为什么杂货店的价格这么高

是的

Yep.

芥末，对

Mustard Mhmm.

73%

73%.

抹茶，73%

Matcha, 73%.

对

Yeah.

贝果和英式松饼，涨了10%

Bagels and English muffins, 10%.

这已经很高了

That's high.

折合每单位涨了41美分

It translates to 41¢ per unit.

我的意思是，这点大家都会注意到的。

I mean, that's people will notice that.

豆腐涨了122%。

Tofu's up 122%.

没错。

Yes.

大豆因为肥料问题最近一直很受关注，

Soybeans because that's been a big thing with fertilizer,

而且大部分

and most of

都来自中国。

them come from China.

所以所有豆腐类产品价格都会大幅上涨，而且还会继续升。

So all the tofu stuff is gonna be getting very high and getting higher.

对我来说，超过20%就算很高了。

Anything over 20% to me is high Yeah.

在六个月的时间里。

In a six month period.

总体来看，这些涨幅主要归因于。

Overall, these percent increases are attributable Mhmm.

由于。

To

是的。

Yes.

所有通货膨胀因素。

All the inflationary factors.

没错。

Yeah.

确实如此。

Yep.

这两件事情都有影响。

To both events.

店里东西的价格涨得真快。

Prices around the store are going up fast.

嗯，我想知道你能不能...

Well, I wonder if you can okay.

咱们继续逛一逛

We can continue walking through

店里吧。

the store.

特别是，你能不能给我讲讲哪些商品因为

And in particular, if you can walk me through certain items where the price has gone up because

战争导致价格上涨了，

of the war in

比如伊朗的局势。

Iran.

是的。

Yeah.

是的。

Yeah.

那这些商品在店里哪个区域呢？

So where would that be in the store?

我们这个区域，我让泰勒带我走了一遍

We've got in this section I asked Tyler to walk

让我看看店里哪些商品受到了伊朗战争的影响。

me through the store and show me how specific items have been impacted by the war in Iran.

我们这里有菜籽油、红花籽油、葵花籽油，所有这些类型的油。

We have canola, safflower, sunflower, all of these types of oils.

给我讲讲这些油是从哪儿来的，怎么一路运到这儿，最后定价又是怎么定的。

And explain to me the journey it took to get here and how it arrived at that sticker price.

这是你们常见的菲尔德日蔬菜油。

Here's your standard Field Day vegetable oil.

菲尔德日是我们日常低价品牌。

Field Day is our everyday low price brand.

这些产品在同一月份涨价了5%，运输成本也更高了。

Those went up 5% in the same month, cost more to transport.

它们来自更远的地方。

It's coming from farther distances.

再加上油价上涨，像平等交易这样的橄榄油——

And also with fuel prices, some of the olive oils, like equal exchange

是的。

Mhmm.

这些油都产自约旦河西岸。

You know, these are all from the West Bank.

所以你要考虑到当地的冲突，再加上运到这里所需的运输和燃油成本。

And so you factor in that conflict and then also the transportation and fuel costs getting here.

那价格还会继续上涨吗？

And will it continue to go

上。

up?

没错。

Absolutely.

对。

Yeah.

更重了。

Is heavier.

是啊。

Uh-huh.

运输起来成本更高。

That costs more to, you know, transport.

比如说啤酒公司，改用铝罐代替玻璃瓶，就是因为卡车载重的问题。

Say, like, beer companies, like, went to aluminum cans instead of glass bottles because of the weight on the truck.

但玻璃瓶确实更有价值。

There's a value to keeping it in glass.

比塑料瓶的使用体验更好。

A better product experience than plastic.

但到了某个程度，他们可能不得不做出决定，因为运输成本实在太高了。

But at a certain point, they might have to make that decision that because it's so much heavier to transport, they might have to make decisions.

你瓶装橄榄油可是货架上最贵的，哦，确实。

Your glass olive oil is the most expensive items on the shelf Oh, yeah.

标价十六块九毛九、二十三块九毛九，而铝罐装的才十五块九毛九。

At, like, $16.99, $23.99, but the ones in aluminum, $15.99.

是啊。

Yeah.

一个玻璃瓶可能横跨全国来回运输好几趟呢。

One glass jar could travel crisscross the country, like, four times, you know.

它啊。

It's

理论上，橄榄油可以在约旦河西岸生产，装瓶后运到加州，再通过货运送到伊利诺伊州的仓库，最后才沿着宾夕法尼亚收费公路运到这家超市。

In theory, olive oil could be produced in the West Bank, then bottled in California, traveled by freight to be warehoused in Illinois, before it is driven down the Pennsylvania Turnpike to this grocery store.

