Spam Is an inferior Good

Yes, that is the technical economic term: "inferior good." Just as the technical economic term is "zombie bank."

Andrew Martin:

Spam Turns Serious and Hormel Turns Out More: AUSTIN, Minn. — The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain. But for some employees at the Hormel Foods Corporation plant here, times have never been better. They are working at a furious pace and piling up all the overtime they want. The workers make Spam.... Americans have turned to the glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table.... Hormel is cranking out as much Spam as its workers can produce. In a factory that abuts Interstate 90, two shifts of workers have been making Spam seven days a week since July, and they have been told that the relentless work schedule will continue indefinitely....

A 12-ounce can of Spam, marketed as “Crazy Tasty,” costs about $2.40. “People are realizing it’s not that bad a product,” said Dan Johnson, 55, who operates a 70-foot-high Spam oven. Hormel declined to cooperate with this article....

Even as consumers are cutting back on all sorts of goods, Spam is among a select group of thrifty grocery items that are selling steadily. Pancake mixes and instant potatoes are booming. So are vitamins, fruit and vegetable preservatives and beer, according to data from October compiled by Information Resources, a market research firm. “We’ve seen a double-digit increase in the sale of rice and beans,” said Teena Massingill, spokeswoman for the Safeway grocery chain, in an e-mail message. “They’re real belly fillers.” Kraft Foods said recently that some of its value-oriented products like macaroni and cheese, Jell-O and Kool-Aid were experiencing robust growth. And sales are still growing, if not booming, for Velveeta....

Spam developed a camp following in the 1970s, mainly because of Monty Python, the English comedy troupe. In a 1970 skit, a couple tried to order breakfast at a cafe featuring Spam in nearly every entree, like “Spam, Eggs, Sausage and Spam.” The diners were eventually drowned out by a group of Vikings singing, “Spam, lovely Spam, wonderful Spam.” (Familiar with the skit, Internet pioneers labeled junk e-mail “spam” because it overwhelmed other dialogue, according to one theory.)...

No independent data provider compiles sales figures that include all the outlets where Spam is sold, including foreign stores, so it is not clear exactly how much sales are up. Hormel’s chief executive, Jeffrey M. Ettinger, said in September that they were growing by double digits.... “We are scheduled to work every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Darwin Sellers, 56, a Spam “formulator” who adds salt, sugar and nitrates to batches of Spam. “Mr. Ettinger is negotiating with the man upstairs to get us to work eight days a week.” Mr. Sellers said he had not seen much of his family in recent months, but the grueling schedule had been good for his checkbook. He bought a new television and planned to replace a 20-year-old refrigerator...

Comments

[TS]

12 ounces for $2.40? That's $3.20/lb. Hmm, I can think of a dozen different meats that I can buy for less than that right here in NYC and that I would prefer to spam. Italian sausages for $2.99 per pound, chicken hearts for $1.19/lb, roasted pork from Chinatown, various turkey meats, and many more.

I have tried spam maybe once in my life, and if it were the only meat available I would definitely be a vegetarian. But I always assumed that people buy it because it must be really dirt cheap, like 69c per can. For $3.20/lb it cannot be the price alone that sells this.

[Leila Abu-Saba]

If you're ever in Hawaii or at a Japanese-American church lunch in California, try the spam musubu. Really really good, and I otherwise would never touch Spam. In fact I'm one of those Bay Area sustainable-farming-no-nitrites-in-my-ham foodies. But Spam musubu is delicious. Best if the Spam is grilled before making up the rice thingies.

It's also appropriate for earthquake kits if there are meat eaters in the house. But yes, I can get cheaper animal protein, even hormone/antibiotic-free.

[Leila Abu-Saba]

I wrote about this on my blog in the winter, when wheat prices were spiking. I suggested that if your interest-bearing savings account is giving you almost no return, and you don't keep your pantry stocked, you may do well to invest some of your disposable income in non-perishable food supplies. I bought quite a bit of pasta at less than a dollar a pound back then, and was smug when the price at Safeway then went up to $1.25 a pound and pretty much stayed there, or moreso.

Now it's possible that the wheat and rice shortages and price spikes were like the gas prices, generated by speculators and therefore temporary. Prices have eased somewhat. However, it's a good idea to keep food around, to buffer natural disasters or economic uncertainty. And most food prices have remained high. Just-in-time inventory practices might not look so good when you've got a house full of children and displaced relatives, and one can of beans.

If the earthquake/hurricane/power outage hits, how long could you feed your family out of your cupboards? The last big hurricane in Texas left a lot of supermarket aisles bare for weeks. Chez nous we've got at least two months worth of rice, beans, pasta, canned fish, yes a couple of cans of Spam & Vienna sausage, tomatoes, pumpkin, and boxed dry milk. Also other assorted grains including oatmeal; dried and canned fruits, and the usual herbs, spices and oils. THere's also an emergency kit with a three day supply of canned beans, canned fruit, dry milk, and bulghur wheat, for putting in the car if necessary (along with bottled water natch).

I don't really credit the zombies-coming-to-Oakland theory of the End of Everything, and I imagine we're going to bump along in this crisis as we did in the 70s. I may end up donating the Spam to the food bank before it expires. We may never have to live on our stock. But we have it, we bought it when prices were lower, and 99% of it is food we eat anyway (except the Spam. Haven't learned to make Spam musubu yet although I bought some toasted nori).

A word to the prudent.

[low-tech cyclist]

Al Yankovic, "Spam" (tune: R.E.M.'s "Stand"):

Oh, spam on the table at home (ham and pork)
Think about selection, are there different flavors now (lets eat)
Spam in my office at work (its the best)
Think about the stuff its made from, wonder if its mystery meat

If you need a spoon, keep one around
Carry a thermos to help wash it down
Now, if there's some left, don't throw it out
Use it for spackle or bathroom grout, now

Spam in my pantry at home (have some more)
Think of expiration, better read the label (oh boy)
Spam breakfast, dinner, or lunch (its the best)
Think about how its been precooked, wonder if I'll just eat it cold

Now, once you start in, you can't put it down
Don't leave it sitting or it'll turn brown
The key is going to open the tin
The tin is there to keep the spam in...

[don majors]

I have read that Spam is a Hawaiian staple...like the breakfast of Heinz Beans and Bangers (mini-wieners) in Britain.

[bartkid]

>I have read that Spam is a Hawaiian staple.

And the President-Elect is from Hawaii.
I just assumed millions of Americans refined their tastes to match their new Hawaii overlord.

[CJColucci]

Is there anything accessible to laypeople on the subject of inferior goods generally?