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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's How Much Groceries Cost in the US Compared to Mexico, Canada and China
As much as housing skyrocketed in cost during and after the pandemic, food prices rose even faster. Read Next: Discover More: From 2020-2024, the USDA reports that food prices rose by 23.6%, compared to 23.0% for housing. But food inflation slowed dramatically in 2024, from a rate of 11.4% in 2022 to 5.0% in 2023 to just 1.2% in 2024. So how do U.S. grocery prices and affordability compare to our neighbors in Canada and Mexico, and to the second largest economy in the world, China? Grocery Cost Index: 71.75 (Numbeo) Share of Average Consumer Spending: 6.8% (USDA data processed by Our World in Data) In absolute terms, groceries cost more in the U.S. than in China, Canada or Mexico. 'The U.S. imports groceries from other countries like Mexico and Canada, for year-round availability,' explains consumer finance expert Aaron Razon of CouponSnake. 'Add in the high cost of local labor and the impact of trade policies and tariffs on grocery prices, it's really no surprise that groceries would cost more in the U.S. than it does in these other countries.' But as a share of the average American's budget, groceries take up the smallest percentage across these four countries, at just 6.8%. That makes grocery affordability in the U.S. better than its neighbors and chief rival. Grocery Cost Index: 65.35 Share of Average Consumer Spending: 9.7% Groceries cost a little less north of the border. Specifically, Numbeo reports that groceries cost 5.8% less in Canada when priced in the same currency. However, the median Canadian also earns less than the median American. The average Canadian household spends 9.7% of its budget on groceries. Grocery Cost Index: 38.22 Share of Average Consumer Spending: 25.7% That effect becomes much more pronounced in Mexico, where both incomes and grocery prices are lower. Numbeo reports that groceries cost 42.3% less in Mexico, in absolute terms. Accountant Shalini Dharna of Dharna CPA explains further. 'In general, consumers in Mexico tend to have less disposable income than in the U.S. and Canada, so in relative terms groceries are more affordable in the U.S. than in Mexico.' Plus, Mexican households have less access to imported foods than Americans do. Outside of major cities, many Mexican families primarily eat locally grown food. Grocery Cost Index: 34.18 Share of Average Consumer Spending: 21.2% Groceries cost even less in China: 53.1% less, to be exact. 'China's large-scale agricultural production and low labor costs put them at an advantage when it comes to affordability,' says Razon. The raw numbers don't tell the whole story, however. China has enormous wealth and cost-of-living divides, especially between rural and urban areas. Food takes up a large portion of the average Chinese household's budget — particularly for those low-wage rural workers providing that cheap labor. Grocery cost indexes from Numbeo. More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? 25 Places To Buy a Home If You Want It To Gain Value This article originally appeared on Here's How Much Groceries Cost in the US Compared to Mexico, Canada and China Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Resident issues warning after security cameras capture surprising footage of mountain lion in yard: 'If that cat attacks, it's going to hurt you'
One Las Vegas resident, after receiving a motion alert for his backyard security camera, was surprised to see that a mountain lion had entered his yard, local NBC affiliate 3LV reported. The homeowner, William Champion, told 3LV that he was surprised by the sighting. While he's seen coyotes over the years, he said, he had never seen a mountain lion — let alone in his own backyard. It was unnerving, he told reporters. "That was maybe a 100-pound cat, and if that cat attacks, it's going to hurt you," he said. In the video, the mountain lion can be seen sniffing briefly around the yard before settling in for a quick "cat nap" and then continuing on to jump into a neighboring backyard. Champion was perplexed by the lion's foray, describing his area — situated close to a major highway — as a "busy junction" with "lots of moving up and down" and "people on the move pretty much 24/7." He alerted his neighbors of the sighting, warning them to bring their pets inside at night to protect them from any encounters. "Nobody's ever seen anything like that in this area," he said. While this particular neighborhood hadn't seen a mountain lion before, human-animal encounters have become increasingly common with the continued expansion of human settlements. The global human population has exploded in the last two centuries, growing more than eight times its size since 1800, according to Our World in Data. This has resulted in the rapid expansion of settlements, which has meant a corresponding reduction in wildlife habitat. And unfortunately for many species, that means either being forced to struggle in near-urban environments or simply dying off. And in the case of an accidental encounter, both the human(s) and the animal(s) involved can find themselves in grave danger. This can even happen when an encounter has not occurred, but is merely likely. It's a common situation in national parks, where animals can become accustomed to human presence and therefore euthanized to avoid any unwanted interaction. Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. In the case of the Vegas mountain lion, Champion notified Nevada's Department of Wildlife in order to contribute to their monitoring efforts. The agency generally advises residents to contain their pets at night in addition to removing anything that might attract wildlife, particularly food scraps and trash. They also suggested installing motion-activated lights and sprinkler systems to scare animals away. More broadly, in order to coexist with wildlife, you can learn about the native species in your area and how to respond calmly and safely in the event of an encounter. You may also find yourself in a position to rescue a wounded animal and help wildlife in that way. You can also promote continued biodiversity and ecosystem health by installing native plants in order to provide habitat for local pollinators and other species. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Crunch: crowded prisons; triangle election revelations; and the power of the measles vaccine
Hello and welcome to another edition of The Crunch! The election may be over but the datavis can't stop, won't stop. In this week's newsletter we've got another election analysis triangle, a lot of measles coverage, and some heroic bar charts. While Australians were focused on the election, our UK colleagues released a fantastic visual investigation into the more than 30 Victorian-era prisons still in use across the UK. There's so many different visuals in this piece, from interactive panoramas to old and new illustrations, archive video, charts and photography. Even the colour choices convey the feel of 'damp, crowded, poorly ventilated'. *** 1. Breaking: vaccines work The measles outbreak in the US has been unpacked in a lot of ways – we've linked to a bunch below. But this chart from Our World in Data stands out. It's tricky to convey a change over time, across so many groups. If you aren't going to use a line chart, dealing with that many dimensions often results in something unwieldy or incomprehensible. But this chart is striking and the story very clear. There's a few other visualisations in the piece and a lot to learn, including that 'researchers estimate that 94 million lives have been saved from measles vaccines'. *** 2. A triangle offence We expressed our love of election triangles during the campaign. This post-election analysis of what's happening to the major party vote in Australia only drives it home. The best thing about the triangle in this instance is how it allows for the comparison of singular seats at discrete points in time, a seat across time, and a bunch of different seats, all within the same framework. *** 3. Stacks on stacks We've often used this newsletter to champion the humble bar chart, and this is a great example. This story from the Age unpacks how the government is doing compared to its housing target. There's a lot to draw out but the story is pretty well summed up with this one visual. We also covered this issue during the election campaign, also with a bar chart. *** 4. Porque no los dos This bar chart looking at Coalition election results by the election analyst Ben Raue shows how versatile the format is. While the Age's bar chart is a snapshot, this is a comparison between the two parties, across time. It's quite striking how the Nationals almost always get 15 or 16 seats election after election. The Economist on how much worse America's measles outbreak could get ($) Reuters on the rapid spread of measles Our World in Data on the effectiveness of measles vaccines The New York Times measles outbreak map and tracker ($) The New York Times on how measles attacks an unvaccinated child ($) We talked about the challenge of comparisons across a bunch of groups before. This small multiples pie chart from the American datavis legend Robert Simmon shows another way to tackle it. The data is looking at faecal contamination at beaches in and around Sydney, and at least in aggregate probably is a much better comparison than if they were something like bar charts. The discourse around pie charts can be … heated. This isn't to make a statement about the acceptability of pie charts – although this is a great read. If you would like to receive The Crunch to your email inbox every fortnight, sign up here.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. Mike Lee asks Rubio to withdraw the U.S. from an environmental treaty
Utah Sen. Mike Lee asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider withdrawing from the Montreal Protocol, which requires countries to phase out the consumption and production of 'ozone-depleting substances.' Attached to the letter addressed to Rubio, Lee wrote on Wednesday afternoon, 'America shouldn't tie itself to unscientific environmental treaties that allow China to do whatever it wants. I have asked @SecRubio to withdraw the United States from the Montreal Protocol.' In the letter's text, Lee mentions several concerns over the continued participation of the U.S. in the program. One particular substance the protocol seeks to decrease is hydrochlorofluorocarbon, or HCFC, which is 'essential for everything from refrigerants to fire suppression,' Lee wrote. Lee added that when the treaty was signed in the late 1980s, scientists hadn't yet tried using HCFCs for fire suppression. The second concern Lee touched