another one of my crazy theories

weathergirl320

ok so while in the grocery store today, i had a thought. we know that big food and big pharma are in bed together, so do you think that the rise in wheat intolorance diagnosis and the ridiculous overpricing of wheat free products go hand in hand? while its semi good that people are realizing the allergic properties of wheat and or gluten, the food companies are really cashing in on this. essentially, primal is gluten free, but doesnt rely on "substitutes" for wheat per say. like gluten free breads, cookies, cakes, pizzas, etc; it just eliminates those processed foods. and really rice flour and all even corn flour cant be THAT expensive to make. and i read somewhere that the population of people who actually have celiacs and have been diagnosed is too small to drive a market for gluten free products. but now we have whole aisles dedicated to gluten free in stores, and said aisles are so disgustingly over priced for their processed crap. and wheat allergy diagnosis are going up. so the more diagnosis, the more money for pharma, and more money for the gauging of gluten free products. anyone else see a connection with big pharma and big food and the whole gluten free craze? or am i just over thinking it?

hpsnickers1

I don't think you are. What's really sad is those gluten-free products are still garbage.

weathergirl320

yes exactly. they arent healthier and dont have any more nutrition. so why are they so much more expensive? because their price is based off a "need" that people are told by the drs and then food companies are making major bucks

MikeFlyMike

another interesting financial variable is the subsidies in the big-ag .. So "good for you" food is more expensive because it isn't being funded by government. The crap is artificially cheaper no actually cheaper (and we all know more expensive to your health).

jonski1968

another interesting financial variable is the subsidies in the big-ag .. So "good for you" food is more expensive because it isn't being funded by government. The crap is artificially cheaper no actually cheaper (and we all know more expensive to your health).

More words of wisdom...From the man that is Mike.

Cheers for your assistance Mike...Working a treat..

fatguyweightloss

One of the reasons I do not see Primal/Paleo completely going mainstream. Not a lot of money in it for big businesses, they are not good and providing quality/local foods at a profit.

beccarockslife

I don't know about conspiracy theories but it pisses me off that I have to pay 3 times as much for dairy free milk for my son than if I just had cows milk (he's allergic).

We are slowly moving him to Paleo too.

momof8munchkins

I don't know about conspiracy theories but it pisses me off that I have to pay 3 times as much for dairy free milk for my son than if I just had cows milk (he's allergic).

We are slowly moving him to Paleo too.

I'm in the same boat.. I am sure it's all about the money and I do get really ticked off that as a family with celiacs/ gluten intolerances and dairy issues.We have to pay an arm and a leg for things like coconut flour and almond milk.. it almost feels as if we're being punished for having health issues.Life was much easier back when we used regular milk and wheat flour ..but hey what can you do..once in a while you have to have things like birthday cake and ice cream, especially for kids.. so you pay the extra so they don't feel derived.

monkeydharma

I don't think it is a conspiracy per se. A significant portion of the cost is in:

Trying to get the substitute food to taste just like the food it's replacing.
People want to 'have their cake and eat it too'; If you're grain intolerant (which all of us are to one extent or another) the easiest thing to do is STOP EATING GRAINS. But that is also the hardest thing to do - people just have to have their cakes and cookies. Even in the paleo community, people are willing to pay twice as much (and double the calories) to make baked goods out of coconut or almond flour. Why? Not because it's healthy (it isn't) but because they are not willing to give up baked goods.

Market truths
Most gluten free - or any 'health' food for that matter - is a niche product, and a basic market truth is: the less you make of something, the higher the 'per unit' cost is. Company A makes a million Oreos; Company B makes 2 thousand Paleoreos. Both companies have to stay in business - which one do you think is going to have the higher price. Not only does the Paleoreos have more costly ingredients, but the profit margin has to be much higher in order to keep the company solvent. If enough people are willing to pay that higher price, Company B remains; if not, they go under.

---

As for the 'dairy free' milk, both concepts apply. It not only costs more to concoct something that will taste somewhat like the real thing, the company isn't going to sell a lot of it, so has to have a higher profit margin in order to stay in business.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I have been saying this for a long time.

Say it in the regular forums and everyone says Oh nooooesss the sky is falling from conspiracies..........

We know the real deal and I am tired of arguing.

Thanks for posting this in our forums so it doesn't get locked.

weathergirl320

lol if i posted this on the main boards i would be crucified. i mean, im not really a conspiracy theorist, but i just see a weird spike in the diagnosis and production/price of those products. and i know it makes sense, but theres a piece of me that goes "hmmm....maybe there is more to it" and im glad to hear i am not the only one!

Zeromilediet

It may not be a bona fide 'conspiracy' but there's no denying food and pharma corps will jump on whatever trend going to make cash ... for them. Not for any altruistic motive like making people healthier. Case in point, Unilever http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread16177.html Good to have a bit of skepticism when dealing with advertised claims and new products ... all of which are processed.

twinmom01

I don't know about conspiracy theories but it pisses me off that I have to pay 3 times as much for dairy free milk for my son than if I just had cows milk (he's allergic).

We are slowly moving him to Paleo too.

Have you tried Almond milk? My daughter has a lactose and casien intolerance (to much causes stomach issues and major excema issues) I have found Almond milk to be the same price if not cheaper than basic milk and have been able to find it in small tetrapacks for when she needs to pack a lunch at school (her school offers lactose free milk)

twinmom01

My take is that people hear snippits of things...like "Oh eating lower carb helps you loose weight" or they have issues and self diagnose themselves with "gluten issues" (when in reality maybe it is the bag of candy a day they are guzzling...) - but like someone else said they still want thier cakes and candy and what not...

I know I have attempted to make Paleo friendly biscuits and a few muffins in hopes of getting my kids to eat more of that and less of non-paleo - so far most of what i have tried to make hasn't come out so good...so I just choose to stay away - I guess in my mind if I am only going to eat say 1 -2 muffins a month - I'll just go with what tastes the best regardless of what it is made from (of course I always have to think abotu is the taste going to be worth what might happen in my stomach later....)

And honestly I don't think a lot of people take the time to read and understand about food components and how they react with your body...they just think - Oh Gluten free...and more expensive - it has to be better for me - right??

weathergirl320

its so true! one of the biggest rookie mistakes is when you get diagnosed with celiacs, people run out to the store and buy a whole bunch of gluten free crap! its like "its gluten free so i can have it". i am guilty of this too. but the reality is a gluten free cookie is still a darn cookie! no more nutrition and no more healthy than a "regular" one. this is when it becomes important to be able to look beyond marketing and look at actual ingredients and decide from there. but most of the foods that are gluten free and HEALTHY dont come with labels ;-)