Fuck You, Breyer's Ice Cream!!

This guy started a thread to complain about ice cream, at least its not that napolean flavored sherbert crap.

 

I can't figure out why you would go to such great lengths to defend the practice of companies to MAKE you HAVE to be constantly on-guard for them taking advantage of you. No one is saying that we don't have the option of carefully reading every label on every product we shop for each and every time. It's just that the idea of companies doing this underhanded, sneaky shit is disgusting. You may try to dress it up like it's not underhanded and sneaky just because they print the quantity on the package, but I say it is clearly underhanded and sneaky because they made clear efforts to keep the package looking the same. Like raising the bottom of the ice cream container so that they could decrease volume without making the package significantly and noticeably smaller. There's no mistaking what that's about. The only reason they didn't remove the quantity label from the package at the same time is that it would be illegal. Don't think they don't wish they could.


But your defense of these scumbag companies just because we can read the labels is sickening. And it does not change the fact that we ARE forced to pay the same money to get LESS PRODUCT whether we've read the label or not! "Don't buy the product, then," you'd say. "Vote with your wallet." Well, when the practice is widespread, what the hell can a consumer do? Soon ALL brands of ice cream will be giving 1.75 qt. while charging you what you always paid for a half gallon. Soon it'll be the 16 oz. can of peas giving you 14.5 oz. (Actually, I've seen this with canned vegetables already.) How long before you can't GET a 16 oz. can of peas?

So, for every product type that this occurs with, you'd say, "Well, don't favor them with your money," until there's nothing left that you can buy unless you accept the screwing.

That's fucked up.

And your sarcasm about it just makes you seem defensive, like you know you're defending something that you shouldn't, in a way that's not credible.

-Jeffrey

 

Um, do you mean "neapolitan"?

I've never heard of napolean flavored sherbert crap.

-Jeffrey

 

Jeff,

It's really pretty simple man! Ask yourself what you are doing to change things besides complaining on a message board. At the very basic level you have the choice "NOT" to buy the product. The next level would be to have a talk with the local grocer you frequent and explain to them your concerns. The next level would be to speak with your county officials. You can then move on to your city officials and then your state officials. If nothing ever gets done then you can picket the store and inform the public yourself. You keep complaining like something should be done, well "DO SOMETHING" and use the system that is in place called government. I doubt you ever do a single thing about it, instead you'll go back to killing aliens on your playstation.

I already agreed with you that this was an underhanded tactic, but the simple fact is it's perfectly legal because it has the "PROPER LABELING" on it. I'm not defending the company for being underhanded, I'm defending their constitutional rights to change their product quantities and prices. Like it or not, government has done everything it can to insure you have "PROPER LABELING" in order for you to make your own "FREEDOM OF CHOICE" decision. How involved do you want government? Do you want government to slap a diaper on your ass and a pacifier in your mouth while they are at it?

I guess you haven't stopped long enough to consider just what the implications are once companies get even more policed to death by government and told what quantities they can sell and for how much. Hell, they already get hammered pretty good as it is.

I'd like to know what kind of solution you have for this problem Jeff. The only thing I hear from you is "THIS AIN"T RIGHT", but you give no solution. And keep in mind, you are on a hippy forum where more government involvement is usually NOT desired by most people here.

 

Solution?
Don't buy the "scumbag companies'" products period/dot/EOS
ie: I won't purchase/own a Honda as a result of their dealer sales practices during the 80's(?) Oil Crisis...


I'm still convinced those two Old Farts are Bartles & James.

 

Well, I agree with much of what was just said, but here is the other problem I'm getting at:

If you start compiling a list of companies you won't patronize because they've done something to piss you off (like Honda), eventually you whittle down the pool of companies you will patronize until it's tiny -- because they ALL do scummy things! andrcs2, I hope you don't buy Mercedes: they supplied the Nazis. I hope you don't buy Mitsubishi: not only did they make planes for the Japs in WWII, they also were found to have falsified data recently about their cars' defects.

What bothers me most is that companies are made up of people, and those people are certain to be consumers also, and as such, also expect, hope for, and demand honesty from the companies from which they buy things. BUT, they don't operate their own companies ethically.

If I were a businessman, which I'm not, I would have no grounds for griping about Breyer's quantity issue if I were being a scumbag myself with regard to my own store's policies about stuff. Like if I owned a restaurant, and kept shaving off portion size while leaving my prices the same, and still smiling right in the faces of my customers.

The people who run these corporations are shitting on the golden rule.

-Jeffrey

 

Where did this come from? You keep upping the ante here. Explain how this is even close to what Bryers did? They did not leave the label 1 gallon and lower the quantity. They changed the quanitity and labeled it accordingly and legally.

What you are suggesting is that you leave the menu alone that says 8oz chicken and only give the costumer a 7oz serving. Yeah, that would be way different because the customer may agree that 8oz is worth $5.99 but not 7oz. Since they do not have the proper label saying you now serve 7oz they are being mislead and deceived. Completely different!

