People are boycotting Loblaws in May to protest it’s high prices. In my opinion, this is kind of futile for several reasons. Firstly, Loblaws prices aren’t anymore expensive than other middle/high end groceries, and No Frills prices is comparable to Freshcos and Walmart. Their Optimum loyalty program is great and as a poor person I often shop at their stores.
The boycott mindset also is ignoring the main drivers of higher food prices: climate change, organic inflation that hasn’t peaked yet or become truly unreasonable, and war. We know this true because this inflation is impacting all developed western nations. All these factors drive up prices, and corporate greed, while probably another significant factor, is actually low on the list of causes.
There is no question that food prices have risen alot over the past 4 years and many people struggle to afford groceries. This has more to do with poverty, low wages and inadequate income, and Conservative driven austerity, take from the poor attitudes than corporate greed.
There are real things people can do to reduce and halt inflation. Voting for Liberal/left parties is a big one. Another is changing your diet. If people are worried about their grocery bill, then a practical solution is to go whole foods vegan. As a whole food vegan, I usually spend between $300-400 a month on groceries. I could even spend less, and do sometimes, and still eat a healthy diet. But there is no way I could meet my protein and nutritional needs on a processed food, fully carnivoroius diet for that amount. It would be at least another $100 if not more.
So if you really want to make a change to food inflation:
1. Vote for climate action and live green
2. Never vote conservative, and vote for climate action, a UBI, guarenteeed income and higher wages, doubling benefits and poverty reduction. Climate change and poverty are just going to make food prices worse, not to mention eventual food shortages if we don’t put a curb on global warming and the maintenance of poverty and the hate based attitudes that uphold it.
3. Go vegan. As a poor person I can be healthy and satisfied and eat lots of yummy, easy to prepare foods as a vegan. There is no way I could be a healthy carnivore or eat a mostly processed plant based diet on my budget. As for not being able to cook vegan food, just learn to. Its the same as cooking non vegan food. Cooking skills are life skills and if budgetting, an essential way to reduce food prices.
On the topic of food prices, what to me is really the problem, is people overwhining about the cost of planet destroying, resource guzzling/wasting meat/fish, eggs and dairy when healthy, equally tasty vegan version exisits that don’t destroy out planet and overuse its resources. I have zero sympathy here. There is no need for meat, dairy, egg poverty. I also actually support very high prices on all meat, fish, eggs and dairy because it shows the true cost of them in terms of environmental and climate harm, cost of breeding animals, the extreme cruelty and harm to animals, extreme, wasteful resource use and healthcare costs.
In our world and time, we all need to make big changes to keep things, including plenty and prices, the same. Thankfully, in terms of going vegan, its all good and beneficial, so no one needs to feel deprived.
So look behind the prices and see the truth. It’s not greed, its reality, life, our times and its time for humanity to accept it. To make real positive change, we all need to grow up, wake up, go green and go vegan! For our planet, our humanity, for the animals and for ourselves.
