The transition from consumer to food inspector isn’t easy. As trust in the food supply has eroded, so has the amount of time that Americans spend shopping and cooking. Research collected by Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas, showed that the average amount of time each member of a married couple spends shopping, preparing food and cleaning up has dropped 46 percent, from 87.5 minutes per day in 1985 to 47.5 minutes in 2003. In the end, shoppers are learning that it’s up to them to balance concerns of food safety, sustainability, cost and convenience, and to make the necessary trade-offs.
The Washington Post
The New Food Inspector: You
(Jan. 30)