 

There's a great difference between honda's actions in the 80's v. MB/Mitsubishi's actions in WWII.
BTW I do buy MB/Mitsubishi products - damn fine goods...

I have more problems w/American auto makers than the food Folks on which you based this Thread.
Ice cream won't kill One as fast as a defective vehicle.

As we're both saying it's up to the Individual to cast their Vote...

 

If I may point something out, just from reading your previous posts in the news and issues forums, you are all over the board degrading hippies for their political views. Yet you expect them to rush to your defense over the fact that you didn't notice a change in the label? Not to mention that you are getting your panties all in a wad because the people who's views you are here to antagonize aren't crying for you over your unhappy ice cream choice? You laugh as people talk about the sneaky, underhanded tricks our administration (and the gov't in general) hands us, yet you expect to be taken seriously over the same or less equal tricks coming from an ice cream company? pfft..

 

It's nice to know... but nine pages devoted to Breyer's? Jesus. The ice cream isn't that good. There are bigger issues in the world the world than ice cream. Hey, it's good to know Breyer's is doing that, but I don't even buy ice cream unless it's on sale, so I doubt my actions have big effect. However, I do use paper and trees, which means I do have a vested internet in the environment, and those actions of companies hae a huge impact.

P.S. Owls are probably more important to the ecosystem than ice cream.

P.P.S. No ice cream for Sera Michele.

 

Well Abyle, you completely miss the real issue. I know it's confusing and all seeing as the thread has a foundation of ice-cream, but it's really not about the ice-cream. I'm not sure clarifying further will do any good here so I won't bother.

 

But I need my weekly ice cream fix!


Well I dont have time to fight properly labeled shrinking ice cream conspiracies, my bigger priorities are doing my part to save (and clean up) our environment, speaking out against unnecessary wars, fighting to preserve civil liberties, badgering my representatives about poor choices being made in gov't, protesting gov't policies that I think are dangerous and disasterous, ect...there are a lot bigger things that I think should be on everyone's list than Breyers changing the amount of ice cream they put in their tubs.

Although I will be happy if your experience motivates you to take a stand against corporate greed, but maybe you should focus on things that are actually damaging to people or the planet. Like the fact that CEO's make overr 400X the wages of their employees (when less than 40 years ago it was just over 40x's) or their mistreatment of animals, or the fact that they get to pay politicians to push their agenda's, or that corporate america is slowly starving out small businesses everywhere, or that many of the dyes and crap they put in this manufactured foods causes cancer. I could go on forever on the subject...

 

DAMN BREYER'S ripinn people off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Article from CBS regarding ice cream downsizing. According to the industry, they are doing us a favor so that we don't get ice cream on our fknuckles when we dig into the smaller shallower boxes.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/19/national/main529929.shtml

Other ice cream companies will be downsizing also. At least one company has made the smaller box different so that you know it is smaller, unlike Breyer's which used a more sneaky approach.

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2002/11/19icecreamshrinks.html

.

 

Somone else on the web noticed the shrinkage of tomato sauce that I've noticed too. Also, the tomato sauce companies are now replacing the olive oil with sugar. Oil gave a nice taste to the sauce, but sugar is dirt cheap. It tastes like I sprinkled sugar all over my spaghetti.

Olive oil is ok for your health, so anyone who claims they're using sugar for health reasons is wrong. I'm sure there are some people who will make such a claim in defense of the businesses.

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t84016.html

"They're not the only ones. Prego brand spaghetti sauce has gone from a 32 oz jar, a 30 oz. jar, a 28 oz. jar, and now a 26 oz jar. Companies aren't just shrinking the packages either. They're shrinking the food too. Totinos pizza rolls are smaller so now the ratio of dough to filling is much higher than it use to be. Sure they may give you more in the bag but you're paying for more dough and less filling. Van de Kamps frozen breaded fish fillets are smaller too. I bought a box one time and they were all less than a half inch thick counting the breading. The amount of actual fish in each fillet was trivial."

.

 

That's the fault of businesses for using shrewed and underhanded tactics. They were abusing the consumer so much that Congress had to step in during the 90s and revamp the labeling laws. Blame shady businesses, not the consumers.

 

It's funny how you read an entire article explaining the rising costs of making ice-cream and how they didn't want to pass this on the consumer and then totally ignored that as the reason. You then focus in on one little remark at the very end of the article that was clearly taken out of context. Yeah, you are definately a classic consumer!!

 

So in other words...

Our government gave us this powerfull weapon called labeling that we can use to make our own choices? You mean our government is doing their job without overstepping their boundaries of involvement?

 

This a Dream, yes?


wow...it just might be Real???



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Isn't this a better topic to bitch about......I mean discuss......compared to freakin ice cream?

 

I always wondered what 33 year olds with no life did, now I know