How you eat depends on how much you earn. These are the findings of a study carried out by Statec, which makes the link between income disparities and household food choices in Luxembourg. Whether it’s the place of consumption, the point of sale or the type of product, Statec has examined the consumption habits and expenditure of households according to their income level. The institute distinguishes between households in the first quintile (incomes under €2,800 a month) and those in the fifth quintile (incomes over €6,200). It’s enough to deconstruct certain preconceived ideas on the subject. Here are a few of them.

The rich eat organic and healthy, the poor eat badly

“Organic products are for suckers!”

“Eating healthy is a luxury!”

Not quite, according to the Statec study, which analysed spending and amounts allocated according to income quintile. It is true that the wealthiest households (belonging to the fifth quintile) tend to spend a larger proportion of their food budget on organic products: 5.1%, compared with 2.1% for the most modest households (in the first quintile).

And yet, when we look at product categories, particularly healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables, the gap is smaller: 18.7% for the fifth quintile, compared with 17.4% for the first quintile.

With regard to meat, which is increasingly described as an expensive product, modest households consume more of it than wealthier households. This shatters the image of ‘systematic junk food’ among low-income earners.

On the other hand, poorer households spend less at local markets and supermarkets than wealthier households. The latter spend a significantly higher proportion of their budget in supermarkets (77.3% compared with 60.3% for the most modest). The most modest spend most of their money in discount shops (27% compared with 3.5% for the most affluent households) and only very rarely consume via home sales/delivery or in specialist department stores.

Fast food and ready meals are luxuries

Once again, this is not entirely true. The Statec study shows that modest households allocate 13.8% of their food budget to takeaways, compared with 9.5% for the better-off. When it comes to small restaurants and fast food outlets, the most affluent households consume more of them: 12.1% compared with 10.6% of the poorest.

The biggest gap concerns consumption in school canteens, which are favoured by the poorest, unlike work canteens, where the most affluent eat in greater numbers.

The richest spend more on restaurants, but for healthier meals

More affluent households are in fact more likely to eat out: 43.4% of food expenditure for the richest, compared with 35.1% for the poorest. On the other hand, the most affluent do not necessarily eat more healthily. In fact, they eat more sugary foods and drink less water. They also consume a significant proportion of processed products: 3.6%, compared with 3.8% for the lowest-income households. A significant proportion of the income of well-off households also goes to bistros and cafés (15.4% compared with 13.7%).

This article in French.