How do meat prices compare?
Posted by No-Environment1207@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 214 comments
I was jus reading about poultry prices in the UK and it seems unbelievable as an American, especially knowing our insane scale of meat production. For a whole raw chicken, I pay around $13-14, or £10. I saw one report saying you guys had it for an average of ~£4. Is this accurate?
What about ground beef? I was thrilled to get it on sale for $5/lb this week, so I'm curious how that compares as well.
As someone trying to feed a family of four, I am jealous if chicken is really so cheap!
MapOfIllHealth@reddit
Technically I am a Brit but I don’t live there, just wanted to chime in that I can buy a full chicken already cooked for £6 (AUD12) in the supermarkets here in Australia. You guys are being robbed!
BuiltInYorkshire@reddit
Some supermarkets in the UK do rotisserie cooked chickens too and they aren't expensive. Used to live near one and get one for Sunday lunch.
Sad_Introduction8995@reddit
Yeah, no supermarket’s putting free range in their rotisserie, that’s why.
Conk87@reddit
What gets forgotten here is the difference in salaries. US employees are generally on a higher salary. It's an "inflated" market in comparison to the UK, but all relative. US pays more and things cost more. UK pays less and things cost less. Its not like the huge disparity like if you took your USD or GBP to India or Cambodia as they operate in completely different frames. US and UK are similar markets in terms of buying power for the individual but the prices and wages are in a different musical key so to speak.
InternationalRide5@reddit
I'm not sure that's true at the lower end of the payscale.
Aldi UK pay a minimum of £12.75 per hour (exactly 3 Ashfield Medium Chickens per hour). Plus paid holiday, sick pay, maternity pay etc as required by UK law.
ldn-ldn@reddit
The average US salary is only about 30% higher and does not justify US prices.
ThaiFoodThaiFood@reddit
For £10 you can get a fancy free range chicken that's allowed to eat real food.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Real food? What is that? Is it somehow better than ultra processed microplastic filled meat product?
InevitablyCyclic@reddit
Well none of the chicken is washed in chlorine and the beef isn't pumped full of growth hormones. Does that count?
I never used to understand the standard joke of "tastes like chicken", chicken has a distinct chicken flavour. And then I had chicken from a US supermarket and it made a lot more sense.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Yeah, if you dont season your chicken so heavily, you taste nothing. Make sense why all our food is fried and covered in salt or sugar?
herefromthere@reddit
It's odd, we go to America and taste nothing but salt and sugar, Americans come here and say ours tastes like nothing and we don't season things therefore our food is rubbish.
From our perspective, it tastes like chicken is supposed to taste when it's not fed weird stuff and kept indoors all it's short fat sad little life.
To an extent, enjoying the food is about what you are accustomed to. That's why we get pissed off when Americans say our food is bland. It's not, it's just that American food quality standards are so different that an American here for a short while won't appreciate what we have going on because it isn't salty enough for their tastes.
gummo_for_prez@reddit
Explain the toast sandwich please.
herefromthere@reddit
Poverty.
Toast sandwiches are a desperation meal I don't think many people have had. It's not a national dish or a well-loved classic or anything.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
I agree, although I don't like overly sweet or rich items, I go heavy on seasoning. If I didnt, our chicken genuinely tastes like nothing. A few years ago, my family got a fresh turkey from a local farm for Thanksgiving for the first time (which only now sounds insane.) I was shocked at the difference in flavor. I thought I didnt like turkey, turns out, I hadn't tasted it before. Makes me wonder what else I'm missing.
UniqueAssignment3022@reddit
Problem in America which is happening in other parts of the world is that your food is so mass-produced and chemicalised that your food lacks basic micronutrients. This is why it tastes of nothing and is why Americans eat alot because the body is craving micronutrients but it needs to eat more volume to get it.
There's a whole thing going on about trying to get nutrients back into our soils and supposedly in some places it's 90% deficient.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I read about that not too long ago. Our crops are deficient, we feed that to our livestock, and then we eat them. Between the lack of nutrients and the glyphosate we spray on our crops, I think we are just hoping to hit 50 at this point lol
InternationalRide5@reddit
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/no1-british-free-range-whole-stock-brined-chicken/902232-832024-832025
works out at US $4.60 per lb.
https://groceries.asda.com/product/whole-chickens/just-essentials-by-asda-whole-chicken-typically-1-5-kg/34002649
a cheap and miserable-looking chicken from Asda is US $1.67 per lb.
randompersonsays@reddit
Yeah, I get meat from Field and Flower. Super high welfare but very tasty. I'd rather eat less meat and it be really tasty (and have as good a life as possible).
ThaiFoodThaiFood@reddit
Tbh I'm like that with all food now. I'd rather eat less of things that are actually nice than mountains of shite.
Princes_Slayer@reddit
I’ve just gone onto the Aldi U.K. website to get some general pricing. I’ve included weights as it’s likely our standard chicken might not be as large as those where you are.
