Cheaper Is Not Better - Tipping Points…

Many of us will encounter a tipping point of some sort throughout the course of our day. A tipping point is the point at which something becomes out of balance and moves from one state to another. For example, our mood. We may wake up happy, in a great mood, full of patience, ready to destroy the negatives we will encounter that day and end it all with a smile. But some days it’s just not in the stars. Some days we meet trials and tribulations one after another, our patience reserves become depleted and we gradually feel the inner scale tip and we go to bed wearing a scowl. The point at which we couldn’t hold onto that smile anymore? Tipping point.

I think that there is a good possibility that industries all over the world are beginning to show signs of reaching their own tipping points, one after another. Like a big old row of dominoes, one falling after another.

The food industry, like any other industry, strives to provide products to consumers that are passable in quality and lowest in price… many companies lowering standards and cutting corners in order to compete with each other and get our business. They tread that line of standard vs. cost in the hopes of finding that magic point that will name them top seller. Unfortunately that “magic point” becomes a “tipping point” when standards are determined to be less important than cost and the result is a movement of the product from the state of assured quality to the state of a possible threat to our health sometimes described by words such as “salmonella” ,”E. Coli.”; or in the cases of other non-food industries… “recall”, “oil leak”, etc.

My point of this article is simply that over large period of time, relative to our existence, we have supported the idea that cheaper is better when really we all know that not to be the case. However each time we invest in that $2/dozen mass produced brand of eggs as opposed to the $3/dozen local or organic brand of eggs we send the message back to these companies, “cheaper is better”. Possibly it’s time we tried to tip the scales back to the side of standards by investing in and supporting those companies that have not jumped on the “cheaper is better” bandwagon. And in many cases that means looking for and investing in local, organic, or green businesses such as the ones on this site.

And really it’s not a matter of changing your entire life style; a minority of us have the time and resources to completely overhaul our personal style as a consumer. Choosing one area that is more important to us than others is a start and hey maybe it will only ever be that one industry in which we invest extra time and money. But your personal message back that says, “Hey I’m willing to spend extra in my time and money to get a better product…” will be one statement that is actually part of a larger crowd of those that unbeknownst to you, have decided to make that same statement. And it will, in the long run, make a difference.

If there is any proof that our actions as consumers make an impact on the industry we need only look at how it has evolved to be what it is now and understand that we played a role in getting it to this point at which standards are no longer as valuable as a low price. The good news is we can also play a role in reversing the trend and tipping it all back in the right direction. Your time spent here at The Awarenest is a great place to start.