While I was in Japan for my Junior Term Abroad (JTA) Program, I, together with nine other companions from the Ateneo, decided to have a “pot money” which was to be a communal fund for our expenses, mostly for food. More than evading the hassles of cooking by ourselves, we resorted to this because we wanted to save, given Japan’s high standard of living.
Being Filipinos, plus the fact that Japanese rice is one of the best in the world, the bulk of our expenses went mostly for the purchase of such staple food. It took up about half of our weekly expenses (we would consume 10 kilos of rice a week, which would cost us about 5000 yen), which got us into thinking of lessening our consumption or looking for alternative forms of carbohydrates that would both please our palate and satisfy our hunger.
We considered having potatoes, pasta, or even wanting to give the low-carb diet a shot just to be able to save a bit. In the end, we decided to stick with having rice meals as often as our pockets would allow, just because the Asians in us couldn’t let go of stuffing ourselves with rice – better rice, at that.
Although this was a collective decision, most of us had varying opinions regarding our willingness to give up rice for various alternatives. I, for one, was open to the idea of giving up rice and eating pasta (which costs less), in exchange for more money for, say, snacks. A friend was willing to give up rice entirely, not just for her diet, but for more spending money for shopping. The others, however, just couldn’t take rice off their diet and were not willing to trade it for any substitutes just because they have gotten used to it being part of their daily meals.
Given this scenario, we can see how my companions and I have varying marginal rates of substitution when it comes to our rice consumption. Everything depended on our levels of utility, or the amount of satisfaction that would be given by rice. In the end, we all came to a point that although we all had different perspectives with regards to substituting rice for other filling alternatives, we simply had to resort to saving our money for other reasons rather than not being able to give way to our hungry stomachs.
18 comments:
yes, i agree. a friend of mine can eat meals without rice while i cant. people really do have varying marginal rates of substitution on rice consumption.:)
To put your experience in a bigger perspective, I guess you could say that culture and traditions often affect economic practices. In the Philippines, it it is almost impossible to replace rice as the most economic and basic food, as you've illustrated in your entry.
Economic policies in one country may not work in another country, since culture and tradition will always dictate what we are ready to give up, and what we prioritize. :) - AnnaBee
I agree that there definitely is varying rates of rice consumption. However, I also think that economic status has something to do with this. When rice is a need, as is with the lower classes, it's not as easy to replace rice with, say, crackers. On the other hand, to those in the upper classes, rice seems to not be as important. We have diets and food plans. It's so easy for us to say we'll cut down on rice because there is an abundance of everything else.
Does this make any sense? Sorry random rambling. Haha -Raymond
rice is a necessity for me but for my friend named R*****. it's an option. she normally eats pasta, bread, sandwiches, or turon. haha
Heidee, I know who R***** is. She's my friend and yes, she doesn't eat rice although she owns fields of it. HAHAHA. Well actually yes, I think it depends on the person which good she most values, and willing to pay for. (Amen to the one who skipped rice for shopping. I would've probably done the same.)
I wish I can give up that other cup of rice. Eating two cups of rice per meal is not only expensive but also unhealthy. But I can't seem to put off that other cup for shopping money or whatever. It can't be helped.
Eating rice is one of those cultural traits most Asians have that we can't let go of so easily. I understand that for countries where rice is not as abundant and more expensive to produce, a lot of staple rice eaters would feel a little harassed to give such a high premium for a crop that they normally have daily on their plates.
Substituting rice with a different carb, say pasta, for example, is difficult if one is not accustomed to eating such food on a normal basis. However, just as Raymond has pointed out, it usually depends on socioeconomic class.
Kate
Interesting.. just goes to show how diversed and varied people can be, that even in such small groups, preferences for trivial things differ and matter.
That's true. With all the rice-hoarding going on right now (causing increase in rice prices), we might all just have to cut back. And even if I can't help having a weak appetite, I now feel very guilty leaving even bits of rice during meals. :(
-Kei
I say it all boils down to priority. I normally don't eat rice too. So if I was probably in that same situation, then saving up money in exchange of having to purchase rice wouldn't be such a big deal for me. I guess in circumstances when we actually have less, it's a pretty natural response for people to give up things that are easy to let go (i.e. food for those in diet programs, extra cash for the food-lovers), and hold on to things that they deem most essential. :)
Wuhoo nakakagutom. :)
Fortunately for your group, you were able to somehow resolve your differences in marginal rates of substitution peacefully. Imagine if the entire country faced this problem. Even more variation in viewing rice as a utility, and even more variation in, uh, "conflict management style". I don't even want to think about what will happen if this rice crisis issue doesn't blow over like yours did in Japan.
Then again, the rice crisis may quite possibly be a theoretical / managed construct, as my Eco teacher would say. But that's another topic entirely. :)
i tried living without rice in singapore. i don't like rice that much, i didnt really lose any weight, but i don't regret the fact that the rice i would have eaten found their way to the tummies of those who wanted it more! :)
sorry for the useless comment, i was just sharing!
Interesting entry. I bet I, too, have a different substitution rate when it comes to rice compared to you and your JTA companions. I'm not a big fan of rice and I can easily trade it with pasta or bread.
yes i like rice yum....good point on marginal substitution
I exactly know how you feel. But coincidentally, when in Korea, we used to order out alot. One of our favorites was Korean style chicken. Some of us hated the dark meat some hated the white meat so to solve the problem, we basically paired off and consumed a chicken per pair, we were able to get the parts that we wanted.
In addition to this, we also liked eating out alot but some of us didn't like spicy food so it was really hard to find a restaurant, considering that everything in Korea is spicy.
amidst replies of economic terms and reflections, all I can say is... napakain ako ng kanin sa blog mo.
But seriously, I agree with anna (paste anna's comment here). e've gotten so used to rice that it's hard to deviate from that. Our plates seem blank without those soft white grains that annoyingly stick to our food. The context of our culture and our country has made us too "dependent" on rice.
However, haha I can eat without rice haha. Except kapag fried food.
I'm sorry, I'm eating eh so this is a bit BOOM sabog
The pot money thing is smart. We tried doing it in paris, but not in lille. But yeah as you pointed out, there could be a problem when not all agree on what food exactly to spend it on.
Ang cute cute niyong JTA japan girls! :D
gusto ko ng gyudon!
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