这一路下来，要消耗大量的燃油。

All of that burns up a ton of fuel.

那这边罐装豆子呢？豆子的价格有上涨吗？铝制品也涨了？

And then over here to the canned beans, are the prices for beans going up or anything with aluminum?

我觉得铝制品接下来就要轮到了。

Aluminum, I think, is gonna be the next one.

还有包装所用原材料的成本。

Then there's the cost of raw materials that go into packaging.

比如碳酸饮料。

Like soda.

所有用铝罐包装的东西，我觉得接下来都会大幅涨价。

Anything that's packaged in an aluminum can, that's gonna be the next thing I think that sees a big price increases.

为什么是铝？

And why aluminum?

去年特朗普对铝进口加征了50%的关税后，美国买家开始转向中东采购铝材，但后来发现……

Last year, after Trump imposed a 50% tariff on aluminum imports, American buyers started sourcing more aluminum from The Middle East, only to find that after The U.

美国。

S.

美国袭击了伊朗，导致他们新的铝供应中断了。

Attacked Iran, their new aluminum supply was stuck.

因为海峡的航运变得不可能，中东的一些冶炼厂——也就是生产铝的工厂——干脆停产了。

Because shipping through the strait became impossible, some smelters in The Middle East, factories where aluminum is made, stop production altogether.

还有一些，比如阿布扎比的一家，直接遭到了伊朗的打击而受损。

Others, like one in Abu Dhabi, were directly damaged by Iranian strikes.

但即便美国……

But even as The U.

美国

S.

如果伊朗继续参与和平谈判，供应恢复到正常水平还需要很长时间。

And Iran continue with peace talks, it will take a long time before supply is back to normal.

阿布扎比的设施需要修复。

The site in Abu Dhabi will have to be restored.

对于停产的公司来说，重启一条冻结的生产线可能需要几个月的时间。

And for the companies that stop production, a frozen line could take months to restart.

这意味着，未来几个月铝价上涨会推高你的橄榄油价格，而且这种高价位还会持续一段时间。

Which means when the cost of aluminum dries up the cost of your olive oil in the coming months, it will stay that way for a while.

那接下来会怎么样呢？

So where are headed now?

但泰勒说，有一样东西最能体现推动物价上涨的根本原因。

But Tyler says there's really one item that reflects the forces leading to higher prices better than any other.

我们接下来去肉品区看看。

We're gonna head over to our meat section.

对。

Uh-huh.

那就是牛肉。

And that's beef.

牛肉的价格涨得非常厉害。

Beef prices have gone up tremendously.

养牛需要消耗的资源最多，比养鸡或者吃海鲜之类的都要多得多。

It takes the most resources to have cows fed, basically, more so than, you know, chicken or seafood, anything like that.

所以牛肉通常是第一个出现明显涨价的商品。

So beef is usually the first place we see a dramatic increase.

草饲牛肉每磅80.20美元，一磅装卖9.99美元。

$80.20 grass fed beef, $9.99 for a one pound package.

是绞牛肉。

Of ground beef.

就是绞牛肉。

Of ground beef.

我们刚推出这个品牌的时候，一直都是6.99美元。

When we introduced that brand, it was always $6.99.

但去年价格就涨了，也不完全是伊朗的问题，主要是燃油成本飙升，每磅涨了三美元。你要是在美国买块地养牛，光是喂饲料的开销就大得惊人。

And then in the last year, so not necessarily strictly because of Iran, but all the fuel costs going up, like it's gone up $3 a pound So, just in the last you know, when you got land in somewhere in The United States and you're raising a herd of cattle, it takes so much feed.

明白吗？

Okay?

而大规模农业的很多饲料，其实都来自中国。

And industrial agriculture, a lot of that is coming from China.

对。

Mhmm.

所以这不仅运输距离特别远，还伴随着高昂的燃油成本，而且经常在霍尔木兹海峡堵住。

And so not only is it traveling a tremendous distance, and there's all the associated fuel costs, but it's also getting stuck in the Strait Of Hormuz.

是的。

Mhmm.

中国和印度都是饲料和化肥的大生产国，这些东西都得经过那条海峡。

China, India, huge producers of feed and fertilizer, and they all go through that straight.

石油也是同样的情况。

Same with oil.

然后你还得把牛运出去。

And then you have to then ship your cows.

牛送到屠宰加工厂，全靠卡车运输，再加上包装环节。

They go to a meat processing plant, which is all on trucks, transporting it, and then the packaging.

所以在每一个环节，成本都在上涨。

So at every point, you're seeing an increase in cost.