on is inequality between participating countries. The U.S. has adhered to the treaty, Lee said, but other countries have failed to do the same. The Montreal Protocol determines what is expected of countries in the program based on whether they are deemed 'developing' or 'developed.' Developed countries have stricter timelines required to phase out ozone-depleting substances, must contribute financially to help developing countries do the same and follow stricter regulatory systems to enforce bans on ozone-depleting substances. Developing countries have delayed timelines to phase out ozone-depleting substances, receive financial and technical assistance, and are allowed more flexibility while transitioning to alternative substances. China is included in the Montreal Protocol as a developing country. At a Montreal Protocol meeting in 2023, the State Department 'proposed the rightful removal of China from the list of developing countries eligible for assistance from the Multilateral Fund,' Lee explained. 'As expected, opposition from China and its allies prevented progress on this issue,' he said. Data presented by the U.K.-based nonprofit Our World in Data reported that since the program started in the late 1980s, global emissions have fallen by over 99%. During the Obama administration, former Secretary of State John Kerry reported that the U.S. has spent over $3 billion 'to help lesser-developed countries make the transition out of' ozone-depleting substances. One X user responded to Lee's post, 'While I agree we should step back from CO2 accords, we should keep the Montreal Protocol. The science is solid, and it's actually working. No ozone would be far worse than a warming planet.'
Irish Times
28-04-2025
- Irish Times
Frequent-flyer rewards should be replaced with a frequent-flyer levy
Are you a member of a frequent flyer programme? It's hard to believe that schemes that reward people for warming the planet still exist. It's been more than 40 years since the first frequent-flyer programmes were introduced in 1980s America. The schemes were fairly straightforward – you'd take some flights and earn a free flight. These days, the programmes are among the most complicated loyalty schemes in the world. Alongside flying, now you can earn rewards for many different types of consumption including car rental, hotel stays and shopping. The basic tenet has remained the same since the 1980s, however: fly more and get more free flights, or get a seat upgrade to a section of the cabin with fewer passengers. Frequent-flyer programmes have undergone a bit of a rebrand since the 1980s, however. Even though they still reward those who fly frequently, phrases such as 'frequent flyer' and 'air miles' seem to have been scrubbed from airline marketing materials. It's all about 'loyalty' and 'points' now. READ MORE It's probably because flying frequently and clocking up air miles – one of the most glamorous things you could do back in the 1980s – is no longer a good look. Flying causes more of the pollution that's heating up our climate than any other form of transport, and it has contributed about 4 per cent to global warming to date, according to research from Our World in Data. The data can be a bit tricky to get your head around. Flying is one of the most carbon-intensive activities – yet it contributes just 2.5 per cent of the world's carbon emissions. How does this add up? Well, most of the world's population don't fly, according to Our World in Data. Studies estimate that just 10 per cent of the world flies in most years. For example, North Americans flew 50 times further than Africans in 2018, according to one study published in the journal, Global Environmental Change. [ Dublin Airport generates the same carbon emissions as 1.4 million cars every year Opens in new window ] So it's a relatively small number of relatively wealthy people who are doing the flying and creating most of the emissions. As incomes rise, this will change. Frequent flyers are responsible for a disproportionately large share of flights and emissions, according to climate charity The charity argues that frequent-flyer programmes encourage and reward very high levels of consumption of highly polluting flights. [ Ireland risks fine of up to €26bn if EU-agreed climate targets missed Opens in new window ] It points to anecdotal evidence from frequent-flyer club members which shows how the programmes encourage them to maximise their points by taking unnecessary and even unwanted flights, such as making a 'tier point run'. This is the term used to describe a long and convoluted journey featuring multiple flights, taken only to collect points to reach or maintain levels of membership. Frequent-flyer programmes also incentivise consumers to pay for the most carbon-intensive seating options in business or first class, says Possible – and to fly more than they otherwise would. It has called for an immediate end to frequent flyer programmes. Tanning, smoking, driving without a seat belt – there are plenty of things we did in the past that we do far less of these days. When the penny dropped that these things weren't good for us, or those around us, they became less socially acceptable. Last year was the world's hottest on record , according to data from the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. It's well past time to replace frequent-flyer rewards with a frequent flyer levy.
