God's chosen country, why is American food so cheap?

Friends who are familiar with the American TV series Friends will know that even Joey, the poorest of several people, has never worried about food. Several people often share food with each other, especially French fries, fried chicken and milk. The most impressive scene is that Joey walked into the bedroom with a big bucket of fried chicken and told his friends who wanted fried chicken. Anyway, I only eat skin. Whoever wants meat will take it, or I will throw it away.

It is almost impossible to buy a bucket of fried chicken and throw it away, and it is almost impossible in China. In addition, in China, don't share food with several roommates. Even if you bring a few friends home for them to eat, you should also consider the thickness of your wallet. But why can low-and middle-income Americans be so indifferent to food prices? This must start with the great agricultural history of the United States.

History of American agricultural development

In the eyes of most people in China, agriculture is a relatively low-end industry, and farmers can't earn much money after working hard for a year. But the agricultural practitioners in the United States are different, because the United States has a great plain chosen by God. Agriculture in the United States basically relies on the big farm model, and most small and medium-sized farms are family-run.

Yes, American agricultural practitioners are no longer farmers, and it is more appropriate to become farmers. As of 14, agricultural workers in the United States only accounted for 2% of the total population in the United States, while there were about 2.2 million farms in the country. On average, the area of each rural area is 4 18 acres, which translates into 2400 acres.

And the most surprising thing is that most American farms can be handled at home without hiring extra workers. On average, each farm only needs 1.6 laborers to handle everything, including all steps such as sowing, irrigation and harvesting. In short, 1 American farmer can produce more than 236 China farmers, which is American agriculture.

Why is American agriculture so awesome?

Needless to say, geographical factors, God's own son is not called for nothing. The terrain of the Great Plains allows the United States to use various machinery to assist agriculture, while China still stays in the stage of Niu Geng and manpower. In China, besides farmers' low income, they can't afford large machinery, and there are various reasons. The complicated terrain is not suitable for mechanized farming.

The reason why American agriculture is strong is not only the terrain, but also related to its development history. Everyone knows that the United States is a country that developed from a colony. When European immigrants came to the United States, besides some explorers who wanted to venture for gold, there were also some ordinary people who wanted to pursue a better life.

After coming to the United States, these people will not go for gold and exploration, but choose to seek a stable job, or go to farm in circles to exchange money for more goods.

Anyway, in colonial times, American land was basically? For nothing No one cares how much land you plant as long as you dare to enclosure and are not afraid of Indian harassment. In addition, the plantation economy in the southern United States has a long history. Plantations rely on cheap black labor to grow a lot of land, and there is basically no labor cost. Although this plantation economy has long been shattered, its rural thinking is still prevalent in the southern United States, and many red necks in the southern United States still attach great importance to land, which is somewhat similar to farmers in China.

After the arrival of the industrial revolution, various tractors and other large auxiliary machinery liberated the productivity of American farmers and made the American farm economy icing on the cake.

Reasons for low food prices in the United States

The prices of mass-produced agriculture and its by-products are naturally low in the United States, so you can see that the prices of beef, corn and roast chicken in the United States are very low, and the prices of some junk foods such as potato chips and hamburgers are not expensive, which is the price advantage brought by large-scale agriculture.

American supermarkets in the 1950s.

Of course, meat and mass-produced snacks are really cheap, but vegetables and flowers that cannot be mass-produced are not cheap either. But just as Joey doesn't care about fried chicken, almost no one in America cares about the cost of food. When you enter the food section of a big supermarket, you can basically stuff it into the shopping cart unconsciously.

For most Americans, the cost of food alone is really not high. If you are single and don't eat much, you can prepare your own ingredients in 300 yuan within one month under the condition of ensuring a balanced diet of meat and milk, which is really not high compared with the labor wages in the United States.

Of course, if you want to eat out, it will involve labor, and the price will definitely be different. But what is certain is that the prices of most foods in America are really cheap!