"How Come Those Eggs Are $6?" 🥚

The real question, what Wes Kao calls the ‘question behind the question’ (the QBQ), is ‘Are certain foods worth their price tag, and why or why not?’

Yes!

That answer might confuse you if you’ve read me for a while.

I normally say, ‘It depends.’

Here’s how we’ll make sense of Yes! …

1. The Big Picture 🖼️

2. Explain It To Me Like I’m 5 👦

3. Food Nerd Info About Eggs 🥚

4. Practical Supermarket Info About Eggs 🍳

5. Parting Zen 🧘‍♂️

The Big Picture 🖼️

In the last year or two, I’ve shifted my position to be more centric on this topic.

In the past, I would greatly stress the importance of reading every ingredient (and looking up unfamiliar ones online), educating oneself about labels, nomenclature, and marketing tactics on food packaging, and understanding at least the basic complexities and forces driving the food ecosystem.

I would refer to some of these ingredients as poisons or toxins.

I was never a scaremonger like the ones commonly seen on Instagram today, but I was also not completely correct.

I still believe choosing what you put into your body wisely is important.

I still recommend reading the ingredients (without pulling your hair out).

I still know that our food system needs a major overhaul.

I still see that the billions of dollars spent advertising and subsidizing poor foods are killing us.

But I don’t think becoming a food label connoisseur is the place to start.

Most people need to start with:

• Eating their correct daily amount of food consistently while including as many whole foods as possible.

We’ll talk about eggs in a moment, I promise.

They’re my favorite food!

I eat 4 or 5 almost every day!

Explain It To Me Like I’m 5 👦

Today’s topic, as simply as possible:

“With food, the price usually reflects the quality.”

Food Nerd Info About Eggs 🥚

I promised I’d get specific about eggs.

The Cornucopia Institute has this fantastic ‘Egg Scorecard’ online where you can filter by brand or state and see how your eggs rank according to these criteria:

Most of the big-name, private-label brands don’t score so well.

Practical Supermarket Info About Eggs 🍳

You get what you pay for.

I’ve been in the food business in wholesale distribution for over 20 years.

I’ve seen every business model, price list, and spec sheet.

I’ve never seen a premium-priced food that was priced as such for fun.

That’s not the way the food business works.

You don’t put a product on the shelf at a ridiculous price to rip people off.

You do it because your costs are higher, typically meaning you have higher-quality ingredients, pay higher wages, or hold higher standards.

I’ll admit that some artisanal businesses charge 10-15% more than they would if they had venture funds to scale up.

But they’re not making Cheez-It's or Dunkaroos.

Those big brands put products on the shelves as cheaply as possible.

I’ll tell you something else: you pay for those cheap foods twice.

You pay one (seemingly) low price at the cashier.

You pay again in your federal taxes, where you subsidize them.

Eat those things daily, and you’ll pay a third time, too … at the doctor.

So …

Yes! Read labels, and don’t panic about it.

Yes! Quality matters and the price reflects the quality.

Yes! Food is an investment in your long-term health, not an expense.

Yes! You will be OK if you can’t invest in the most expensive foods.

Yes! You can eat a healthy diet full of whole foods on a modest budget.

Parting Zen 🧘‍♂️

A simple word, phrase, or thought to take with you:

Be well,

Coach Matt

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