Purdue: Inflation food costs continue; beef over plant-based preferred
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Last month’s Consumer Food Insights Report from Purdue University shows people whose grocery bills take up a smaller percentage of their income are more content with what they are eating. All the while, high costs continue to plague people with price restraints, who report lower satisfaction with their diets.
The monthly survey from Purdue’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability focused on diet and meat alternatives satisfaction. The survey tracks trends in spending, eating habits and consumer opinion.
Household spending is up 4.6% from last year, marking the highest level yet. The food insecurity index is a percentage point lower than last month but still higher than last year.
“With food-at-home spending continuing to drive up total food spending at the same time that consumers predict annual food inflation will drop below 4%, we could continue to describe consumers as cautiously optimistic,” said Sam Polzin, a food and agriculture survey scientist for the center and co-author of the report, in a news release. “However, it seems that the government measure of food inflation is now dropping faster than consumer expectations for inflation, which signals that consumers are potentially becoming more accustomed to higher inflation.”
About three out of every four Americans feel their food satisfaction is thriving, said Joseph Balagtas, who is the report’s lead author, the new CFDAS director and a professor of agricultural economics. Those who say their diet is suffering often place the most value on a food product’s affordability, according to the survey.
“Consumers who report that they are thriving are more often than not checking the nutrition label on a new product before they buy it, while those who are suffering are only sometimes or rarely checking nutrition labels,” Balagtas said in a news release. “This gap also relates to consumption choices that are typically thought of as more sustainable or ethical, such as choosing local foods or grass-fed beef.”
People are still asking, “Where’s the beef?” the survey reported, as people still overwhelmingly prefer meat over plant-based alternatives. Balagtas said in the release it shows those products are still consumed by a niche audience.
You can connect to the full report from July by clicking here.