所有这些肉都得用塑料包装，没错。

And all that meat has to go into plastic Yep.

而塑料本身

Which also

也是需要消耗能源的。

works.

对的。

Yep.

生产塑料和运输都需要燃料。

It takes fuel.

是的。

Yeah.

生产塑料和运输都需要燃料。

Takes fuel to make and ship.

没错。

Yep.

而且这些食品在整个过程中都必须保持冷藏或冷冻。

And then it all has to be cold, refrigerated, or frozen the entire time.

一旦冷链中断，东西就全浪费了。

If it loses the cold chain, it's waste.

直接就成垃圾了。

It's garbage.

还有另一些因素在推高成本。

And there is yet another thing driving up costs.

全美各地的奶农都在停业，日子艰难，自己运营农场的成本也在不断上涨。

Dairy farmers are going dry all across America, down on their luck, struggling with their own price increases of running a farm.

今年到目前为止，申请破产的农场主比例上升了百分之七十。

The share of farmers declaring bankruptcy has risen by 70% so far this year.

对很多农场主来说，下一代根本不想接手这份活儿。

The next generation, for a lot of these farmers, they don't want to do it.

他们看到这行有多难干

They see how hard it is to

在宾夕法尼亚西部，泰勒自己的牛肉供应商已经退出了这个行业。

Here in Western Pennsylvania, Tyler's own beef suppliers have quit the business.

这意味着他现在得从更远的地方采购牛肉，牛肉价格可能还会进一步上涨。

Meaning, he now has to source his beef from further away, which could make his beef even more expensive.

这不仅是泰勒和他顾客的问题，也是特朗普政府的问题——他们正竭尽全力压低物价。

It's a problem for Tyler and his customers, but it's also a problem for the Trump White House, which is doing whatever it can to lower prices.

在独立日周末前，农业部官员施压克罗格和沃尔玛等大型连锁超市，要求降低绞牛肉的价格。

Before the fourth of July weekend, a USDA official pressured leading chain stores like Kroger and Walmart to lower the price of ground beef.

沃尔玛已经把价格下调了12%。

Walmart dropped its price by 12%.

但这只是权宜之计，面对牛肉供应减少、成本上升、需求却持续高涨的现状，根本解决不了问题。

But this is just a temporary fix in the face of declining supply, rising costs, and unflagging demand for beef.

这是我们店里被偷得最厉害的货架。

This is our most shoplifted case in the whole store.

你别逗我了。

You're kidding me.

牛排和牛肉。

Steaks and beef.

是的。

Yep.

我们早上得安排一名保安。

We had to add a security guard in the morning.

下午到关门这段时间，我们只有一名保安。

We only have one afternoon through closing time.

因为早上屡次发生偷窃，所以我们不得不加派一名早上值班的保安。

We had to add one in the morning because it was getting shoplifted multiple times in the morning.

真没想到。

Wow.

真没想到。

Wow.

我

I

我们追着那人跑到了街上，这事儿我们平时根本不干。

chased a guy down the street, which we don't do.

但我当时就想，你这是在偷我们社区的东西啊。

But I was like, this is like, you are taking from our community.

那时候简直太明目张胆了。

And it it was just it felt so blatant at that point.

他手里真拎着一个大旅行包。

Like, we literally he literally had, like, a duffle bag.

天哪。

Oh my.

我看见他站在那儿，往包里猛塞牛肉、绞肉、牛排，连鸡都往里扔。

And I saw him standing here just throwing beef and ground beef and steaks and even, like, chickens into the stuffing bag.

我喊他放下，结果他撒腿就往门口跑。

And I tried to get him to drop it, and he just bolted for the door.

我当时

And I was

我当时就决定要追上去。

like, I'm going after this.

我真的不能眼睁睁看着。

Like, I can't

我后来发现，他把东西都塞进了包里。

stuff Well, I got, like,

追了几个街区后，我觉得这太不值得了。

a block down the road, and then I was like, this is stupid.

我不想为了这事儿被刺伤。

Like, I don't wanna get stabbed for

所以我才去追的。

me to do Yeah.

结果让他给跑了。

So he got away.

是啊。

Yeah.

是的

Yeah.

但这可是一起珠宝劫案。

But this is like a jewelry heist.

是的

Yeah.

是的

Yeah.

我就是这个意思。

That's what I'm saying.

是的

Yeah.

是的

Yeah.

是的

Yeah.

没错。

Exactly.

哇。

Wow.

泰勒说，牛肉价格要稳定下来可能得等一阵子，其他东西也一样。

Tyler says it might be a while before beef prices stabilize, just like everything else.

