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Americans spent more on
eating out than on eating in:
Is that good?
Mike
Walden
Guest
|iColumnist
A milestone was set in
January of this year. No, it
wasn't in sports, entertain
ment or politics - although
there may have been some
records established in those
areas I missed.
Instead, it was a mile
stone in our collective per
sonal spending. For the first
time, Americans spent
more on eating out than on
eating in. Specifically, we
spent $50,475 billion eat
ing in restaurants and other
food outlets that month,
compared to the $50,466
billion we paid for food in
grocery stores and super
markets.
You might think that's
not much of a record
because the two spending
amounts are so close. But
just five years ago we spent
$7 billion more per month
at food stores than at
restaurants. And in the
early 1990s, households
spent more than twice as
much on food bought at
grocery stores and super
markets than they did on
restaurant food.
Interestingly, house
holds of all income levels
spend about the same per
centage of their income
eating out - around 5 per
cent - although this trans
lates into more dollars
spent by those with higher
incomes.
However, younger
households spend more
eating out than older
households, and the young
also devote a higher per
centage of their income
eating out.
The obvious question
is, "Why?" Why are we
spending more money buy
ing meals away from our
homes than we are prepar
ing and eating meals at
home? The answer is based
on three big socio-econom- *
ic changes occurring in the
last 100 years.
Development of the
factory economy
A century ago the econ
omy was centered on farm
ing. Families worked all
day on the farm. There
were few restaurants to go
to, and those that did exist
were likely hours away.
Food that was eaten was
raised on the farm. Tasks
were also very gender-spe
cific, with men tending to
livestock and crops and
women handling the cook
ing, cleaning and child
rearing.
The first shift to eating
out occurred with the
development of the factory
economy. As mechaniza
tion came to the farm -
thereby reducing the need
for farm laborers - millions
moved off the farm and into
the city to take jobs in the
emerging manufacturing
sector. Most factory work
ers couldn't go home for
lunch, so many carried
their cold meat, cheese,
bread, fruit and perhaps
soap in pails ("lunch
pails") to the factory floor.
But over time, smart
thinking merchants saw an
opportunity to offer low
cost, quick meals to the
workers. This was the fore
runner of "fast food," and
lunch became the first meal
for many workers to eat
out.
The labor force par
ticipation of women
As the manufacturing
economy morphed into the
service economy, how and
where we ate our meals
changed again. This time,
the change was led by
women moving into the
paid workforce.
The development and
mass use of household
appliances (washing
machines, dryers, refrigera
tors, vacuums) reduced the
time and effort needed to
maintain homes. At the
same time, businesses
found many of the new
service jobs could be per
formed as well by women
as by men. These two fac
tors led many women to
take paying jobs in the
labor force. Indeed, the
labor force participation of
women rose from 34 per
cent in 1950 to more than
60 perceht today.
One result of this
change was a time crunch
at home. In two-adult
households where both
partners work and in the
increasingly prevalent one
parent households, time is
often the most limiting fac
tor. Taking time to purchase
food ingredients and pre
pare meals became a chore
many households decided
they couldn't do. Going out
to" eat or purchasing pre
pared meals at restaurants
for eating at home became
a typical pattern for many
families.
The rise of the millen
nial generation
This brings us to today
and the third big trend
affecting where we eat: the
rise of the millennial gener
ation. The "Millennials" -
those bom between 1981
and 1997 - will surpass the
Baby Boomers (bom from
1946 to 1964) this year as
the most populous genera
tion. Millennials have been
following their own path -
staying in school longer,
marrying later and delaying
having children. Eating out
is a big part of their social
life. As the Millennials
have gained in numbers
this decade, spending on
eating out has experienced
its sharpest jump ever.
Is it good that as a soci
ety we are eating out more?
Some yearn for the "old
days" of the family gath
ered around the dinner
room table eating a home
cooked meal. They say
something has been lost as
this scene becomes rarer.
While others may recog
nize the loss from this tra
dition, they argue times
change, and forces, like
those cited above, have
altered the way we eat.
1 won't try to answer
whether eating out more is
good or bad. 1 will say that,
with today's fast-changing
technology, any trend can
be easily reversed in the
future. Who knows ?
maybe urban gardens and
new cooking methods will
lure families back to the
kitchen and dining room
table. Someday we may be
lamenting the "good old
days" of restaurant food
and carry-out. You decide!
Dr. Mike Walden is a
William Neal Reynolds
Distinguished Professor
and North Carolina
Cooperative Extension
economist in the
Department of Agricultural
and Resource Economics
of North Carolina State
University's College oj
Agriculture and Life
Sciences. He teaches and
writes on personal finance,
economic outlook and pub
lic policy. The College oj
Agriculture and Life
Sciences communications
unit provides his You
Decide column every two
weeks.
