i wish that the world meant more to people than how sugary their cereal is… i know it does, it’s just that people don’t know how to see that. THAT’s what people should be thinking about when they go to the store to buy their mass produced, machine handled, land deteriorating “foods” potentially from the other side of the world, ruining lives and land in its creation. it’s scary to think about so i know why people turn it off. but that’s even scarier…

Again, some things are made identically for different brand labels and some are not. My dad worked in oil refineries and told me only about 4 refineries make antifreesze, which they sell to all the different companies who market it–who then they put their own “additives”(if any)to be able to justify jacked-up prices and labels on it. College kids who’ve worked summer jobs in canneries told me they often process vegetables or whatever for more than one company, and sometimes they’re identical products–but other times the name brand gets the best of the produce, and the generic brand gets what’s left that doesn’t make the cut for the brand name.

But my main concern/point to make is that now I’m Diabetic and watching my TOTAL carbohydrate intake–so I’m reading ingredient labels even more closely than before–the generics are usually higher in carbohydrates than the name brands. Especially if they’re sweetened–I think the sweetness gets increased to mask the lack of intrinsic taste due to lesser quality ingredients–cookies, spaghetti sauce, etc.

But I think the more expensive the product, the harder it is to go generic. Think about it, would you buy a car if you had never heard of the brand before?

In Texas we have HEB, and I’m lucky their store brand food is consistently excellent. In some cases, it’s preferred.

Just yesterday I shelled out extra for the expensive sunscreen for a trip I’m taking soon. It’s lighter and less greasy than the cheap stuff, so I know I’m more likely to use it and therefore less likely to get sunburned. Also, it is worth it not to be greasy in sticky in the heat.

Recently I’ve had some less than thrilling experiences with generic frozen foods from the Big Y supermarkets. Their pizza crust is too dry and their veggie burgers are too mooshy.

I used to buy a lot of generic staples but since I’ve become more of a foodie/hippie I tend to go for the name brand ‘unbleached’ flour, the vegetarian eggs, the recycled toilet paper, and the unsalted butter that are not available as generics.

I know here in Canada, generic brand products are pretty much made by the same factory, only different logos being printed onto the bag. IE, Sobeys/IGA Compliments brand products are made by the same company as the Safeway branded products. I know this because I’ve worked the graveyard shift stocking shelves in both places.

We don’t buy a lot of name brand things, but the “natural” options can cost anywhere from 20% to 50% more (or more).

I have to agree as well, some things, like Oreos and Coke don’t have equivalents. Even my diet caffeine free coke doesn’t have an equal that I have tasted. Thankfully we buy it when it’s on sale and almost always buy the 2 liter bottles. Soda is a killer place to same, since a single 20oz bottle can cost more than a 2 liter bottle.

I spend too much money buying prechopped food, and prepared foods as well, but the lava cakes are awesome.

Everything bought generic. If there’s a generic, I buy it, and I am very satisfied with my level of food enjoyment. And it’s cheaper.

Generally, that has changed; much of the “generic” stuff is now produced on the very same production lines with similar recipes, so I’ll often buy “generic.”

The notable exceptions are in cases where advances in materials technology (which tend to be heavily patented) make a big difference. The “big names” in plastics (Glad, Ziplock) tend to truly be materially better than the generics. Mind you, generic freezer bags seem to work OK!

Sad.