经济学家给这种现象起了个名字，叫‘火箭与羽毛’。

Economists have a name for it, rockets and feathers.

价格涨起来像火箭一样快，降下来却像羽毛一样慢。

Prices go up like rockets, but come down slowly like a feather.

就算海峡重新开放，油价也回落了，供应链的混乱还是需要时间才能恢复正常。

Because even if the strait reopens, and even if oil prices come down, disruption in the supply chain takes time to readjust.

如果市场接受了这种新状况，又缺乏竞争，制造商往往会把价格人为地维持在高位。

And if a new normal is accepted and there's no competition, manufacturers tend to keep the prices artificially high.

如果你的超市提前一年锁定了大批采购价，那这一整年都只能按这个价格卖了。

And then if your grocery store buys in large quantities with prices locked in up to a year, They're stuck at that price for the year.

我倒想看看，如果我们换家店买会怎么样。

And I'll be curious to see where we go to another store.

我不知道那块绞牛肉里到底掺了些什么。

A, I don't know what's in that ground beef.

但我更想知道，现在就连那种普通、含化学添加剂的低价牛肉，价格到底涨到多少了。

But I'm also curious to see how much it costs at this point even for like the lower quality conventional chemical beef products.

它们现在卖多少钱。

How much they're going for.

没错。

Exactly.

是的。

Yeah.

我们周围四英里内新开了一家超市。

Four new grocery stores have opened within a four mile radius of us.

价格上涨，让越来越多的人转向了折扣超市。

The price increases is driving more people to the discount grocers.

我们家不到一英里外就有一家奥乐齐超市。

So we have an Aldi's less than a mile from here.

一开始，他们对我们的影响不大，但如今食品通胀再次明显上升，越来越多的人开始在折扣超市购买更多商品，哪怕质量差一点也无所谓。

They, at first, didn't really have much of an impact on us, but now that the food inflation has reared up again in noticeable way, we are seeing more and more people choosing lower quality product at a discount grocer for more of their basket.

泰勒说，他已经注意到更多顾客去奥乐齐购物了。

Tyler says he's already watched more of his customers shop at Aldi.

这正是他在所有行业报告中看到的大趋势的一部分。

And this is part of a bigger trend he reads in all the industry reports.

几年前，即使价格在上涨，顾客们还是会跑多家店购物，专门挑每家店最划算的商品。

A few years ago, even as prices were rising, customers would do their shopping at multiple stores, hitting each for their best deals and products.

但现在，他们更倾向于几乎把所有购物都集中在一家折扣超市，而不是像东区这样的地方。

But now they're more likely to do almost all their shopping at one place, at a discount supermarket, and not places like East End.

如果顾客只是进来买一两样东西，你是撑不下去的。

And you can't survive if customers are just coming in for one or

两样，是的。

two Yeah.

从长远来看，但我为什么要囤这么多东西呢？

Like long term, But why would I have all this stuff?

如果顾客开始把东区超市当成只买几样东西的地方，而不是主要的购物场所，他不确定这家店还能不能撑下去。

If shoppers start to see East End as a place to go to for just a few items and not the bulk of their groceries, He's not sure how it continues to survive.

我现在明白了，你工作的一部分还包括考察像奥乐齐这样的竞争对手的价格。

Now I understand that part of your job is also scoping out the prices of your competitors like Aldi.

你能带我去一次吗？

Would you bring me onto one of those?

当然可以。

Yes.

我太乐意了。

Oh, I'd love to.

那肯定特别有意思。

It'd be really fun.

就去这么一次。

One of those trips.

对。

Yeah.

是的。

Yeah.

我很乐意。

It would be my pleasure.

好的。

Okay.

那我们得有多低调才行？

Now how discreet do we have to be?

他们可能有相关的媒体政策。

They may have, like, a media policy.

好的。

Okay.

那我可能得换套录音设备了。

Well, then maybe I will switch into different recording gear.

好的。

Okay.

这样就更低调一点了。

That's just, like, a little bit more discreet.

没问题。

Sure.

不过我们也许该休息一下。

But maybe we should take a break.

我想吃点东西。

I would like to eat.

休息的时候，泰勒和杰西去摸清对手的情况。

The break, Tyler and Jess scope out the competition.

马上回来。

We'll be right back.

你好。

Hi.

我是伊万·彭。

I'm Ivan Penn.

我是《纽约时报》的能源记者。

I'm an energy reporter for The New York Times.

很多人觉得电是理所当然的，但它其实关乎当下许多重大新闻的核心。

I think a lot of people take electricity for granted, but it's an essential piece of some of the biggest stories right now.

