ago and it seemed pretty good as I recall. When my son was 6 years old (24 years ago) years ago I bought some for him in order to experience my time honored childhood memory of said nummies and you would have thought I tried to poison him lol. When I tasted it, I had to agree with his description of the taste. It was gross and tasted like 'dead' lol. I shudder to think what it must taste like an additional 24 years later.
I do 100% agree that it is entirely greedflation. The corporations are oftentimes touting record profits, meanwhile knowledgeable consumers aren't buying the
greedshrinking. Vote with your dollars is a daily motto of mine.Lol, ugh, the smell! I still remember it. I think independent testing discovered there was actually wood pulp in that "cheese". I imagine you'd get a fair amount of fiber from that at least.
I haven't tried any of the Chef Boyardee products since the 80's and I can't even imagine how bad they are now. I can guess the sodium, sugar, and flavor enhancers have all been increased.
Yes, voting with our dollars feels good. I think this is one of the few real powers the common person has left.
Even as far afield as in South Africa my friend. Nowadays if you buy a lovely tube of toothpaste, you have to squeeze half of the tube before anything emerges. Same with medicine creams, and a lot of other stuff. Such is life.
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Oh yes, there's less of everything in packaging these days. They're making lots of money on that extra air in things like toothpaste tubes and potato chip bags!
Agreed, millions are made every day, and if it was used to uplift the poor people in the country, it would be bearable, but sadly all of the profits gets wings.
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BEER.I think this is happening almost everywhere and I'm glad it's public and it's something to fight against now. It's so sad how a pack of juice as large as the size of my palm changed to the size of half my palm and it's been sold for more than the price it used to be. Like you said,this is greed. And it's wrong.
The word "Shrinkflation" has been around for a long time. I remember talking about it at university 25 years ago. Interesting that politicians are only now making a fuss about it. Pandering at its finest, as you say. Elizabeth Warren especially is the queen of pandering. At one time I had hopes for her, in her move away from the GOP hardliners to be more of an independent, but geez, she has been pretty much your standard politician since, just doing anything to get attention and not much more.
Greedflation is a great term. I think most Americans don't really understand what inflation is. Prices go up, but beyond that they don't really get it, which is why more descriptive words like "shrinkflation" work in the first place. Adding "greed" there would give more emotion to the word and clue people in about how bad it is. For that same reason, I really want the press to rename lobbying to what it really is: bribery.
At any rate, I agree with you. These giant corporations have been screwing us in one way or another for years. Cut quality, cut healthy ingredients, lower amount. I'm sure eventually they'll revert to the old trick of mixing in sawdust to increase volume. We are suppose to have government organizations to watch over and prevent this kind of thing, but... well, we're back to corruption again.
Anyway, let us know how cooking his original recipe goes!
I really have come to dislike Warren these past few years. I'm so tired of politicians not standing for anything but searching for issues to fight for that they think will garner the most attention or public support. We're watching the West Wing now and, although it's fictional, there is a lot of truth woven in and it sure did seem like there was a lot more integrity in Washington back then. I think the corporations are just so much more embedded in our government now than they were in the early 2000's, that's the real difference.
The recipe was interesting! I made it a couple of nights ago. I think I'll be doing an short post about it soon with photos. The sauce itself was a little bland for my taste without the garlic but together with the buttered pasta and the parm it was super good. Next time I'll be adding fresh garlic. I even used some of the leftover sauce on a cauliflower pizza crust and it was very tasty.
Looks like it's delicious. The food that was our favorite as a child is unmatched. It definitely tastes delicious. However, in terms of taste, of course there are differences as time passes. Have a nice day, Eric.
Thank you Eliana!
The same is happening in my country, companies are reducing the quality of the product to increase their margin, but they are killing the user experience and they will pay for that in the long run for sure.
It's been going on here since, at least, the 1970's and consumers have slowly gotten used to the diminished quality, for the most part. People seem to be really upset when portions and sizes are reduced though!
can't they do anything against it? The People?
We can vote with our dollars and buy better products or grow/make our own food at home.
Making our own food is a good choice in my point of view. at least it will healthy.