2kg chicken drumsticks £3.75
1kg chicken wings £2.19
1kg chicken legs £2.25
0.5kg Free range corn fed chicken £2.75
1.85kg whole chicken £4.70
1kg extra large pork loin steak £4.69
0.5kg 30 day matured beef roasting joint £6.50
0.5kg Beef brisket £5.75
0.6kg 3% extra lean beef mince £5.19
0.5kg 5% lean beef mince £4.79
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Thanks! I tried checking one site, but it wouldn't let me access prices. Chickens are slightly smaller, but still significantly cheaper.
I'm curious, how do they sell the beef brisket? Over here, thats a 10kg+ slab of beef, so the half kg threw me.
Princes_Slayer@reddit
All our meat is general much smaller packs. Bear in mind our houses are smaller which in turn means our fridges / freezers are smaller or people don’t have space for a chest freezer. Most people also live closer to supermarkets, so we don’t need to buy massive amounts of food in one go because it’s easy to pop into a shop. Where I live, the Aldi is a 2 minute walk from my house, the nearest large supermarket with petrol station is 5 minute drive from me.
SingerFirm1090@reddit
Oh we have chest freezers, but watch any crime drama and they are always full up with a body...
cochlearist@reddit
You're being way too murdery if you're filling your chest freezer with bodies!
That or your dismemberment game is poor.
Straight_Cicada5757@reddit
Murdery lol love it - is it even a real word? Makes me want to rub my hands together whilst muwahahahaaaaa'ing
cochlearist@reddit
My phone underlined it in red which means it doesn't think it's a word, but it absolutely could be, you just need to get it in print a few times and get someone at the dictionary to add it.
"Please don't do that, it makes me feel murdery." Would work well I think.
SitamoiaRose@reddit
Exactly. You have to pace yourself with the murdering and take care dismembering. You can’t rush that job or you’ll end up with awkward sizes and having to replant the back garden.
Heavy-Locksmith-3767@reddit
Feed em to the pigs Errol. If you want cheap meat you have to cut a few corners.
Straight_Cicada5757@reddit
Whats the price on that per kg then? lol
Agathabites@reddit
Also the Americans pump in growth hormones that are banned in other countries.
Notaniphone@reddit
Why pump in growth hormones? The body is already dead, so there is zero chance of growth.
Straight_Cicada5757@reddit
I think your comment was vastly overlooked - I found it funny anyway lol
Gold_Dragonfruit_180@reddit
The growth hormone is injected into the live animal to promote rapid growth. We banned that years ago as it's carcenogenic.
Mr06506@reddit
Not to mention our wallets being smaller.
Professional, middle class salaries in the UK are at least half the equivalent job in the states.
Although the lowest earners are likely better off here.
asdfasdfasfdsasad@reddit
On the other hand, we don't have to pay health insurance which takes up like a quarter of a US salary, especially if you have a family. We also don't have to worry about the US healthcare system deciding not to cover things that are really supposed to be covered and leaving you having to pay for them out of your pocket.
Mr06506@reddit
Yeah the US healthcare system is obviously abysmal, but we're kidding ourselves if we use that as excuse for our poor salaries.
Even if we take mine and your numbers at face value (double UK salaries, quarter of US on healthcare), that would still leave you a quarter better off.
In reality for an upper earner (doctor, accountant, programmer, engineer, architect, whatever) you could expect to have significantly more than 25% spare money in the states - double or triple wouldn't be unusual even after healthcare.
BuiltInYorkshire@reddit
Healthcare, quality of life, education, gun control, politics... I'm happy earning less here than if I jumped over the pond.
cdh79@reddit
Go on, say it, say it! "Our people are smaller"
Princes_Slayer@reddit
Not anymore we are not!
pouchey2@reddit
Our obesity % is still nearly half of that of the states, so for now we can still say we are...
Ranking (% obesity by country) | World Obesity Federation Global Obesity Observatory
BigDsLittleD@reddit
Brisket in the UK bought from the supermarket is usually, but always, sold at a couple of lbs rolled into a roasting joint
Smoking/American style BBQ is not that common. You can get a whole brisket, but thats not how you'd usually see it, and you'd almost definitely have to go to a proper butcher rather than a supermarket
DadVan-Soton@reddit
Costco get whole (UK red tractor) briskets delivered, and chop them into rolled joints. If you speak to their butchery, they’ll hold one back for you.
I’m giving away my secrets here..
BigDsLittleD@reddit
I can't get a Costco card, not on their approved list apparently.
DadVan-Soton@reddit
It’s a dodge, but open a business for £9.99 online, and take the articles into Costco to register. Then make the co dormant and never think of it again.
moon-bouquet@reddit
Yes! Brisket in the uk usually has the fattier side bit taken off, which is annoying if you’re using Jewish or American recipes!
LazyLady68@reddit
I don't use Jewish or American recipes but I find it really annoying that brisket has the fat taken off. When I was younger it was a fatty, cheap, tasty and very tender cut of meat. Fashions in food change, but often not for the better.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Agreed. Fashions around food are interesting, because there is always a popular cut of meat, then someone finds a cheaper one that is similar, and the new trend drives up the price of the cheap cut. What starts as a way to save money inevitably leads to more expensive products.