人工智能的崛起、气候变化的威胁，还有普通人面对电费不断上涨所面临的实际困难。

The rise of artificial intelligence, the threat of climate change, and the real challenges that everyday people are facing with increasing electric bills.

我每天都在采访专家，有时还会去偏远地区实地调查，探究能源在这些重大议题中扮演的角色。

I spend my days talking to experts, sometimes traveling to really remote places, and investigating the role that energy plays in these huge issues.

我只是《纽约时报》成百上千名记者中的一员，和所有同事一样，专注于自己领域的深度报道。

I'm just one of hundreds and hundreds of journalists at the Times, experts in what they cover, who carry the same level of commitment to their reporting.

这正是《纽约时报》的可贵之处。

And that's the beauty of The New York Times.

我们所有人齐心协力，帮你更清晰地理解并读懂今天的世界。

We're all working together to help you better understand and make sense of the world today.

如果你觉得这些内容跟你有关，但还没订阅，可以去 nytimes.com/subscribe 订阅。

So if that sounds like something that connects with you and you're not a subscriber yet, you can go to nytimes.com/subscribe.

把这个记在心里。

Put this in your back pocket Okay.

再别把它别在衬衫上。

And just clip this onto your shirt.

明白了。

Okay.

当天下午晚些时候，泰勒和我接好设备，沿着一条车流量很大的街道走了八分钟。

Later on the afternoon, Tyler and I wired up and walked eight minutes down a high traffic street.

空置的Rite Aid旁边就是Aldi超市。

Next to a vacated Rite Aid sits the Aldi.

这家Aldi看起来崭新得很。

Well, this Aldi looks really spanking new.

确实如此。

It is.

泰勒从这家店一年半前开业起就经常来留意这里。

Tyler routinely scopes this place out since it opened a year and a half ago.

是的。

Yeah.

好。

Alright.

走吧。

Let's go.

对。

Yeah.

干吧。

Let's do it.

看到店里乱七八糟的，我就觉得一美元四十九分太贵了。

I hate seeing a messy store put a dollar 49.

黑莓卖一美元四十九分，这价格其实不算贵。

A dollar 49 for blackberries, which that's not a bad price.

不对。

No.

这价格是

It's a

很划算。

great price.

产自格鲁吉亚的黑莓。

For Georgian grown blackberries.

没错。

Yep.

说实话，它们的味道应该很不错。

And honestly, they're probably very good.

你能买到一小盒有点发霉的

Can you get a nice little moldy

哦，确实。

Oh, yeah.

那是个发霉的桃子。

That's a moldy peach.

是的。

Yeah.

在袋子里。

Inside the bag.

对。

Yep.

也许这些桃子本身很棒，但奥乐齐的员工不会专门挑出这种坏掉的水果来整理货架。

Maybe they're fantastic peaches, but Aldi's doesn't have employees who would be culling this and keeping it nice.

而我们店里有专门负责生鲜区的员工，他们的工作之一就是把这种东西清理掉，因为没人想看到这种东西。

Whereas we have staff who part of their job in the produce department is to, like, get rid of stuff like that because that's nobody wants to see that.

他们的整个运营模式就是尽量不雇人。

That's their whole model is, like, no labor.

他们只是把整托盘的商品直接堆在地上。

They just drop pallets on the floor.

香蕉连箱子都不拿出来。

The bananas, they don't even take out of a box.

在泰勒的店购物，体验完全不一样。

This is a very different shopping experience than at Tyler's store.

这里大得多。

It's much bigger.

过道也更宽。

The aisles are wider.

没有任何花哨的东西。

No frills.

作为顾客，你很难找到人帮你找香菜。

As a shopper, you'd be hard pressed to find someone to help you locate the parsley.

我们看到的少数员工，都在清理进货后留下的空纸箱，根本不需要人去收购物车。

The few workers we did see were clearing the sales floor of empty boxes where products were shipped in, and no workers were needed to wrangle carts.

租购物车要花25美分，还回来的时候再退给你。

You rent a grocery cart for a quarter and get that quarter back when you return it.

没有散放的购物车，也不需要额外的员工。

No loose carts, no extra workers.

阿尔迪在一份声明中告诉我，所有这些措施都是为了降低成本、降低价格。

Aldi told me in a statement that all of this is meant to drive down costs and lower prices.

这个策略看起来很有效。

A strategy that seems to be working.

阿尔迪是全国增长最快的连锁超市，目前有180家新店正在建设中。

Aldi is the fastest growing grocery store chain in the country with a 180 new stores underway.

这个西瓜，价格是4.5美元吧？我看不清价签，上面盖着一团烂泥。

This watermelon, what, is $4.50 I can't even see it because there's some mush over the price.

