FOOD COST
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reports that in 1919 the average American had to work 158 minutes to buy a three-pound chicken; nowadays, 15 minutes gets you the bird. Americans spend less than 6% of their after-tax income on groceries, a figure so low they can afford to spend another 4% eating out.
U.S. consumers spend roughly 10 percent of their income on food compared with 22 percent in the United Kingdom, 26 percent in Japan, 28 percent in South Africa and 51 percent in India. (2007)
The Japanese spend 16% of disposable income on food, and the Germans 17%. People in India still spend nearly half of their disposable income on food (1996 USDA). Daniel Akst 'Cheap Eats' Wilson Quarterly, Summer 2003.
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