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Show Okay I'll bet you a nickel Charlie, we paint the arrow that way and I'll bet some yahoo comes through here licketly split and goes every way but with the arrow. USU Survey Shows Meat is a Bargain If you're among the Americans who think meat is too expensive, you probably haven't done any real comparison shopping lately. Student members of the Utah State University Animal Science Club did recently, and found (hat meat is a bargain. The students recorded (he cost of various items in grocery stores in Logan during March, and adjusted prices on a per-ounce basis. Some of the results may surprise consumers. For example, the product used to "stretch" hamburger will cost consumers more per ounce (19 cents) than ground beef (7 cents) or lean hamburger (11 cents). Or how about top sirloin steak. At 12 cents an ounce, it's the same price as tuna, and a lot less expensive than TV dinners at 32 cents an ounce. Those with a sweet tooth can indulge in chocolate chip cookies at 11 cents an ounce and pay more than they would for chuck roast at 11 cents an ounce or lamb shoulder at 12 cents an ounce. Snack foods may be taking a bigger bite from some food budgets than meat, the students found. For example, potato chips at 17 cents an ounce cost more than lamb chops (16 cents) and as much as boneless ham. And aficionados of croissants (45 cents per ounce) could have bought a lot of meat at that price. S Many consumers who want to ) stretch their food dollar often turn to ! vegetables instead of meat. They j might not gain that much ground, depending on their choice of vegetables. Frozen mixed vegetables, for example, cost 17 cents an ounce. Dry pinto beans at 3 cents were much less expensive than meat, but one brand of canned baked beans at 17 cents an ounce wasn't. Some, items often used for quick (and supposedly inexpensive) meal aren't all that big a bargain on a per-ounce basis. For example, grape jelly at 12 cents an ounce and peanut butter at 10 an ounce are more expensive than hamburger. And frozen pizza (17 cents an ounce) costs more than top sirloin steak. In addition, consumers often buy a lot of non-food items at the grocery store, which tend to bolster grocery bills. For example, shampoo costs 25 cents an ounce, while lipstick costs $18.79 per ounce. Haven Hendricks, professor in the USU department of animal, dairy and veterinary sciences and advisor to the animal science club, says that expressing dismay over the size of the grocery bill at the checkout counter seems to be an American pastime, even though Americans spend only about 15 percent of their disposable income on food. And many consumers may be spending less on meat than they think, and more than they realize for other foods with less nutritional value than meat. And, a variety of non-food items may also be adding to "grocery" bills. |