大概4块6毛5吧。

It's like $4.65 maybe.

这西瓜长得不错。

And it's a good looking watermelon.

说实话，这瓜上还有个漂亮的晒斑。

Honestly, it's got a nice sun spot.

我猜味道应该不错。

I bet it's tasty.

你外面卖的西瓜一个要19美元。

And yours is going for $19 per watermelon out front.

大概是本地的有机西瓜吧。

Probably the local organic ones.

对。

Yeah.

是的。

Yeah.

没错。

Yeah.

东西都装在箱子里。

Everything's in boxes.

嗯。

Yep.

而且所有东西都用塑料包着。

And everything's in plastic.

我的意思是，可能有个面包。

Mean, maybe A bun.

我的意思是，冰箱里有个打碎的鸡蛋。

Mean, there's a broken egg inside the fridge.

是的。

Yeah.

这可不好。

That's bad.

那只是蛋黄，溅得满地都是。

That's just yolk That's all over Raunchy.

地上。

The ground.

我的意思是，一打才1.46美元，是啊。

I mean, for $1.46 a dozen Yep.

一打一块四毛六。

Dollar 46 a dozen.

这价格真是

That is

很难再找到了。

Hard to beat.

我从来没见过这么低的价格。

I've never seen anything that low.

是啊。

Yeah.

他们大量采购，尽可能铺到更多门店，才能拿到这个价。

They're buying a ton in volume for as many stores as they can get the product into to get that deal.

你可能永远都碰不上同一批薯片。

Like, you may never see the same bag of chips twice.

看看这边的东西，还有他们的牛肉。

See what's over here and their and look at their beef.

我们刚才聊到

So we talked about

咱们之前说过这事。

Let's that before.

看看他们能降到多低。

See how low they can go.

到了牛肉柜台，看看选择有多丰富。

When we arrive at the beef case, selection.

有的甚至每磅只要4.79美元。

Some even going for $4.79 a pound.

确实。

Yeah.

这看着都坏了。

That looks busted.

这种牛肉，泰勒根本不会觉得有威胁。

This is the kind of beef Tyler didn't seem threatened by.

直到

Until

我想知道他们

I'm curious what they

我们俩抬头看向了上层货架。

We both looked up at the top shelf.

100%草饲牛肉。

100% grass fed beef.

你伸手往上拿一包有机绞牛肉，标价7.29美元一磅。

And you reach overhead for a package, a pound of organic ground beef, bowing for $7.29.

有机草饲的。

Organic grass fed.

算了吧。

Nah.

是的。

Yeah.

确实是。

It is

这确实是有机的，老兄。

it is organic, dude.

我的意思是，这真让人头疼。

I mean, that's tough.

你懂的。

You know?

那你觉得看到这个怎么样？

I guess, how do you feel seeing that?

我的意思是，挺让人失望的。

I mean, it's disappointing.

我的意思是，他们能提供有机的，这挺好。

I mean, I'm glad that they're offering an organic Mhmm.

给顾客提供草饲选项。

Option grass fed to their folks.

关于肉类，还有其他因素没提到，比如人道饲养。

There are other considerations with especially with meat, like humanely raised that this doesn't talk about.

我们的标准还包括人道饲养、草饲且草饲全程，因为理论上，你完全可以给这头牛喂一根草，就说它是草饲的。

Our standards include humanely raised, grass fed, grass finished also because, I mean, in theory, you could give this cow one blade of grass and say it was grass fed.

但标签上根本没说，这头牛一生就只吃草。

It doesn't say that's the only thing it ever ate its whole life.

你懂的。

You know?

对。

Mhmm.

所以这也是一个需要考虑的点。

So that's a consideration.

不过

But

当你看到他们能选择这种选项时，你有什么感受？我们其实也不清楚它们到底有多接近，但对消费者来说，看起来差不多。

What are you feeling when you see that they're able to opt for you know, we don't really know how comparable, but to a consumer, pretty comparable

是的。

Yeah.

右翼产品。

Product for Right.

对于。

For

稍微吧。

a little yeah.

2.7美元，没错。

$2.70 Yeah.

更少。

Less.

很多人买牛肉末。

A lot of people buy ground beef.

这是很多食肉顾客的常备品，而且这个品类对价格非常敏感。

It's a staple for a lot of meat eating customers, and it's a very price sensitive category.

是的

Mhmm.

这一点大家都很敏感。

It's very much one that people are attuned to.

就像鸡蛋和牛奶一样。

Like eggs and milk.

没错

Yep.

正是如此

Exactly.

