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comment by wasoxygen

Thanks for the analysis.

If it is simply a matter of getting calories, carbs, and protein into a human gut at the lowest cost, the freegan is going to win, dining on dumpster sushi or roadkill. If we are going to be at all realistic, the solution is going to have to at least appear to be a meal, even if it's not something you would want to eat three times a day.

thundara, you picked the very cheapest staples, and nearly half of your menu consists of a bowl of rice. Most people see these as ingredients, not food.

And while "appetizing" was not among the criteria, availability was, and there is a considerable opportunity cost difference between a stop at Mickey D's and a $90 internet order, secure delivery, sanitary storage, cooking, and cleanup. This is, I fear, a stretch for many of the people who see the Dollar Menu as a boon, and can't afford to lose sleep over potato monoculture.

kleinbl00, if we don't consider ingredients whose prices are distorted by government interference, we will be reduced to eating dandelions from the backyard. The soy in that brown powder you advocate is heavily subsidized, and Amazon's tax break is almost double that of McDonald's, according to the source for the article you cited.





thundara  ·  3891 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    If it is simply a matter of getting calories, carbs, and protein into a human gut at the lowest cost, the freegan is going to win

Or die of dysentery because they ate food that was trashed for a reason. (I have friends who will dive, but it's very much an at-your-own-risk proposition.)

    Most people see these as ingredients, not food.

Careful with your assumptions. Rice and beans is a staple in most other countries. It's not gourmet, but we're working with a dollar here. I have a breakfast of oatmeal made from those rolled oats and whatever else I feel like adding on top that day. It's less pleasant without cut fruit or ground nuts, but it's food. My only key additive is ground flax seeds for the bowels.

    And while "appetizing" was not among the criteria, availability was

Let's not change the ball game, nothing is going to beat fast food on this mark. I'm responding to claim directly made in the title of the submission. I did try to pick items that store well in bulk, though. Up-front costs may seem a bit high, but then you can sit each of them in a sealed plastic container and stave off starvation for another month.

Also, tangential fact, those Red Mill Rolled Oats have a 73% markup over what I get for my house.

wasoxygen  ·  3891 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Careful with your assumptions. Rice and beans is a staple in most other countries.
I don't want to upset the rice fans. I would have guessed rice as the "greatest food in human history" before seeing this provocative story on the Freakonomics blog. It's true, when there are no better alternatives, people will even eat mud pies[1]. But I strongly suspect, and some reading suggests[2], that rice and beans is topped with meat, vegetables or some kind of garnish whenever possible. And even if arroz con frijoles meets the criteria, it does not mean the McDouble does not.

    Let's not change the ball game, nothing is going to beat fast food on this mark. I'm responding to claim directly made in the title of the submission.
Your alternative wins in cost-per-calorie, but I don't think that's very meaningful. A sack of sugar would do even better. My request was for an argument that the McDouble is not, as the author claims in his first paragraph, cheap, nutritious, and bountiful.

    It's not gourmet, but we're working with a dollar here.
This is the crux. It's a dollar! What else can you buy for a dollar? You are already a little over budget with your monochromatic staples, and you still have to supply kitchen utensils, a stove, energy costs, and now a plastic container. I'm getting "tangy pickles, minced onions, ketchup and mustard" thrown in! People may be eating plain rice and beans around the world, but how many of them would switch to the burger if it were available?

McDonald's is doing something singular here. I can give a guy on the sidewalk a dollar, and if he is fortunate enough to live in a state with no sales tax on food, he can have something tolerably pleasant and relatively safe to eat ten minutes later.

In my view, the author is vindicated, despite being a smartass.

• Cheap: I think we all agree on this, though we may have reservations about why it's cheap.

• Nutritious: If it means "contains nutrition," this is hard to argue.

• Bountiful: More than 33,000 locations[3]. Where two all-beef patties are not popular, the McAloo Tikki[4] is available (about US50¢ on the Happy Price Menu[5]).

[1] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080130-AP-ha...

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_and_beans

[3] http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/our_story/mcdonalds_worldwide....

[4] http://www.mcdonaldsindia.net/happy-price-menu.aspx

[5] http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/terms-eat-today.html