Unhappy_Clue701@reddit
The ‘Jamie Oliver effect’. Buy lamb shanks everyone - they’re dirt cheap and mega tasty if you slow cook them. Well, they’re still tasty, but they’re bloody expensive now!
DadVan-Soton@reddit
2x 2KG chickens are £7.99 near me. They are normally just over 2KG.
I’m paying £12.99/kg for steak mince, and I think regular 12% fat mince is around £8.30/kg
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
That's pretty good. Out of curiosity, what fat percentage do you buy at 12.99/kg?
DadVan-Soton@reddit
It’s 10% estimated. I add a little beef lard to it for Smashburgers, aiming for 15%-18%.
Emotional_Top3782@reddit
Steak mince is usually 5% fat. But we can get 2% in some shops :)
Phoenix-190@reddit
Also, in case you haven't taken it into account but UK prices are always tax included. Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Man, I can't even afford the eggs to suck them
ThaiFoodThaiFood@reddit
Cut into manageable portions around 0.5-2 kg
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
As a heavy bald man from the south, the giant slab of meat is definitely an essential haha
It has always intrigued me how small refrigerators are outside of the US. The idea of going grocery shopping every day or two is so foreign, I only go twice a week at most.
PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit
Lots of people in the UK go once a week, maybe with a top up during the week
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Oh okay. I had been told in another comment that since shops are close, you just go more often. I had heard that before as well, so I thought it was true
InternationalRide5@reddit
We usually have small shops close by, but they're more expensive and have a smaller range.
BigDsLittleD@reddit
I go all the time.
But thats because I'm shit at shopping and forget stuff, or just buy what looks good and then get home and realise I have none of the other ingredients.to actually make anything from it.
banxy85@reddit
No. Once a week is fairly standard. And our small fridge/freezers are perfectly capable of storing that much food 😂
Tbh Americans put a lot of stuff in the fridge that you really don't need to. Eggs for eggsample
PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit
I think they meant that you don't have to do a huge shop as you can easily shop more frequently.
Personally I shop incredibly frequently around about every other day, but I live in London. So I assume New Yorkers are similar, you do fewer big shops and just pick something up on your way home.
Alert-Painting1164@reddit
Yes NYers do similar and probably eat out a little bit more than Londoners maybe +1 more day on average. I’ve lived in zone 2 and Manhattan so used to pick up from a Waitrose on the way home or the whole foods when in NYC. Also in NY your fridge isn’t likely to be large. Even if you live in the burbs you are likely to shop fairly frequently with lots of grocery stores close by.
Interceptor@reddit
I think it depends where you live. I lived in London for years, and had a butcher, greengrocer, fishmonger and so on, all about 5 minutes walk away, so I'd often go there in the week and get something for dinner, and order some staples in less often. Now I live in a smaller city where there is a supermarket around a ten minute drive away, so I usually plan out the week's meals and go and get all the ingredients in one go.
I also think it's a bit more common to go every two or three days in mainland Europe. In the UK the 'big shop' once a week is fairly common.
jimbobsqrpants@reddit
I can walk, I know crazy thought. To my local supermarket in about 10 minutes. So getting fresh every couple of days and a bigger freezer shop every week isn't an issue.
I would generalise and say that most people in the UK are not more than 30 minutes away from a large supermarket by car, with allowances for traffic and this week love in very rural communities.
thelajestic@reddit
Depends where you live and what your set up is. When I was younger I shared a flat with a flatmate and we only had a small under-counter fridge with an ice box, so no real space for freezing and we didn't eat the same meals so we basically had 1.5 fridge shelves each. We were in the city centre though and surrounded by shops so it was easy enough to pick up food every couple of days (although it's an expensive way to do it!)
Now I live in a house with a full sized fridge and do one supermarket shop per week as there's plenty of space for it. People's habits will vary, none of us speak for everyone in the UK.
Live-Cheesecake-2788@reddit
Do a big monthly shop and top up with fresh food when needed
Kayos-theory@reddit
Maybe once many years ago.
I am 66 years old. When I was a child my mother would go to our local shops (about a 5 minute walk) and buy groceries every couple of days. There were 2 butcher shops, 3-4 green grocers and a couple of general grocery shops plus bakers and 2-3 newsagents. This was not a busy high street, just a small row of shops. Nowadays these shopfronts are several estate agents, a few restaurants and takeaways, a couple of coffee shops, a ubiquitous vape shop, a small supermarket/general store and the rest are offices.
Because larger supermarkets can sell cheaper everyone has to drive to the nearest one so we tend to go once a week for the main shop.
scuderia91@reddit
I don’t know anyone who’s going grocery shopping every day or 2. I’d say most are doing one big shop a week, maybe stopping in after work for the odd thing in the week if needed
illiriam@reddit
We generally go every few days, we try to plan for two dinners and then go to the shop after the kids bedtime, and that's the next two days. We have small fridges, several close shops, and we are often not sure about what we want to eat so we don't tend to plan for a full week unless we really have to.
