Good morning all, how is March treating you so far? Today I feel like a good rant about something that continues to bug me every time I go grocery shopping. Everything is becoming less for more. Packages are shrinking, prices are going up, Government is pretending to do something, Grocery monopolies are rebranding stores to fool us, and then this little bit of news really got me.
Instantly my mind was calling bullshit. This is the dairy industry and grocery stores taking their shot at shrinkflation for the one thing most people buy a lot. So what is the option for families that go through a lot of milk? The 2L cartons? And for a lot more money I suspect.
When you dig into it, I get it, bags of milk are only in a few provinces now, but I think they are hiding the real story underneath the move away from bags. Time to take advantage of the consumer once again.
Could I be wrong? Maybe. But I suspect the replacement will be some 1.5L container at the same price point as what a 2L carton would be.
Yes, I know the trend is going towards smaller families and solo shoppers, but it still doesn’t make it right.
The changes at the grocery store are not even subtle anymore.
Kraft dinner boxes have far less than they used to.
Standard bags of pasta all used to be 900G. One by one each brand is shifting to 750G.
It’s bad when your kids put away groceries and they notice the changes.
Food is at an all-time high in cost. Grocery stores are making record profits. Consumers are left with less money and less food. And the food we get, produce and meat in particular, is nowhere as good as it used to be.
And our Government continues to form committees and send gentle warnings to the grocery chains. Instead of looking out for the consumer, like they were elected to do.
Grocery shopping used to be enjoyable. Now you leave the store feeling duped. I don’t know how this broken model continues.
Back to the milk post above. I also want to mention how bad it’s become that we all listen to this one guy – The Food Professor – from Dalhousie when it comes to food in Canada. He has become a food lobbyist and social media influencer.
The skeptic in me says he gets paid by the Dairy Farmers of Canada to float this information out and take the temperature of the country.
I guess he touched a nerve with me.
Not only do we have monopolies for grocery stores, airlines, telecoms, etc., we also seem to listen to one person for news on certain topics. Don’t even get me started on the demise of Canadian media and how things are reported on.
I will end with this. Milk bags have been part of my whole life. That cold, wet feeling of touching the bag. In our house, one kid doesn’t mind changing the bag, and the other, would rather run across hot coals with his bare feet.
People from other parts of the world and Canada think milk bags are crazy. It’s not so much about the bags going away. I can see the appeal of the big jug if you use a lot of milk. It’s the fact that I know there is an alterior motive here and the powers that be will just look the other way and before you know it, we are getting far less milk for far more money.
What do you think? Do you still buy bags of milk? Do you care if they go away?
