tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post2222369294185527986..comments2024-03-27T23:28:20.274-04:00Comments on Face to Face: TV dinners then and now agnostichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-29566718186850915982013-02-25T04:43:28.313-05:002013-02-25T04:43:28.313-05:00I was reading an article about horsemeat in Europe...I was reading an article about horsemeat in Europe a week ago and came across the following figure :<br /><br />http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65895000/gif/_65895272_food_consumption_624-02.gif<br /><br />So ready meals, in the UK, seem to have shown a linear growth through the 80s to the present. I know it says convenience meat products as well, but I really don't believe there is that much of a market in turkey twizzlers and the like to explain a gap.<br /><br />I wonder if the trend in the US is the same or there are differences (this kind of thing might be less popular there due to the greater cheapness and ubiquity of fast food).<br /><br />Of course, no one owned microwaves back in the early 1980s (let alone the 1950s!), compared to today (e.g. linear growth from 1980 to present again http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/0300260202001.png and http://www.cbs.nl/NR/rdonlyres/9DE6BD5E-C377-4A56-B313-0C506A7A45B2/0/1163g1.gif for examples), but as you say, technology does not explain these trends and is used by people to meet their needs.<br /><br />(Maybe I've missed the point and you're saying that there is heterogenity between the drive for growth in both periods "In the 1980s, during such a freewheeling time, naturally there were some (not lonely! connected!) singles who were too busy living a fun and exciting life that they had no time to cook, and these caused growth in that period, while growth after 1990 is mostly due to moms who don't want to cook and these passive young worms who are too timid even to cook."...)<br /><br /><i>What's the alternative? -- clinging to your mommy's skirt or microwaving Ramen noodles for the rest of your life.</i><br /><br />I think they just learn to cook in their teens. It's what my little sister did.<br /><br />...<br /><br />Weren't dietary trends just towards scarfing down more carbs during the 1960s - 1980s period anyway? More obesity, more overweight, less activity overall (I know you say the 1970s to 1980s did more high intensity activity). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-61127951761247218432013-02-24T18:30:57.322-05:002013-02-24T18:30:57.322-05:00When mom was out at her consciousness-raising grou...When mom was out at her consciousness-raising group in the 70s, there were these:<br /><br /> http://www.retroland.com/libbyland-dinners/<br /><br />They really were fun, except for the scorching pudding.<br /><br />-JamesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com