However we do still sometimes have to pop into the One Stop or small Morrisons or co-op in between those shops for milk or the cheap fruit our kids have decided is This Weeks Hot Fruit That They Have To Eat Twice Daily. It changes frequently
tameroftrees@reddit
You un-fml’ed my today. “It’s not just my kid” is a much nicer place than…where I was. Tbf her mate doesn’t like strawberries or cherries so I could work out getting there without Redditors if I had more willpower. But, meh
SaltyName8341@reddit
I shop daily as I work nextdoor to a Lidl and have a Sainsbury's on the way home.
kwietog@reddit
Not the case, it all depends how far you live from the shops. We go to shop every day or every 2 days as it's 5 minutes walk to the big Tesco.
scuderia91@reddit
It’s a 5 minute walk to my nearest supermarket but I’m still not shopping there more than twice a week. Unless it’s something with a very short shelf life that I know I don’t need til later in the week I can just buy almost everything for the next week no issue.
Icy-Belt-8519@reddit
Yeh no one I know is shopping every day, we go once a week!
zombiezmaj@reddit
They're not that small we go shopping once a week.
You can get bigger joints of meat but majority of people don't want or need it.
But if you want it you go straight to a farm shop or butcher. Our local farm shop they butcher their own animals on site so their prices are cheaper as they've not had to pay anyone else to slaughter and cut up. Literal field to table scenario.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
That sounds preferable, but for anything like that here, you pay at least twice as much for it. Is that the same there?
For example, normal price for brisket is around $4 a pound from the supermarket, but a butcher would be close to $10 a pound, making it prohibitively expensive for me.
ValidGarry@reddit
You need to be buying a 12lb+ brisket to get that sort of price even from a supermarket and nobody in the UK is buying that much meat.
zombiezmaj@reddit
Farm shops and butchers can be cheaper than supermarkets... farm shops especiall6 because they're getting all the profit
Paulstan67@reddit
Another reason we go more often is that we like our food fresh and dislike food waste.
I have a meal plan and buy accordingly, so the leftover roast chicken will be used in a risotto the next day, the chicken carcass used to make stock.
ThaiFoodThaiFood@reddit
It depends where you live. If you live in a flat in a city then space is limited.
I live in a rural area and have 2 fridges and a chest freezer. But even then the nearest supermarket is only about 10 minutes drive away.
tradandtea123@reddit
I only go to a supermarket once a week, I usually nip into a smaller store for bread and anything we've forgotten mid week, but I still fit a family of 4s shopping in a standard fridge and the freezer is mainly for meals I've made and frozen with a few bits like frozen chicken pieces that kids eat.
Not sure why you'd need a chest freezer unless you're stocking up every few weeks because you live in the middle of nowhere.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
It could be that I just have too much in my refrigerator I guess, but it all feels very important. Then again, half of a door is filled with hot sauce, so I may be a poor judge.
Loose_Acanthaceae201@reddit
I think what we very seldom have in our fridges but Americans seem to have much more often is single serve drinks (eg soda cans).
Nabbylaa@reddit
I'm guessing you chuck that on an offset smoker that is set up far enough from yours and your neighbours' houses that it won't pump smoke directly into them.
The big barrier with cooking slabs of meat here is where you do it.
I'll sometimes go to Costco for a big pork shoulder or brisket, but even then, it's less than 10 lbs for sure. I then sous vide the meat for 12-24 hours before finishing it with a very hot smoking/grilling for the bark.
It means I'm only attempting to murder my neighbours for a few minutes instead of 6 hours.
Most people who have outdoor space are living in terraced houses like me, with neighbours' houses that join to yours on both sides.
pjc50@reddit
You can get large slabs from Costco UK if you can use that much.
Sea-Situation7495@reddit
Remember, UK proces are net - so these prices include sales tax.
UniqueAssignment3022@reddit
Yeah not that long ago a whole chicken was around £3 but I know those days are never coming back
Straight_Cicada5757@reddit
If you happen to have what I call him a 'meat man' who does the local markets, they usually have awesome deals with meat packs for BBQs etc and usually slightly cheaper than the supermarkets. Usually bigger cuts of meat as well! Great for chucking in the freezer!
GreemBeam@reddit
Triple price for chlorine bathed meat lol
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Well, you have to bathe them in bleach when you have 50,000 chickens in a shed.
BlackberryNice1270@reddit
Have to say, though, we're a country FULL of sheep and the price of lamb is eye-watering. If your ground beef is the same as our minced, in Asda, which is a mid-range supermarket, it's currently £7.88 a kilo, which I worked out at $4.80/lb.
GoldiBlogs@reddit
It's worth bearing in mind that or average take-home pay is lower in the UK.
According to Google, the average net pay on the UK (after taxes and normal deductions) is around £27k ($37k) pa, or £2,200 ($3k) a month.
The minimum wage for someone over 21, working 37.5 hours a week, is about £20k ($27k)pa / £1,600 ($2,200) a month after tax.
In the USA, Google suggests that the average is more like £42k ($58k) pa / £3.5k ($4,800) a month.
