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by aaronax 1305 days ago
If you were to consider that in ye olden days the majority of things in the vegetable aisle would have been simply unavailable out of season, does it seem a bit less like price gouging? Transport is likely the most significant cost.

I suppose our food production has generally centralized over time to the regions that can grow these vegetables all year, and almost no vegetables are grown locally. So we end up paying the transportation costs, even during the four weeks in the fall when we could be overwhelmed by cheap locally-grown vegetables.

My ability to get broccoli in November in North Dakota is quite remarkable?
3 comments
thewebcount 1305 days ago
That's an interesting point. I live in Southern California, in Los Angeles. I'm maybe a 50 minute drive from Oxnard where a large portion of our vegetables are grown. (If I recall, more vegetables in the US come from Ventura County than any other place in the world.) They don't have to be shipped very far and a lot more stuff is in season here than in other parts of the country. Just checking the things the person above mentioned on my local Ralph's (Kroger's), I see the cheapest ground beef = $5.99/lb. and brussels sprouts are $2.99/lb. for loose sprouts. That seems like a high price ratio to me, but I certainly don't know all of the logistics.
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borvo 1305 days ago
No. Veggies are much less expensive in many other countries with similar selections available. Something is different in the US.
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peanuty1 1295 days ago
Might be corn subsidies in the US.
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dfxm12 1305 days ago
My ability to get broccoli in November in North Dakota is quite remarkable?

Oh, it is remarkable, but this is an honest question, do you really care?

I mean, I could get fresh tomatoes year round, but they're garbage outside of summer. When we buy things in season, they tend to be cheaper and taste better. Right now in my area, apples are plentiful and cheap! I really wish my supermarket would do some curation of products and only put the best stuff out for sale. I honestly don't care that I wouldn't be able to buy any (expensive, bland) fresh tomatoes right now. That's why we have cans...

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