Comments on: Living paycheck to paycheck, on Wonderbread and ramen http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/ the art of biology & the biology of art Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:54:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: cicada http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-26459 cicada Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:39:20 +0000 http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-26459 love Portland, but oh yeah - VERY pricey food there. And I think people often fail to understand that if you can't afford the wine, Calphalon and chanterelles, cuisine is not nearly as much fun. My family had a number of "cheap" recipes that worked better with generic ingredients and substitutes, for our tougher months - because you CAN'T cook a lot of good food on the cheap. Somehow, I didn't find making potato chip and tuna casserole to be an enjoyable experience after working all night at the pea freezing plant (which, incidentally, is why I can no longer stand peas) Oh for the days of personal garden plots and fresh veggies. . . love Portland, but oh yeah - VERY pricey food there. And I think people often fail to understand that if you can’t afford the wine, Calphalon and chanterelles, cuisine is not nearly as much fun. My family had a number of “cheap” recipes that worked better with generic ingredients and substitutes, for our tougher months - because you CAN’T cook a lot of good food on the cheap. Somehow, I didn’t find making potato chip and tuna casserole to be an enjoyable experience after working all night at the pea freezing plant (which, incidentally, is why I can no longer stand peas)

Oh for the days of personal garden plots and fresh veggies. . .

]]> By: RedMolly http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25936 RedMolly Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:58:11 +0000 http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25936 Great, thought-provoking post. As a resident of possibly the food-snobbiest city in the US (Portland, OR), it drives me crazy to hear these elitist attitudes. It's as if people don't realize that even if lentils (beans, whatever) are a pound-for-pound inexpensive food, you still need a lot of potentially expensive resources to turn dry lentils (beans, whatever) into edible stew. Would YOU enjoy eating plain dry lentils boiled in water? No? Do you think they would taste better with additional ingredients like, oh, fresh greens, sweet potatoes, chicken broth, seasonings, all those things that make your "cheap" lentil stew suddenly exponentially more expensive? And after a day on your feet at a minimum-wage job, sometimes the last thing you want to do is come home and schlep lentils anyway. Much easier to give in to the siren song of the ramen, or the McD's dollar menu. Great, thought-provoking post. As a resident of possibly the food-snobbiest city in the US (Portland, OR), it drives me crazy to hear these elitist attitudes.

It’s as if people don’t realize that even if lentils (beans, whatever) are a pound-for-pound inexpensive food, you still need a lot of potentially expensive resources to turn dry lentils (beans, whatever) into edible stew. Would YOU enjoy eating plain dry lentils boiled in water? No? Do you think they would taste better with additional ingredients like, oh, fresh greens, sweet potatoes, chicken broth, seasonings, all those things that make your “cheap” lentil stew suddenly exponentially more expensive?

And after a day on your feet at a minimum-wage job, sometimes the last thing you want to do is come home and schlep lentils anyway. Much easier to give in to the siren song of the ramen, or the McD’s dollar menu.

]]> By: Annie http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25413 Annie Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:14:54 +0000 http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25413 There was a documentary on PBS a while back about this topic, focusing on Burlington, VT, near where I grew up, and where there's plenty of money and plenty of poverty. There was a food shelter featured that got donations of day-old bread from a fancy bakery, and no one would take it. Similarly, when planning started for a co-op in the downtown area, where there was no other grocery store, people had to fight for Wonder Bread to be sold there. I'm not sure what all that means, but I get it. Like the enlightened commenter said, it's something about comfort. I grew up on a farm in a tiny, poor town, and we were certainly poor, but lucky enough to get good food from our livestock and garden. It was a real treat when we went to the bread outlet to get expired doughnuts for the pigs. I live in New York now and I think I mention at least once a week that I grew up on a farm. There was a documentary on PBS a while back about this topic, focusing on Burlington, VT, near where I grew up, and where there’s plenty of money and plenty of poverty. There was a food shelter featured that got donations of day-old bread from a fancy bakery, and no one would take it. Similarly, when planning started for a co-op in the downtown area, where there was no other grocery store, people had to fight for Wonder Bread to be sold there. I’m not sure what all that means, but I get it. Like the enlightened commenter said, it’s something about comfort. I grew up on a farm in a tiny, poor town, and we were certainly poor, but lucky enough to get good food from our livestock and garden. It was a real treat when we went to the bread outlet to get expired doughnuts for the pigs. I live in New York now and I think I mention at least once a week that I grew up on a farm.

]]> By: rhett http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25363 rhett Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:04:48 +0000 http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25363 Are we lumping fast food with junk food? Just curious. I know as an individual living very lean in a traditionally expensive area, I have a hard time getting fresh fruits/veggies. Why should I plunk down $4 for some cherry tomatoes when I can get a slice of pizza for $2? When shopping I stick to canned soup ,rice/beans and PB&J. I try to stick to "natural" peanut butter (i.e. ground up peanuts) and 12 grain bread, but I'm sure it's a terrible diet. Are we lumping fast food with junk food? Just curious.