So, if take-home pay in the UK is roughly two-thirds as much as the US (or 1.5 times higher in the US than the UK), you should factor this in when you're comparing prices from an affordability POV.
SnooDonuts6494@reddit
Yeah.
https://www.aldi.co.uk/product/ashfields-medium-whole-chicken-000000000000591840
AudioLlama@reddit
I wouldn't say that Aldi chicken is the average though. It's dirt cheap and piss poor quality meat.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
Can confirm. I have an issue with eating foods that contain a lot of histamine. Histamine is high in old food. Aldi is the fucking worst.
SnooDonuts6494@reddit
Citation needed
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
What do you need, a bag of vomit?
SnooDonuts6494@reddit
Histamine is most often in alcohol, processed food, fish, cheese, veg.
Not so much in chicken.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, so please show some for "Aldi is the fucking worst".
But you won't, of course, because it's just random anecdotal bullshit.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
Thank you for ‘splaining my own medical condition to me buddy, it’s not like I did a profound amount of research and saw a prolific number of specialists in the field to help diagnose and manage it so I am really glad you are here to let me know a handful of foods that happen to naturally contain high levels of histamine. Phewww!
Aldi was the fucking worst at nearly putting me personally in hospital, is that better?
SnooDonuts6494@reddit
Citation needed.
Nothingdoing079@reddit
Would you like their medical records?
SnooDonuts6494@reddit
Absolutely not.
One single person's record doesn't prove anything.
I'd like to see any studies that show a) any relationship between excess histamine and chicken, and b) anything about why Aldi is "the worst"
Obviously, they will not be able to show either.
white1984@reddit
It comes from 2 Sisters, which is one of the largest suppliers of chicken in the UK.
Kayos-theory@reddit
Yeah, but I bet there are several different areas on the farm/factory where the more expensive supermarket birds are fed better quality and kept in a better condition, the mid range are fed less well and housed with less space and the cheapest range are kept in crates and fed crap. The differences are probably not huge, and none of the birds are likely treated or fed well, but just because they come from the same supplier doesn’t mean they are the same quality.
Snap-Crackle-Pot@reddit
Price and quality are not as related as you might think. The more expensive supermarkets are owned by shareholders who demand regular profits otherwise they invest elsewhere. Aldi and Lidl are privately owned - their USP is to give shoppers good value hence the limited range and own brands. The UK has high food standards - I’d trust Aldi to maintain them over a shareholder supermarket any day
ParadiseLosingIt@reddit
Mmm, the horse meat scandal wants a word.
Snap-Crackle-Pot@reddit
Sorry but if you’re eating ready meals you’re taking a risk, period. Very difficult to dress up a whole chicken. Unless you’re Wallace and Gromit
moreidlethanwild@reddit
Exactly.
Snap-Crackle-Pot@reddit
I used to think that. Then I discovered why it’s cheap - Aldi doesn’t have shareholders demanding profits like Tesco etc do. The Aldi founders aimed to create a supermarket where shoppers felt they were getting good value and not being overcharged whereas Tesco etc actively enjoy duping customers with their huge price fluctuations. You need to be on your A-game to come out of Tesco without feeling like you’ve been royally shafted. I can’t be bothered checking prices, just go to Aldi
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
While I dont doubt that, I also am willing to bet that your piss poor quality is about par with our middle tier.
Zombie_Shostakovich@reddit
Ocado is more of an up market supermarket. It's basic 1.8 kg chicken is £6. For a free range chicken its £13 and up to £18.
itssearstower@reddit
Where the hell are you shopping? I paid $3.22 a pound for 5lbs of skinless chicken thighs at Walmart yesterday!
Food is generally cheaper in Britain, but meat actually isn't. At least that was my experience when I lived there. Of course, there's alway the arguments about animal welfare and quality but your average Tesco chicken that costs 4 or 5 quid ain't had much of a life
Commercial-Dog4021@reddit
No kidding. At the grocery I can buy a 5+lb chicken for under $10 out the door, ground beef usually $3.50/lb for 85/15. If I go 5 miles further down the road, I can buy 3lb-6lb farm raised chickens for $8-10ea, hell I can buy half a cow, butchered for $750-$900…that’s usually 200-300lbs of beef. I donno where OP is shopping, but it’s certainly not indicative of where I shop, or anywhere I’ve shopped in the past few years. I live in bumfuck, TN for reference….relatively close to the state capital, though.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Kroger in Cincinnati. The two brands they sell are Tyson and some Amish chicken. I previously worked at Tyson, so I dont buy Tyson. The Amish chicken is a middle priced option, still cheaper than any organic or free-range at any other grocery.
And even ignoring animal treatment, which I'm sure isn't ideal in either country, the quality of the food here is just bad and getting worse. In the past few months I've made 3 returns for chicken that was slimy and smelled rotten. I assume theirs is slightly better at least
TheGeordieGal@reddit
There’s a few YouTubers done comparisons of UK vs US grocery shops if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Every single time the UK worked out cheaper.
