Vegetarians are certainly one of the most vulnerable segments of the consumer population. Especially at Wal-Mart. I was a bit embarrassed to even ask for tofu at the Roanoke Wal-Mart, but it turned out they have it. For $2.38 for a one pound package. And it's a fair low quality variety that has for the past few months been selling at a Shoppers Food Warehouse in the DC Area for $1. So given that Wal-Mart is doubtless able to get a price on tofu at least as good as the one SFW gets, this means that WalMart is marking up the tofu by well over 100%. So I guess they don't pass all the savings on to us . . . .
But it certainly is strange that it seems to cost more to be a vegetarian than a carnivore. You'd think all the efficiencies would point to cheap and plentiful vegetarian food. But no, vegetarians are a bit of a captive market, and at this point, I don't think there is anything approaching "perfect competition" in that market.
But it certainly is strange that it seems to cost more to be a vegetarian than a carnivore. You'd think all the efficiencies would point to cheap and plentiful vegetarian food. But no, vegetarians are a bit of a captive market, and at this point, I don't think there is anything approaching "perfect competition" in that market.
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