很难说我们只能

And It's hard to say, hey, we just gotta stay

时刻关注着这一切。

on top of it all.

你懂的

You know?

你不能松懈。

You can't slouch.

这让我觉得就是这样。

That's what this says to me.

我们其实并没有输。

Like, we haven't lost.

我对有机牛肉的销量有点惊讶。

I I'm a little surprised at the volume of the organic beef.

我说过，还有牛排，这些对我来说都是新东西。

Like I said, that and steaks, that that's a little bit of a new thing for me.

是的。

Yeah.

比如说，有一个

There's, like, a

整个货架都是。

whole shelf Yeah.

我注意到了。

I see that.

这大概只占他们牛肉选择的十分之一左右。

That's, like, maybe one tenth of their selection Mhmm.

牛肉中有有机的。

Of beef is organic.

是的。

Yeah.

看到这些，你会不会考虑降低牛肉价格，然后提高店里其他商品的售价？你会选哪样商品？

Does seeing this make you think you might wanna lower your beef prices and then mark up something else in that store, and what would that be?

对。

Yeah.

有可能。

Possibly.

这倒是个办法。

That could be a solution.

或者，我这周主打促销的商品，每件加价一毛钱，而不是给最大折扣，这样还能保留一点利润。

Or whatever my advertised deals items are that week, add a dime to that for each product instead of the biggest discount possible, I retain some

要想跟阿尔迪七块二十九的草饲有机碎牛肉竞争，得算笔账。

of Figuring out how to compete with Aldi's seven twenty nine grass fed organic ground beef requires a little math.

泰勒可以提高羊肉的价格，但他卖的羊肉太少，补不回牛肉损失的收入。

Tyler could raise the price on his lamb, But he doesn't sell enough lamb to make up for what he's losing in beef.

他也可以提高店里其他几样商品的价格。

He could raise the price of a couple of other items around the store.

通常来说，他没足够的仓储空间去大批量采购低价的碎牛肉。

Or, normally, he wouldn't have enough storage to buy ground beef at a high volume and its lowest price.

但他可以赌一把，靠促销价快速卖光牛肉，就不必担心存货积压了。

But he could bet that with a promotional price, he could sell beef fast enough that he wouldn't have to worry about storing it for long.

我们不可能把所有竞争对手都赶出有机碎牛肉市场。

We're not gonna drive all these out of the organic ground beef market.

但你总得试试看。

But you have to try.

这就是关键所在。

It's the thing.

你得把能用的招儿都使上，一点点把失去的阵地抢回来。

It's like you try you use all the tools in your toolkit and regain a little bit of that ground.

行了。

Alright.

还有别的吗？我觉得差不多了。

Anything else in here or I think we're good?

有了这个关键信息，我们的探查任务就完成了。

And with that key bit of intel, our reconnaissance trip was complete.

出口可能已经结束了。

The exit may be over.

是啊。

Oh yeah.

他们非得让你走收银台。

They force you to go through the cash register.

是的。

Oh yeah.

你得想办法突破这种局面，阿尔迪。

You gotta break out of this, Aldi's.

在参观完阿尔迪之后，泰勒正在想办法降低他的牛肉末价格。

After our visit to Aldi, Tyler is figuring out a way to lower the price of his ground beef.

他打算通过提高冷冻牛肉的价格，并与牛肉供应商协商更低的进货价，来把牛肉末定价在8.99美元。

By raising the price of his frozen beef and negotiating a lower rate with his beef supplier, he's hoping to offer his ground beef at $8.99.

比他之前的价格低了一美元。

A dollar lower than what he'd been charging.

虽然还达不到阿尔迪的7.29美元，但泰勒说已经足够有竞争力，也低到可以印在传单上当促销品吸引顾客了。

It's not the $7.29 at Aldi, but Tyler says it's close enough to compete, and low enough to put on flyers as a promotion item to customers.

但这只是成千上万商品中的一个。

But that's just one item in a store of thousands.

目前，他正在提前预订火鸡，锁定当前的高通胀价格，却还不知道十一月能卖出去多少。

Right now, he's putting in preorders for turkeys that would lock him in at current high inflationary prices, not knowing what he can sell them for come November.

这就像走钢丝一样，平衡这些价格，只盼着最终能凑合过去。

It's a high wire act balancing these prices, with the hope that it all adds up.

然后我就想到，无论是东区超市还是奥乐齐的顾客，他们都问我，食品价格什么时候才能降下来。

And then I think about the customers at both East End and at Aldi, who asked me if the cost of groceries will ever go down.

五年、十年后会变成什么样？

What will happen in five or ten years?

这对他们的孩子又意味着什么？

And what would it mean for their children?