Alert-Painting1164@reddit
The U.K. is one of the cheapest for supermarkets in the western world. There is way more competition. The U.S. being highly regionalised has much less local competition so you just don’t get the same price competitiveness most places in the U.K. have a Sainsbury’s, a tescos, an Asda, a Waitrose, maybe a Morrisons etc. The US might have two choices even in a large town just outside NYc.
itssearstower@reddit
The first part of that is definitely correct, wish I knew why, subsidies? You're absolutely way off about US supermarkets though. I live in a beach town in Florida, could comfortably count half a dozen chain supermarkets here...
Walmart Publix Winn Dixie Aldi Whole Foods Sprouts Fresh Market Bravo Presidente
These don't include farmer's markets either
Alert-Painting1164@reddit
Must just be the tri-state area where we have whole foods, stop and shop and shop rite and not a lot else
itssearstower@reddit
No Walmart?
Alert-Painting1164@reddit
Not where we are, to the point where I’ve never been in a Walmart in 15 years living in the U.S.
itssearstower@reddit
Wowzers
Sopzeh@reddit
The people giving you Aldi links are not giving you the middle priced option in the UK. I am going to call that Waitrose (most major supermarkets are cheap, high end supermarkets are middle, local butcher is high).
A medium chicken in Waitrose is £5.50 so $7.55.
First-Lengthiness-16@reddit
Waitrose is not middle. You are talking rubbish.
mgorgey@reddit
I think it's fair to call it the middle in the context they are using.
No-Photograph3463@reddit
Naah, Sainsbury's I'd class as middle. Waitrose is definitely the high end of supermarkets, just a little below M&S I'd say.
mgorgey@reddit
Waitrose is the high end of supermarkets but isn't the high end of places to purchase chickens.
First-Lengthiness-16@reddit
How much is the average car in the uk?
Answer: about 1 million, because although most people spend circa 20k, some people buy rolls Royce’s for 2 million.
Not a good answer is it.
Waitrose is not average
mgorgey@reddit
Nobody ever claimed it was average... They claimed it was the middle of the market.
For cars Mercedes/Audi/BMW traditionally probably represent the middle of the market.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Appreciate it! I should have been more clear in the question, but I would assume your "low quality" chicken is probably closer to our middle range.
Ok_Anything_9871@reddit
Or for higher end supermarket chicken, an M&S free range corn-fed whole chicken for £14 ($5.30/lb)
Sopzeh@reddit
We would need somebody who has lived in both countries to confirm. We don't have hormones and chlorine but we do have water injections and rubbery meat due to lack of exercise by the chicken (on the cheap stuff).
RecommendationDue932@reddit
I was shocked how much chicken wings cost in America $14.99 per kilo! in the UK it's under £2
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
It's genuinely insane. I remember the 50 cent wing nights at Buffalo wild wings, and now I can't go there without getting slightly angry about the cost.
To be fair, we eat a lot of chicken wings.
ldn-ldn@reddit
What's really insane is that US has a lot more active farm land than the whole of EU (with EU having larger population) and most of US farms are huge and industrialised. You'd think economies of scale would make US food ultra cheap...
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
That's exactly why it was so surprising. I honestly thought it would be cheaper here!
Zerttretttttt@reddit
Don’t forget that our prices already have tax included in them so options added on top
ldn-ldn@reddit
There's no VAT for raw produce.
tacticall0tion@reddit
We also don't have chlorine in our chicken
gogoluke@reddit
There's unlikely to be VAT on meat... but yes VAT is always included on the price displayed.
Down-Right-Mystical@reddit
You're probably paying more for the fact that all your chicken has to be washed in chlorine first. (Maybe? That might be a myth that reddit likes.)
BetYouThoughtOfThis@reddit
Wait until you see the price of lamb in the UK.
Conk87@reddit
Lamb is pretty expensive almost everywhere in comparison to other meats. They're very small animals and most give birth to only 1-2 offspring, with the occasional triplet. When factoring in time and cost to raise these animals, compared to say a pig who has multiple offspring and large, or cows which are huge, makes sense it's expensive.
BetYouThoughtOfThis@reddit
What I meant is it is exceptionally cheaper in the UK. t is not what I would consider expensive at all. There's sheep everywhere around where I live though.
Conk87@reddit
Ah right I see...I misread it that you were saying lamb is expensive in the UK compared to the US. My bad. TBF of all the US chefs/cooks I watch on YouTube I hardly ever see them cooking with lamb so makes sense if it's because it's super pricey there. I guess we're lucky to have it relatively affordable and very available. Its the absolute best in my opinion. The GOAT you might say
Whithorsematt@reddit
£25/Kg for chops in the farm shop I was in today.
BetYouThoughtOfThis@reddit
I fed a family of 3 lamb for £4 from Sainsbury this week. I wasn't paying attention to the per kg price but I know when I lived in America it cost several hours of my wages for the same thing.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Oh really? I've only eaten lamb a couple times because it's so expensive here. Been wanting to roast a leg of lamb.