I know as an individual living very lean in a traditionally expensive area, I have a hard time getting fresh fruits/veggies. Why should I plunk down $4 for some cherry tomatoes when I can get a slice of pizza for $2?

When shopping I stick to canned soup ,rice/beans and PB&J. I try to stick to “natural” peanut butter (i.e. ground up peanuts) and 12 grain bread, but I’m sure it’s a terrible diet.

]]> By: cicada http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25323 cicada Mon, 10 Dec 2007 01:35:10 +0000 http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25323 Laura, given the number of people commenting on the NYT blog who say junk food ISN'T cheaper than health food, I think the NYT would be doing everyone a service by repeating the message until it gets through. :) Laura, given the number of people commenting on the NYT blog who say junk food ISN’T cheaper than health food, I think the NYT would be doing everyone a service by repeating the message until it gets through. :)

]]> By: Laura http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25319 Laura Sun, 09 Dec 2007 23:29:55 +0000 http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25319 It goes both ways. I have been living in coastal AL for the past 3 years having grown up in Northern CA. I went to grad school in MS. Having to constantly defend my home state (and "liberal" beliefs because I was a recipient of school lunches and other public assistance programs) has been very wearing. I've tried hard to be open to people's ideas and explain _why_ I believe in certain things (like why should a person's race be included in an anecdote about them when it has nothing to do with the story?), but it seems that people here are, for the most part, still so close-minded that it would be very easy to shrug my shoulders and just lump them all as ignorant racists. Oh, and if the NYT is only now just reporting that junk food is cheaper than health food, then they're way behind. It goes both ways. I have been living in coastal AL for the past 3 years having grown up in Northern CA. I went to grad school in MS. Having to constantly defend my home state (and “liberal” beliefs because I was a recipient of school lunches and other public assistance programs) has been very wearing.

I’ve tried hard to be open to people’s ideas and explain _why_ I believe in certain things (like why should a person’s race be included in an anecdote about them when it has nothing to do with the story?), but it seems that people here are, for the most part, still so close-minded that it would be very easy to shrug my shoulders and just lump them all as ignorant racists.

Oh, and if the NYT is only now just reporting that junk food is cheaper than health food, then they’re way behind.

]]> By: cicada http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25275 cicada Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:31:30 +0000 http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25275 "Who is us??" Indeed. That is such an excellent question. . . I'm lucky that something about my Pacific Northwest accent makes people in Europe think I'm Canadian, so I don't get lumped in with the stereotypical "American tourist." You're quite right that tunnel vision exists all over the country. . . I just find that when I'm at home, people seem to know perfectly well the coasts are radically different - and vocally express their consternation that I would choose to live here. “Who is us??” Indeed. That is such an excellent question. . . I’m lucky that something about my Pacific Northwest accent makes people in Europe think I’m Canadian, so I don’t get lumped in with the stereotypical “American tourist.” You’re quite right that tunnel vision exists all over the country. . . I just find that when I’m at home, people seem to know perfectly well the coasts are radically different - and vocally express their consternation that I would choose to live here.

]]> By: mdvlist http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25274 mdvlist Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:01:58 +0000 http://bioephemera.com/2007/12/08/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-wonderbread-and-ramen/#comment-25274 It's also hard to believe that there are Americans who still buy into the idea that there is a single American way of life (you know, that thing that the terrorists are supposedly attacking). My in-laws had some old friends visiting them in Japan, retirees from the Midwest whom they hadn't seen in ages-- these people spoke comparatively about everything they saw as if their experience were representative of "America," and as if the supremacy of the American way were a given. Finally, as my mom-in-law was driving this couple to the airport, she braved up enough to observe that living in another country made it easier to understand why the rest of the world might resent America's condescension. The pat reply: "Well, they could live like us if they wanted to." How dated/totally ignorant does that sound? And who is "us?!" There are so many things to be said about the implications of that exchange, I just won't bother to go on. It’s also hard to believe that there are Americans who still buy into the idea that there is a single American way of life (you know, that thing that the terrorists are supposedly attacking). My in-laws had some old friends visiting them in Japan, retirees from the Midwest whom they hadn’t seen in ages– these people spoke comparatively about everything they saw as if their experience were representative of “America,” and as if the supremacy of the American way were a given. Finally, as my mom-in-law was driving this couple to the airport, she braved up enough to observe that living in another country made it easier to understand why the rest of the world might resent America’s condescension. The pat reply: “Well, they could live like us if they wanted to.” How dated/totally ignorant does that sound? And who is “us?!” There are so many things to be said about the implications of that exchange, I just won’t bother to go on.

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