Food, glorious food. With Christmas just a few days away, people the world over are planning their menus and frantically writing their shopping lists to ensure their tables are laden for the big day. As the food retailers prepare for the Christmas food shopping deluge, we’ve taken a look at what can only be described at the obscenity that is some of the world’s most expensive foods.
Why obscene? Well, if you take a look at some of these ridiculously priced titbits and consider nearly one in eight people in the world are malnourished, you will realise that food must be the biggest social divide of all and how unnecessary it really is.
Take this cupcake that cost a whopping $900.00! That’s about 540 quid in good old British pounds, by the way. Did that woman seriously need her food to be dripped in gold flakes and diamonds? Did it taste any better for it? To put it into perspective, had the cost of just that one cupcake been donated to Crisis, a charity which supports homeless people, twenty five people would have benefited from:
- Three meals including Christmas dinner
- A shower, change of clothes, haircut and a health check
- Advice
- Future training and support
Which would have give this birthday girl the most pleasure? A few mouthfuls of obscenely priced sponge cake or the knowledge she’d helped make Christmas better for so many people?
Even more obscene is this white Almas caviar which comes from 100 year old albino sturgeons. Instead of serving that at your Christmas party, you could donate £24,000 (which is what a kilo of this caviar would cost you) to WaterAid and save some of the 2,000 children who die from diarrhoea as a result of inadequate sanitation every day!
I’m a confirmed chocoholic, but no matter how deep my pockets were, one of these Knipschildt’s La Madeline au Truffe would choke me at 160 quid each. Nearly a million people have needed the support of food banks in 2013- 2014 according to the Trussel Trust. So how many families could they support this Christmas with a donation of £150? Remember – that’s the cost of just ONE truffle!
We all like to splash out at Christmas. I know I do and I’m already planning how I’m going to cook up my seasonal storm, but please, please let’s keep it in proportion and forget these obscenely expensive foods. I’m convinced that most people would get far more pleasure from a jar of chutney lovingly home-made by a friend or relative than all the white caviar in the world. And a mince pie made by your child, however messy the final offering, is worth more than a dozen boxfuls of Knipschildt’s truffles.
Remember this is a time for caring and sharing. If you’ve got that sort of money to spend and find yourself drawn to some extravagant luxury like the ones we’ve mentioned, pause for thought. Instead, why not find yourself a good cause to support and help make Christmas better for others. That, for me, is the true spirit of Christmas.