Microeconomics- utility?

Question

Food prices are going up almost as much as fuel. You have to eat but with higher prices consumers will cut back. Which types of food give less utility and will see sales decrease?

Answer 1

Good question.  Is this for school, or are you curious?

Processed foods are expensive, but they are convenient.  The intelligent person would derive more utility from fresh foods, especially fruits and vegetables.  They are better for you and cheaper, but many people would forgo them for something faster.  They would derive utility from less time spent in the kitchen.

Foods with less utility are the expensive foods that have little or no nutritional value, e.g. potato chips, pretzels, donuts, and candy. I

Answer 2

it's not about raw utility, it's utility per dollar.  ramen probably gives less utility than a lot of other foods, but since it's cheap its sales could well increase.  the ones whose sales will decrease would be those that are relatively expensive but don't offer much utility.  also, utility can vary a lot from person to person.

Answer 3

There was a report recently that increasing fuel prices could mean that less organic food is purchased as this type of food is more expensive than most other types of food, and people will cut back if they cannot afford it. As opposed to your question on utility, it really depends on each individual and his/her preferences.