Blecch: Spam Prices Rising

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So its come to this:

"Sales of Spam — that much maligned meat — are rising as consumers are turning more to lunch meats and other lower-cost foods to extend their already stretched food budgets.

What was once cheeky, silly and the subject of a musical (as Monty Python mocked the meat in a can), is now back on the table as people turn to the once-snubbed meat as costs rise, analysts say."

Source:
Spam spam spam: Sales of Spam rise as consumers look to trim food costs 
EMILY FREDRIX
Associated Press, May 28, 2008 – 3:12 PM
http://www.startribune.com/local/19325459.html

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What's been said:

Discussions found on the web:
  1. ECONOMISTA NON GRATA commented on May 29

    “Sales of Spam — that much maligned meat —”

    It’s an American classic…. The Pate of the masses…. Wow…!

    If you haven’t eaten Spam on toast points, you don’t know what you’ve been missing.

    It’s numero uno in my book… My dog loves it too…

    Sometimes you Americanos act like a bunch of mentecatos…. The genuine american culture is so incredibly rich and beautiful and so many of you are missing out on it…. What a shame…!

    Spam is something to be proud of.

    Best regards,

    Econolicious

  2. rickrude commented on May 29

    the bush prosperity live on

  3. KellyD3 commented on May 29

    There are some temptations when keeping kosher. This has never been one of them (at least for me).

  4. grumpyoldvet commented on May 29

    Gawd…last time I ate the stuff was in basic training, 42 years ago…my uncle who was with the 3rd Armored Division told me they used it to grease the axles on their vehicles….OTOH, it is the same as spiced ham for which it is an acronym….

  5. VennData commented on May 29

    More proof that trickle down works. Cut those top marginal rates and we’re all better off.

  6. Francois commented on May 29

    Oh Brother!

    1)We got the food spam a long time ago.

    2)Then came the internet with its own spam.

    3)Not to be outdone, politicos converted any fact to political spam. They also have an interesting accompanying side dish, called spin.

    Now you are telling me the price of 1) is rising while the cost of 2 and 3) is decreasing.

    Depressing!

  7. odograph commented on May 29

    FWIW, Hawaiian fast-food joints (complete with Spam) started popping up in SoCal a year or few ago. This could be part “trend.”

  8. Loren Steffy commented on May 29

    BizLinks and Open Comments | 5.29.08

    Exxon Mobil leader keeps chairman and CEO posts Dow Chemical’s price hikes to hit household goods Oil Exporters Can’t Match Demand ($) — shipments fell as price soared last year, defying market logic. Even so, some producers are trying…

  9. Ferox.Obscurus commented on May 29

    I just turned bullish on Monty Python.

  10. JK commented on May 29

    This is good news. The government will decide that Spam is the equivalent of steak and substitute it for computing the CPI and prove that inflation is actually “contained”

  11. BustaMove commented on May 29

    To: grumpyoldvet

    “Spam” is a portmanteau, not an acronym. Just like the El Camino would be a Trar (or Cruck)

  12. DonKei commented on May 29

    If some folks think the worst thing to come out of these “crises du jour” in the economy is that some more people choose to eat spam than would have otherwise, I’d say we are awfully, awfully rich, yet sadly unaware of our good fortune.

    Spam is delicious if you are hungry, as are many other foods we snub our pampered noses at.

  13. zackattack commented on May 29

    Here’s why I won’t eat Spam, ever again.

    Absolutely true story:

    One of my bachelor plants was a Venus Flytrap. One night, I ran out of hamburger for it. The only meat product in the house was a can of Spam on the shelf.

    I opened it, tore off a tiny piece of one corner, fed it to my plant.

    I went away for 20 minutes to shower. When I returned, my flytrap was not just dead; but dry, dessicated, mummified, crispy.

    I figure anything that can kill a plant evolved to thrive in brackish swamps would probably do terrible things to my innards.

    One additional comment: I suspect Armour Treet will be the ultimate inferior good in this space. I just did shopping/forensic research and noted the following prices:

    – 12 oz can SPAM: 2.39
    – 12 oz can private-label SPAM clone: 1.92
    – 12 oz Armour Treet: 1.25

  14. Barley commented on May 29

    Hawaiian Treat!!

    At first, I found it odd that I was invited over to dinner at the home of the Director who managed HI for the firm we both worked for, and was told we were having Spam. But you know what I loved it. Fried w/ honey mustard poured all over. Per capita this territory is know for Spam consumption.

    And for those who like to keep emergency kits in the home Spam can last for up to three years!

    As far as killing a plant, it was probably the salt. Give it a piece of a McBurger and you would probably have the same result.

  15. daveNYC commented on May 29

    And it’s a $1.99 for 12oz of Vienna Sausage (chicken and pork). The chicken only version is $1.80 for those looking to avoid treyf food. Obviously we’re defining treyf waaaayyy down.

    @zackattack: You check out the sodium content for that stuff?

    Americans don’t really eat healthy under the best or circumstances, if people start eating SPAM and its equivalents, this recession could have even more fun long term fallout in the form of increased heart disease and diabetes.

  16. Mike Nomad commented on May 29

    SPAM. Ugh. That stuff is ass in a can. Actually, it’s Shoulder Portion, Added Meat. But, I digress…
    My dog wouldn’t even eat it, and that’s after I heated it (the SPAM) up nice in a skillet, little scorch marks and all. I’ll go vegetarian before I’m down to making SPAM a dietary staple.

    Can we just get this all over with and move straight on to Soylent Green?

  17. lunatic fringe commented on May 29

    Will it be the bottom when Friskies and Tender Vittles are undergoing increasing demand and Spam sales are declining?

  18. Jim D commented on May 29

    During the really crap years of the ’70s, my family would have spam about once a week. We’d also buy a single chicken that would feed a family of four for 3 meals.

    Happy days are here again…

    BTW – spam will kill a venus fly trap because of the salt content. The plant isn’t designed to eat that much salt at the top, just the bottom.

  19. Dromedaryhump commented on May 29

    served SPAM for dinner by your employer???

    What does that tell you about your value to the company? If I were the recipient of a SPAM dinner I’d get my resume updated. I don’t care if it was smothered in caviar. It’s like putting lipstick on an infected pig.

  20. Schizohedron commented on May 30

    SPAM = Squirrel, Possum, And Mice.

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