Ferguson is still everywhere if you're Black
Rika Tvler
Guest
Columnist
It's been 250 days since
our fallen brethren Michael
Brown Jr. was fatally shot
in Canfield Apartments in
Ferguson, Missouri, by
Ferguson Police Officer
Darren Wilson.
Wilson got rich, famous
and a vacation after killing
Mike Brown, a phenome
non that is occurring all too
often across the U.S. In
fact, an MXGM (Malcolm
X Grassroots Movement)
study has reported that
every 28 hours a Black per
son is killed by police.
Accountability is the key.
Accountability is the
answer.
As you may remember,
Wilson was not indicted
and the community of the
Saint Louis and Saint Louis
County Region still suffers
for it. Ferguson's response
sparked a movement and
uprising from people of
different congregations,
ethnicities, genders and
ages nationwide to stand up
against this system and be a
voice for black, brown, and
oppressed people.
Since the killing of
Michael Brown, there have
been numerous similar
killings and then protests,
rallies, direct actions and
more. Yet it will not stop.
From private attorneys to
the Department of Justice,
T-Dubb-0
Guest
Columnist
there have been several
investigations of shootings
of unarmed African
Americans; yet we still
cannot fully attain the
transparency or accounta
bility that we deserve from
police officers. Ferguson is
still everywhere if you're
Black.
Therefore, we must
start moving in a way to
create our own narrative.
This means doing our own
investigations of these inci
dents involving officers,
who are sworn to protect
and serve us. The system
itself also needs investigat
ing.
In other words, we need
policies that establish
accountability.
Accountability by police
would mean them taking
responsibility, being liable
and answerable for these
travesties of justice.
Looking at what accounta
bility actually means, can
we as a nation say our
police departments are
truly held accountable for
their fumbling of commu
nity relationships?
The constant mistakes,
bad judgment, racist
motives and lack of trans
parency would result in
immediate termination in
any other fields in this
country. Why don't normal
morals and human stan
dards apply to police offi
cers?
They tell us police have
the right to make it home.
Well, shouldn't every citi
zen in this country have the
right to make it home? Or
how about the right to be
able to sleep in your home
and not be killed due to
reckless gun fire by police
like 7-y ear-old Aiyana
Jones, who was killed by
Detroit police during a raid
at her home. Final charges
against Joseph Weekley,
the cop who shot her, were
dismissed early this year.
We must hold these
officers accountable. In the
Saint Louis Region, there
have been at least 10 more
police involved killings
since Michael Brown Jr.,
s
which happened in August
2014. Around the nation,
there are too many names
to name with similar cir
cumstances with no trans
parency and no justice in
the system: Kimberly
Randall King, Vonderritt
Myers Jr., Tamir Rice, Eric
Gamer and more recently
Freddie Gray of Baltimore.
Fortunately there are
indictments of the officers
in the Freddie Gray case,
but for the most part around
the country, there is cur
rently no way to hold these
departments accountable. It
seems as if they run the
nation and we serve them
instead of the other way
around.
During protests in
Ferguson, municipalities
established many unconsti
tutional rules. For example,
they refused to wear name
badges even after the
Department of Justice said
they were legally obligated
to do so. They refused to
identify themselves. They
continued to use illegal
unnecessary force against
citizens. Ferguson Police
officers even issued a five
second rule stating that a
person could be subject to
arrest if they stood still for
longer than five seconds
while protesting. A federal
court ruled against it. Yet,
police officers are still on
the normal predator polic
ing tactic.
The Department of
Justice released a report
confirming all the racial
targeting that the Ferguson
police department prac
ticed against people of
color and oppressed people
in general. Yet, police still
use shoot first tactics
because there is no one
holding them accountable.
Ferguson is still every
where if you are Black.
T-Dubb-O, a Hip-Hop
artist, is a director for
Hands Up United, a grass
roots organization building
toward the liberation of
oppressed Black, Brown
and Poor people through
education, art, civil disobe
dience, advocacy and agri
culture.
Rika Tyler, a communi
ty organizer and advocate
for children, is a program
director of Hands Up
United. She works to
ensure programs are
aligned to serving the com
munity of Ferguson and the
Greater St. Louis area.
This article is part of an
op-ed series on behalf of
the Civil Rights Coalition
on Police Reform. The
coalition, convened and led
by the national Lawyers'
Committee for Civil Rights
Under Law, is comprised of
over 30 national civil and
human rights organiza
tions. faith and community
leaders working to address
the nationwide epidemic of
police brutality and lethal
shootings, claiming the
lives of Black men, women
and youth; and provide
necessary reforms to
change the culture of polic
ing in America. For more
information, please visit
www.lawyerscommittee.
org.
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