Cereal For Dinner? Recession Boosts General Mills
I just wrote last week, how General Mills made a decision to reduce the sugar in their products. According to them, it was not due to any pressure from outside influences, but they just thought it was the good thing to do. So, the “everything in moderation” rhetoric is the guiding principle for them, right? Well, this latest article will likely test their mettle on this issue. Due to the recession, people are using cereal because it is cheap and it fits their budgetary constraints. The increase is a sign of the economic stress still facing families amid high unemployment who want to cut spending and save time, but don’t want to rely on fast food. Food banks are seeing rising demand for cereal as people try to find a nutritious meal that costs as little as possible. That’s blurring lines between traditional meals.
I would definitely argue against a bowl of cereal being anything close to a “nutritious meal” but this will hopefully further demonstrate the fallacy of the conventional wisdom. They believe sugar is fine as long as it’s eaten in moderation. So when the inevitable weight gain and bad health result from eating more cereal, people will wrongly attribute this to “eating too much.” How do you accuse poor people of eating too much when they have to resort to eating cereal? Obesity is most often found among the poor– among those who eat the least. The reason is not because they exercise too little and eat too much. It is because they, like people in this article, rely on cheap carbohydrate foods full of sugar. Even the American Heart Association asked people to cut back on sugar. They acknowledge the insulin response that is brought on by refined and easily digestible carbohydrates. They don’t like the idea that a single food group (carbohydrates) would cause obesity all by itself, but in most cases, this is precisely the issue. It is true, however, that there are ways to become obese without food being the culprit since weight regulation is hormonal. It should not surprise us that anything which serves to upset the hormonal harmony in the body has the potential to cause obesity and countless other problems. However, I think that the condition of common and simple obesity that the majority of people experience falls squarely under the alternative hypothesis of obesity, which says that the drive to fatten is brought on by the effect on insulin caused by overconsuming refined and easily digestible carbohydrates.
More people are eating at home in the recession to save money, and meals outside of breakfast more often include cereal, said Jack Russo, an analyst for Edward Jones.
Kellie Hotz and her husband, Jeff, eat cereal for dinner three times a week as they struggle to stretch their budgets and care for a toddler. Hotz said cereal is less expensive than fast food, so she keeps a dozen boxes on hand.
“It’s the fastest, easiest and at least somewhat half-nutritious thing to do during the weekdays,” said Hotz, 29, of Arlington Heights, Ill.
Breakfast foods such as eggs are popular now all times of the day because they’re quick, nutritious and inexpensive, said Christopher Shanahan, a research analyst with Frost & Sullivan.
I don’t have a problem with eggs, but I do not support the notion of cereal always being a better alternative than fast food. It’s true that for the cost of a good burger sans bread at a restaurant, you can buy a lot of cereal. However, you can also buy ground beef at the store which you would have to cook. What a concept! Pork roasts and whole chickens are also cheaper than fast food and they are actually nutritious unlike cereals, even those with low sugar. Cheap cereal will only make you hungrier and you’ll end up eating the whole box and even more carbohydrates due to the empty calories and the cravings that will ensue.
I hate the idea that the recession is making people eat cheaper foods, but I’m hopeful that someone will get a clue and realize what is truly behind the obesity epidemic.
Revenue from General Mills’ Big G cereal line rose 10 percent in the quarter ending Nov. 29. The company, based in Minneapolis, said it saw better sales of Chex, Cheerios and Fiber One.
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