Here’s my question…what the heck is it that makes meat so expensive in Norway?
I really don’t get it. But first to get an idea of what I am talking about, read this short article about smuggling meat into Norway.
You see, I’m from Southern California. We also have problems with people smuggling things across our boarders. But it is more along the lines of narcotics or illegal immigrants. We don’t seem to have the same problem of smuggled top sirloins and chicken wings. :)
You might think that this article was a joke, but let me assure you, I have witnessed these prices in Norway first hand. And just by seeing the prices of meat there, I can understand why “meat smuggling has become an organized crime in Norway.
I experienced this when I had ordered steak at a restaurant (a splurge…it was expensive even for Norway) and when I got the steak…it was about the size of a post-it note! It looked like it would be the perfect size if I was having a little tea party with my cousin. With the little cups, and little plates, the little steak would have fit right in. It was so funny. But to be completely honest, it really was the best steak I can ever remember having in my life. And I will give the restaurant credit…I wasn’t even hungry after the itty bitty steak because of all of the side dishes that came with it. But still, I wasn’t at a tea party with dolls, I was in a restaurant.
I was just wondering if anyone else out there has had an experience like this that they could share with me? Or am I the only one?
So really, why is meat so expensive in Norway?
(Photo from Aftenposten)
4 responses so far ↓
1 Erik Midtskogen // Nov 21, 2007 at 8:00 pm
It isn’t that beef is expensive in Norway, it’s that it’s artificially cheap in the U.S. Our so-called “farm bill” makes beef feed stock (i.e. corn) much less expensive than it would be if it weren’t subsidized. You’re also not really comparing apples to apples. Most beef in America is mass-produced corn-fed stuff, pumped up with growth hormones. In Norway, cows are raised with some dignity, and allowed to graze out in actual pastures. That’s why the dairy products taste so good there.
There are some cows in the U.S. that get this same level of care and respect. And if you want to buy the beef that results, you’ll pay through the nose for it here, too.
So I would suggest you embrace a new diet. Beef is considered a delicacy in Norway, and is reserved for special occasions. Fish is more the “hværdagskost”. Compared to in America, seafood is cheap in Norway (especially those amazing little reker that are so good on smørebrød), and it’s usually better, too. You might also try Norway’s delicious lamb, goat, and reindeer, too. All these meats are lower in fat and have no artificial nonsense of any sort in them. The healthful Norwegian diet is one reason Norwegians live so much longer than Americans do.
2 Jay // Feb 19, 2009 at 10:06 am
I ordered a chicken sandwich here in Norway the other day, The owner, realizing that a was American, asked me how it was. I told him it was great but it it hurt my eyes. He was very confused so I told him I hurt my eyes trying to find the chicken. It was just tiny peices of shredded bits!
He didnt think I was very funny!
We drive to sweden to buy our meat and stay overnight on my wifes uncles beef ranch in norway. He doesnt like that we go to sweden to buy meat so I stock up on beer and macoroni and cheese!
Thats another weird thing about norway, Kraft foods is one of the most popular food distributer in norway, but I cant find kraft macoroni and cheese. Ive only seen it in oslo in the “american” section.
3 Kristie // Mar 1, 2009 at 1:38 am
Jay- I thought that this comment was so funny! Sometimes my husband and I just have to laugh at the fact that anything that says “with chicken” means, you will have to search for the chicken speck somewhere in the vegetables or whatever it is. I totally get it! :)
4 LaDonna // Dec 5, 2009 at 10:13 pm
One thing I find funny here in Oslo is the fact that at my local store in Bislett (COOP). It is far cheaper to buy precooked meat than the fresh stuff.. totally backwards if you ask me. LOL.
But from what I can tell with my husband’s Norsk family is that a large portion of the meals are polse and potatoes .. which are very cheap here. lol. Its just the “real” meat that has the mark up.
Love your blog.
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