LordSn00ty@reddit
Or duck, for that matter. Considering how many people go duck hunting in the US, I cannot comprehend why it's eye wateringly expensive at the store.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Agreed! They are everywhere, maybe I'll just see if the Nintendo Duck Hunt skills transfer over
CountTruffula@reddit
Don't eat that chicken, it's not good chicken
Toffeemade@reddit
Travelling from the UK makes me realise the cost of food in the UK is really low compared to North America and the rest of Europe.
SingerFirm1090@reddit
Chickens are raised in more hygenic conditions, which is why the UK & Europe don't need to wash them in bleach, even organic chicken can be found in the UK for less than you quote. Judging from my local supermarket, more chicken is sold as pieces, drum sticks, breast, liver, etc. than whole chickens.
I regularly buy Wagyu beef from both Aldi & Tesco, usually when it's on offer. Wagyu beef is made from a hybrid between Japanese Wagyu cattle and American Angus cattle and has become popular in the UK, it is very nice.
BuiltInYorkshire@reddit
The Wagyu beef we buy here isn't cross bred with American beef though.
vaskopopa@reddit
Cosco rotisserie chicken is about the same as in US. £4.99 vs $5.99
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Yeah, and here it's sold as their loss leader. Basically, they draw people into the store with discounted rotisserie chickens so they spend $300 in store. Seems like in the UK, it's basically the standard price
vaskopopa@reddit
I don’t think you could buy AND cook a chicken at that price in the UK.
_debowsky@reddit
My local butcher is a turkey farmer, I bought 5 whole meaty legs recently for my dogs, possibly a good 8kg and paid £19
jonathanemptage@reddit
depends on the chicken \~£4 is about right I mean you could pay more but why would you when the £4 one is perfectly fine.we can get 500g which is 1.11lb for about £5.
Opening_Succotash_95@reddit
You'll have a heart attack when you see how cheap eggs are here.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
I know the quality of eggs is significantly better, but what does a dozen eggs cost there? It has been higher for the last year or so, close to $4-5 for the cheapest. If you want a nice bright yolk and a non slimy white, add a couple more bucks on top. It's especially frustrating when I have friends with chickens who sell eggs. Even they sell for at least 5 a dozen.
Pure-Kaleidoscope207@reddit
I can get 15 free range eggs for about $3.5 or so.
If I was willing to go caged eggs then they would be considerably cheaper.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Man, where are you? I'm jealous
Pure-Kaleidoscope207@reddit
I'm in the UK! I converted costs to USD for ease of comparison... Sorry!
Specialist-Mud-6650@reddit
Probably like £3/$4 for 12 of the cheapest eggs. I don't know where that ranks into the quality/size scale compared to the US.
I spend like £5 for a dozen good quality eggs, so it sounds pretty similar.
EmFan1999@reddit
Cheap meat is not a good thing. Do you know how these animals are treated?
It should be the most expensive food item we can buy
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
You are starting an argument with no one. I am simply saying that our chickens are more expensive than theirs, regardless of treatment.
Believe it or not, eating an animals flesh isn't exactly nice in the first place.
EmFan1999@reddit
I just think it’s gross to want to eat animals at the cheapest possible price point. I’m well aware it wasn’t your question.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
That's cool. Are you familiar with Maslow's hierarchy of needs? Basically, it's nice in theory, but I dont really care until I'm not struggling to feed my kids.
EmFan1999@reddit
And therein lies the problem with this society. Your kids don’t need meat to survive. There are much cheaper and healthier protein sources
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
My sarcastic comment aside, therein lies the problem in your argument. You are so idealistic, you genuinely believe it is plausible for a father of two (and presumably, everyone else?) to what, force feed my autistic son food he hates? Sorry, the world is messier than your childlike worldview allows for.
EmFan1999@reddit
Yes that’s what I said, force feed him food he hates
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Would you like to take a guess what he eats? Hint: it's the topic literally everyone else in this conversation is talking about.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
I'm going to go buy an extra chicken and throw it directly in the garbage for that
Cpt_TomMoores_jacuzi@reddit
Hmm it is cheaper over here by the sounds of it but you need to understand that the meat from the supermarket is fucking shite. I don't know if it's any better in the US mind you, but the meat you get from a butchers in the UK is far better quality, but is also more expensive.
So, for example, you can get x3 sirloin steaks at the supermarket for £21.00. Last weekend I bought x3 sirloin from the butchers and they were £32.something (so i guess close to +£4 per steak) but the quality was miles ahead.
Its the same with chicken - supermarket chicken is like 50% water.
Stiffy_B@reddit
Our currency is devalued against the dollar
Safe_Application_465@reddit
Come to Australia
Avg 2.2 Kg (5lb ) whole fresh is about US $8.50 reg price Monthly on special for less than US$6
gogoluke@reddit
Live in Chester Le Street. Kidnap a goat and feed it in your garden then butcher it yourself. £free.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Wow, great prices. I just dont know if I could enjoy my chicken if it didnt smell like a public pool.
Seriously though, as someone who has spent most of my life working in restaurants, the food here is shocking.
Hate_Feight@reddit
After I've watched a few documentaries (the guy from supersize me did one on chickens) and it's really turned me off my lifelong dream of visiting the US. Chlorinated chicken is the worst sounding thing ever, and then you learn WHY it has to be chlorinated, frankenchickens that can barely stand they are so fat, rotting on the spot, while they are alive. Just no.