"Now that they’ve cheapened the ingredients as much as they possibly can, the only trick left up their sleeves to keep profits growing is to give us less of the low quality crap than they did before. In the case of junk food they might actually be doing us a favor by giving us less."
I can't tell you how many times I've had the above mental conversation running through my mind. I find myself thinking "do they really think we won't notice?" I notice, but I'm an old girl and know how much better quality and quantity these things used to be too. My mother was an avid cook, but we still had some Chefboyrdee things and we loved it.
The food companies have no care to what they are putting out as long as somebody buys it. In cheapening everything, they have added so much more sugar and salt to everything to help it still have a flavor that will be acceptable to many. As the food quality declines, so does the general health of the masses. Kinda sad.
I can't imagine the profit margin for things like potato chips. The bag is 95% air now. We're actually paying for grease-scented air. Lol.
My wife and I choose quality over quantity now too. At 52 I can't believe how my body reacts to the mainstream products now. Everything is so laden with sweeteners and salt.
SOMEBODY is getting RICH ! I wonder if they eat their own products? 😄
I noticed a little while back that Lays has finally made their bag smaller on some products, not shorter, but more narrow and some of it when opened has the illusion that the bag is fuller (well it is, but it is not more product than before when it looked half full). I guess they finally found that they could save money on the bag too !
All the salt and no-telling-what kinds of other additives definitely makes many products these days cause issues when consumed. More and more old favorites are dropping off my grocery list.
They're definitely creative! I've noticed really odd weights / measurements of products too, like 11.5oz or 10oz when the products used to be 12oz.
I won't eat hardly any of the brands we grew up with anymore but, oddly, I love the occasional White Castle cheeseburger. I guess we have to pick our poisons. Lol.
We do ! I can't claim not to still eat some of the bad stuff myself and White Castle is still good. I only eat them once or twice a year, but I still enjoy them.
Picking our poison would be SO much funnier if it weren't so totally the truth of things.
Ok... it's still funny.
I still enjoy Castles too. Except for the price, they haven't changed one bit since the 1970's. : )
I guess this practice is everywhere, even over here once a product is launched it would only take a few years maximum before its quality gradually decreases.
It can be very annoying when you no longer get the same quality of a product you are used to even at a higher price. !LUV
This is true for the most part I think. There are some smaller brands out there who still care about quality but you have to really do your homework because the larger mega corps have a tendency to buy these companies stealthily then gradually decrease the quality of the ingredients to increase profit margins.
These are also true, it is just a crazy world out there.
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This is not new, it has been happening for a long time. The food quality of the companies was once very good, but not now
Yes, here in America it's gone on at least since the 1970's and maybe even before that.
It is true that the politicians who are there, their hunger for money still cannot end even if the country is destroyed, but they have to take money from this country and live a luxurious life, it is because of such politicians. Our country has also never been able to develop.
It's sad. Unfortunately those political offices, more often than not, attract sociopaths who only care about wealth and power. It's the same way all across the globe. Once in a great while an altruistic politician comes along but it's not nearly often enough. Maybe A.I. will find a way to solve this? It's one of the great barriers to the evolution of the human race.
Hey peeps, look over here while we're doing stuff over there ... Of course, "shrinkflation" is another one of those non-essential topics to debate upon. Plus we all know where the "war against XYZ" marketing campaigns lead to => more dividends for the architects of the game.
A simple look at the best-performing ad campaign entitled "the war against cancer" reveals the outcomes: more cancer aka more money. Healthy people who eat healthy, nutritious food, exercise, sleep well and have harmonious relationships don't make money.
Exactly! Bait and switch, smoke and mirrors, etc. They have successfully mapped out the psychological tactics that work. This template can be applied to almost anything and, most often, it works without use realizing we've been manipulated.
Yeah, it's sad that pretty much the only thing that is still pure food is what you get from a farmer's market or some other fresh source...
I would hate to know what we'll be eating in another fifty years.
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True! You even have to be careful at local farmers markets, as we've found. Some of the vendors sell GMO products and others even buy their products from local produce distributors (the same ones who sell to grocery stores). We live in a larger city though and this may not happen in rural and smaller metropolitan areas.
