Thank you tholian and LCdolphin for your links (very helpful!) and thanks ecco66 for joining the chorus of welcoming voices.

As for the varios possible reasons given for the seemingly enormus price difference between food prices in the UK and elsewhere, the main problem I see is that many of the mentioned factors are also present in the other countries mentioned. For example, the US, France, Germany, etc also have plenty of "greedy" capitalists, who would love to "buy low and sell high" if they only could. You can bet that US and continental businesses do not volunteer to operate at lower margins out of love for humanity... each operates at the highest margin it can get away with without losing market share to the point of decreasing its profits. You cannot make money if you have no customers (or too few of them). The question is then why is it possible for one to keep high profit margins in Britain, and not so elsewhere...

I mentioned in my original post the hormone thing... it is certainly a factor... but one that as far as I know would affect continental farmers as much as British farmers, yet it seems that continental food prices are much closer to the US level than to the UK level. Also, hormone-free meat is available in the US (e.g., Laura beef)) and it is certainly more expensive than the regular one, but generally not twice as expensive.

Whatever the reasons you can bet they have much to do with gov.uk. And the gov is directly or indirectly accountable to the people. Believe me, when enough people are mad about something politicians get the message. Large demonstrations and boycotts are helpful but not indispensable. Politicians are always on the look for something "to run on"... something that "sells", that "resonates"... they use polling, focus groups, "town hall meetings", whatever. They find out what people really want, and get it done, sooner or later... for their OWN sake (politicians').

The UK price situation will change when enough people want it changed.

I love the UK, but I have to put my two cents in. (There's not even a British coin small enough to equal two CDN cents.)
When I was in England, I just gave up trying to convert, because it made me cringe to be paying that kind of money. I just pretended that the British pounds I was shelling out were equal to CDN dollars, even though they are about 2.5 times more. So a twenty pound T-shirt wasn't $50 CDN. And a light snack wasn't $10 CDN.
People in Britain don't notice so much because they seem to make more money than us. A Secretarial job that pays thirty grand over here, pays 30 grand over there, but the difference is that 30 thousand pounds is about 70 thousand Canadian dollars. Now if you could work there and live here......
BTW, I'll be back for more fiscal punishment (and cultural enrichment) in September.

oh lord, I'm really struggling for a reason to feel good about living in this country, and I'm not just on about the cost of living - though that in itself is enough to drive a very large number of people to leave this country each year - if only to be replaced by possibly the same number from other countries (legally and otherwise) who think it holds the/an answer for them - good luck to them too.
I feel that if we can unite in this country to change ANYTHING ,we would firstly have to circumvent the overwhelming apethy that exists (generally) around us, and it will take considerable time (if ever) b4 we see changes because of this reason - the model for the government seems to be (as previous contributors have written) Lets just keep taxing more and more, higher and higher, it's not raising the quality of many peoples lives, but hey it's great maths for those in charge.

BTW if anyone in France is on this UK section of the forum (or any regular visitors there) is there a good selection of the Low Carb Food Market available there please?

Sean

I am not so sure about the wages you are quoting... are you? To me £30,000/year sounds more like the starting salary of a university professor in the better paying fields... I doubt they make the same money as a secretary. By comparisson, the equivalent job would pay in the US about US$70,000/year... it's slightly more money, but assumes a 2-months summer vacation (they'd get pay extra for working over the summer).

That is part of the problem,...., if you transfer your salary from £ to $ it looks similar to the US level (in $)... but when you transfer the prices to $, then they look twice as much!!!... that is why the "don't worry about prices in $... you are being paid in £" theory does NOT work... because you are not being paid the same number of pounds as you would get $.

I was paid $30,000 in the states as a teacher. Here I am paid £30,000. That is about $55,500.

My good friend who is from the states and now lives here in the UK was paid- as a secretary $12,000. Here- as a secretary- she is paid £17,000. That is about $31,000! In the states she got 2 weeks paid holiday. Here in the UK she gets 6 weeks paid holiday.

My 2 cents

I am an American Living in the UK:

Lidl's is great, use it for veg, cheese & smoked salmon especially, & cleaning products/bottled water if need be.
Tesco and Sainsbury's are good for free-range meats now, they have a selection, which seemes to be a recent addition.

We go to France quarterly for a top of of some goods, the tunnel is good value at £45 flexible day trip. We stock up on 100+ bottles of nice but cheap wine, fresh oysters, mussels, prawns, seasonal veg. (the best cherries,artichokes I've ever eaten!) at a fraction of the UK cost but with so much quality.

I found it expersive at first too. I don't think we earn "loads" compared to the US either. Me and my husband both have M level degrees in scientific backgrounds but because we don't live/work in London it's hard to get a high paying job. We earn maybe $48,000 comined which is about £26,000 and that is just enough to cover an £80 grand mortgage, 2 cars, an occasional holiday and not too many daily frills. But that's OK for us. Our American family are living luxurious lives borrowing on the supposed value of their properties. I sleep easier living within my means, which does include the occasional Tropica Orange Juice costing $5 , and it's not expensive to us now, it's just what you pay.

Boy am I glad I shop on base.

Prices here are really whack. But I'll pay for Tesco's garlic toast anyday. YUMMY!

As you can see by following the links below, your salary exceeds those of many univ. Lecturers (US "Asst. Proffessors"), whose salaries start in the low £20+ (or mid £20's including the "London allowance")

http://www.wmin.ac.uk/page-146-smhp=40
http://www2.umist.ac.uk/staff/perso...es/academic.htm

As for your friend making $12,000/year as a secretary in the US it seems she was exceptionally poorly paid... apparently she was making slightly over the minimum wage.

Anyhow, at the end of the day, if you make twice as much money but buy almost everything at about twice the price you are roughly breaking even.

--SP