Alert-Painting1164@reddit
You can easily get chickens that weren’t raised that way. Yes US food standards are a mess but you aren’t being force fed the worst of it.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
I wouldn't let it dissuade you from visiting, I would just preplan meals if I were you. Have a list of places to try, and give it a shot. Despite what you may hear, there is some cool stuff here.
Obvious_Arm8802@reddit
I regularly see whole chickens on special for $3 in Cole’s and Woolies.
So that’s US$2.
Australians eat more meat per capita than anybody else in the world, and also more chicken.
kotare78@reddit
The majority of chicken in Aus is dipped in chlorine.
batch1972@reddit
Source or bullshit
kotare78@reddit
https://chicken.org.au/faqs/food-safety-faqs/#:\~:text=Yes%2C%20Food%20Standards%20Australia%20New,meat%20products%20as%20a%20result.
batch1972@reddit
I’m somewhat horrified. I’d assumed that this was only an American thing
kotare78@reddit
I was too when I found out they do it New Zealand.
Aspirational1@reddit
You're comparing it to USA chicken, so, your point is?
kotare78@reddit
I am saying it does. Look it up.
Aspirational1@reddit
TIL
tompez@reddit
Your wages and productivity is way higher than ours.
rovstuart@reddit
I was in the coop today and saw steaks priced at between £8 and£12. It wasn't too long ago that you could get 2 for £8
Opening_Succotash_95@reddit
The co-op is arguably the most expensive supermarket in the UK these days so that's playing into that. I wouldn't be surprised if you can get a good steak at a butcher for less (I rarely buy steak but do shop at my local butcher all the time).
LeivTunc@reddit
The bleach and hormones increase the cost of your products.
MsPooka@reddit
It's not just chicken. Overall, food is 33% cheaper in the UK. I'm not really sure why.
mrbill1234@reddit
Anyone curious about supermarket prices in the U.K. - https://trolley.do.uk
rleaky@reddit
A full chocked to feed a family of 4 is about £5 -£6
But remember our food is generally better quality and higher standards.
Beef mince is hard to compare ... Depends on type of beef and fat content.
Low quality beef with high fat content could be as cheap as £2.5 for about 400gm high quality learn beef over£6
Kind_Ad5566@reddit
It will be difficult to do a true comparison as we, and I assume you as well, can buy cheap chicken or corn fed high welfare chicken.
Anything from £3 a bird to £20.
naasei@reddit
If it's ground "beef", it could be anything - horse squirrel, fox etc meat
At £4, that chicken must be a dead chicken injected with fat and water to increase the weight.
AdAggressive9224@reddit
£2.80 in Aldi for a small whole chicken. Chicken is very cheap here. Massive production, no VAT (sales tax) . It's a miracle of modern agriculture. But you have to remember the UK is also an agricultural powerhouse. The agricultural revolution started here and most agricultural science came from the UK.
Round_Caregiver2380@reddit
Your slaughterhouses are all owned by one or two companies now (unless a random Reddit dude was lying about it) so they have a monopoly and can charge whatever they want
Obvious-Water569@reddit
American chickens are the size of the average microwave oven because of all the growth hormones and shit.
Pound for pound, the price is probably quite similar.
CombCultural5907@reddit
Just for shits and giggles, I checked the price here in France. You can get a 1.4kg chicken for €5.90. No chlorine or antibiotics. An organic free range bird is €8.99. So, between US$7-15.
white1984@reddit
Another example, ICA in Sweden charges 73 crowns (£5.63) for a 1.2kg ordinary bird, while 278 crowns (£21.44) for a 2kg organic bird.
Megamarket in Ukraine online told me whole chickens are 278 hryvnia per kg (£4.91)
GoodbyeForeverDavid@reddit
Where you shoppin' at? I got one (4.5ish lbs) for ~$8 this week at Kroger.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Kroger, Cincinnati. I used to work at Tyson, so I dont buy Tyson. That is significantly cheaper, but probably wouldn't be allowed for human consumption in the UK lol
GoodbyeForeverDavid@reddit
Go Reds!
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
As a lifelong resident, I've given up all hope of any Cincy championships in any sport, but the Reds do hold a place in my heart.
I'd be happy with Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame, who needs to win?
GoodbyeForeverDavid@reddit
Yeah, at least the Bengals were looking promising for a while! My father's side of the family is from Cincy and he spent a fair amount of time there. I've been there a number of times and always had a good time. Montgomery inn! Definitely holds a special place in my heart.
No-Environment1207@reddit (OP)
Had the duck from montgomery inn for my 18th birthday! Pretty good stuff. Maybe I'll go there again when Vance is out of town and it's possible to even get there🤣
Exotic-Knowledge-243@reddit
I just googled it and at asda a supermarket. Not the most expensive and not the cheapest a whole cooked chicken £5.92 for a whole uncooked chicken £4.48
Efficient_Try9032@reddit
Your mum knows haha
qualityvote2@reddit
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