I think healthy food will become more difficult to find. Also, food labels will also be more confusing, making it difficult to know what you're consuming.
Thank you!
If you look at the labels, some of the stuff in there doesn't exactly sound like food. Hopefully people revolt before it gets too bad.
!PIZZA is still tasty though 🤣
There are tons of chemicals in our food! They're getting deceptive about how they list things like sugar content too. They can reduce total sugar on the label if they add sugar alcohol (erythritol) because that's listed separately and the product can be marketed as "low sugar". Erythritol is extremely bad for the human gut microbiome and this stuff is in a lot of protein bars that are marketed as "healthy".
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to make it with healthy tasteless stuff 😂
This generally happens in an hyperinflation economy period.
Ohhh that’s what it’s called, never in my wildest dream would I have thought that such an act has a name.
Thank you so much Eric your posts are always educating, after reading it one must pick a thing or two from it and that’s amazing.
Thanks Tammy! So glad you enjoyed it.
Conagra Brands, from 2010-2023 (the only years I found data for) has had a net profit margin ranging from -20% to +11% or so. In 2023 their net profit margin was +8%. That doesn't really indicate "greed"flation to me or at least it hasn't been particularly effective. Shrinkflation is just a way to hide increased costs. Wal-Mart has done this for many years with special packaging with many of the products they carry. This is one reason their prices are often lower.
The root problem is inflation. Not greedflation and not shrinkflation. When business operating cots go up, so do consumer prices.
The insidiousness of these kind of corporations run so much deeper than just the profit margins, which for Conagra in 2023 was to the tune of $1.5B. These companies use their leverage and influence to squeeze out smaller companies and to help write government policy allowing for more unhealthy/addictive/cheaper ingredients to be added into foods. These publicly traded megacorps' sole purpose are to perpetually grow profit margins quarter over quarter to increase stock price and that would be the case in an inflationary economic environment or not. It wouldn't be such a huge problem if the regulatory agencies weren't being so heavily influenced by the same corporations who they're supposed to be regulating but, sadly, this isn't the case anymore.
Oh... I'm looking forward to the next post on this!
So nice to spend a morning reading my fave bloggers here! :D
This is a good 'un. Again
If you havet seen History 101 (was on Netflix) and the episode on the fast food industry in the USA, I'd highly recommend it!
Fascinating
It'll go well with your cooking experience and best post, possibly.
Hope you're well, E
Nice to see you cooking on Hive 😊
I'm excited about making the recipe. I've read the comments on the website where the recipe was posted and I don't think it's going to disappoint.
I love History 101! There's a YouTube channel called Bobby Parrish that's super educational in regard to food/health.
Thank you, I hope all is well with you too!
Lekker!
Gonna check it out. Thanks for the heads up. Okay... get cooking then Chef.
I'll be following you. Enjoy the day, E
Even in my country, companies are choosing profit over delivering a quality user experience, which is a risky move.
The one that is not getting much air time (at least not yet) is what I have come to think of as "luxuryflation."
You completely drop your budget line out of your product selection, simply take it off the shelves, and replace it with a top of the line premium line so that there no longer IS a $2.50 option, only the new $7.99 option.
Lately, I've been noticing this with pasta sauce in jars, with yogurt, and with certain kinds of bread. Oh, and it's starting with salad dressing, too.
I wasn't aware of this. I have seen $13 jars of pasta sauce and $10 cartons of eggs but where I shop the cheaper options (which really aren't that cheap anymore) are still available. It's really frightening how expensive everything is getting. I feel for those families trying to raise kids in this economy. I just can't imagine how people are pulling it off. Lots of sacrifice probably.
When it comes dto food companies and restaurants, I think it is necessary to pay a close attention to the ingredients also because it helps to make and mar the outcome and quality of the food
It looks delicious, I will also tell family to cook it at home once
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You raised a valid question. That's how these companies is. first they make people addicted to their products, then gradually they start to earning profits by reducing their quantity and even quality. I think they should keep the same quality as from one day was .Other wise we should stop using their products.
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Quite at first when I saw the name Greedflation, I was thinking it is another word i might not understand but i now understand how it actyally works