No shit, it’s literally an import from Europe. It’s like comparing California wine prices in Las Vegas vs in Sydney.

> veg. I helped a friend do his grocery shopping in a trader joes

Trader Joe’s is not a grocery store for middle class people. It’s a high end convenience store. Unless you’re really well-off, you only buy a few select items from there occasionally.

If you want to see prices the working/middle class pays, look at the prices at Walmart.

Also, you want to compare the quality of products and you can not base yourself on Walmart for that. The average American eats horribly compared to the European counterpart.

Not anything of quality. Most good wines in California that aren’t nasty blends are California wines at $10/bottle range.

> want to compare the quality of products and you can not base yourself on Walmart for that.

Yes you can. The milks, meats, vegetables, and fruits are fine quality-wise. “Walmart == bad quality” is a meme based on their cheap home goods. The food is fine.

> The average American eats horribly compared to the European counterpart.

Having lives in both places (uk, France, and Italy), the supermarkets in the US are vastly superior. The only reason an American would eat worse is if they chose frozen meals, snacks, or just straight up fast food over what’s in the grocery store.

European food costs more and is of more limited variety. The quality is consistently decent though.

The people who I'm comparing myself to in the US strive to buy imported European food, so that's the comparison I'm going to end up making.

Even basic things like fresh vegetables and fresh meat far more expensive than they are in supermarkets here.

That’s a dumb comparison though. Americans generally eat American cuisine. It’s just as dumb as comparing to imported Chinese food.