How the other 0.01% live

A FOOD crisis is developing in Britain, though obviously not so severe as the impending catastrophe in the world's poorest countries. Britain's food prices are rising at a faster rate than for 17 years,

A Sunday Times survey on 13 April suggested that some 65% of people are more likely to check prices in the supermarkets after recent price hikes. But an article in The Guardian makes you wonder whether some super-rich individuals check food prices to make sure they're paying enough.

The news that a cup of coffee that had passed through a civet cat's digestive system was selling for Ł50 a cup made The Guardian grub around for more examples of ridiculously expensive food.

There was an Ł85 sandwich containing black truffles, a $1,000 pizza with caviar and lobster tails and a Ł1,500 pizza including shavings of 24-carat gold! They found a salad for Ł600 using beluga caviar and a marmalade for Ł5,000 that also includes gold. Rich idiots who buy these are eating the wealth of nations rather than creating it.

There was an Ł8,000 pie of expensive beef, mushrooms and truffles cooked in Chateau Mouton Rothschild - a mere slice would set you back Ł1,000. A $14,500 dessert is a 'fruit-infused confection' with a chocolate sculpture holding a real gemstone. At a time of increasing starvation, such pointless luxury is an insult to the world's hungriest people.

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In The Socialist 16 April 2008:

'We're striking against low pay'