泰勒也说不准，但他觉得，价格一直往上走，本来就是常态。

Tyler can't say for certain, but he says costs going up is just how it always goes.

就算通胀数据降下来，食品价格也不会马上恢复正常。

Even if we see inflation numbers go down, it doesn't translate to normal food prices.

那只是意味着涨价的速度变慢了。

It just means prices rise slower.

如果伊朗战争的后果之一，是每艘通过海峡的船只都要加收一笔新费用，他说这些成本最终还是会转嫁到顾客身上——而顾客早就明白，他们只能学会适应。

And if one of the fallouts of the war in Iran is that a new fee will be imposed on every ship passing through the strait, he says those costs will continue to be passed on to customers who have long gotten the message that they will just have to adapt.

真的吗

Do

你怪谁吗？

you blame anyone?

你是希望有人来管管这事吗？

Like, do you want someone to do something about this?

这事根本没法改变。

It's nothing that can be done about that.

说到底，你只能硬着头皮扛着。

You gotta bite the bullet in a way.

我只能想办法凑出这笔钱，你懂的？

Just gotta I gotta find a way to come up with the money, you know?

我敢说，有五万个理由和借口让我们被压得喘不过气。

I'm sure it's, like, 50,000 reasons and excuses why we're slammed with this.

那你还能怎么办？

What are you supposed to do?

价格一直在涨。

Price, It goes up.

生活本来就是这样，你懂的吧？

It's just the way life is, you know what I mean?

所以你得学会适应。

So you have to be able to adapt to it.

很多妈妈都能适应。

A lot of moms adapt.

我们很有韧性。

We're resilient.

我们必须得适应。

We gotta adapt.

你心里清楚。

You know it.

对。

Yeah.

我们得学会适应。

We gotta adapt.

你有没有发现，为了维持生计，你不得不做出一些让步？

Are you finding that you have to make certain sacrifices to make ends meet?

少吃点。

Cut back what I eat.

我已经自己带午饭四个月了。

I I packed my lunch now for four months.

每天午饭都吃西瓜。

I ate watermelon every day for lunch.

四个月，你每天午饭都吃西瓜？

For four months, you ate watermelon for day.

是的。

Yeah.

我减得够多了吗？

I cut enough?

是的

Yeah.

西瓜就当苹果吃了。

Watermelon was an an apple.

是的

Yeah.

还有水。

And my water.

是的

Yeah.

时间久了就习惯了。

You get adjusted to it.

那你午餐吃多少西瓜？

And how much watermelon are we talking for lunch?

四五大块吧。

Four or five nice pieces.

我把它们装进差不多这么大容量的容器里，然后放进去。

I put it in the containers about that big, and I put that in there.

接着我再带个苹果，和一瓶水。

And then I have an apple, and I have a bottle of water.

我能吃的食物非常有限。

The food that I can eat is very limited.

我不能随便买花生酱。

I can't just get peanut butter.

我得买葵花籽酱，那东西贵得离谱。

I have to get, like, sunflower seed butter, which is extremely expensive.

所以有时候我干脆就不吃了。

So sometimes I just won't eat.

你就不吃了？

You just won't eat?

对。

Yeah.

所以，

So,

我瘦了很多。

like, I've lost a lot of weight.

你这样节食有多久了？

How long has this been going for that you feel like you have to skimp?

已经有一阵子了。

It's it's been quite a while.

我孩子都是啦啦队队员。

I have kids that are cheerleaders.

我儿子们也都在打球。

I have boys that play sports.

他们要训练，所以比平时更饿。

Have practice, so they were hungrier than usual.

我孩子经常问：‘我能再吃点吗？’

And my kids often are like, can I have some more?

我就说，行啊。

I'm just like, sure.

这就是你的那份。

And that's your portion.

有时候吧。

Sometimes.

但接下来我就凑合吃点小东西。

But then I'll survive off of something small.

比如什么？

Like what?

比如吃碗拉面什么的。

Like, I'll go eat ramen noodles or something.

我给他们做晚饭，然后自己吃他们剩下的鸡块什么的。

I'll make them dinner, and then I'll go eat their chicken nuggets or something.

你现在没法像以前那样吃了。

You can't eat like how you used to.

你得把吃饭的时间拉得松一点。

Like, you have to, like, space it out a lot.

别把食物吃光了。

Don't run out of food.

你是说吃得少一点？

You mean eat eat less?

是的。

Yeah.

哇，真的吗。

Oh, wow.

对。

Yeah.

吃得少一点。

Eat less.

还要更会规划开销。

And budget more.

这真是不小的牺牲和改变。

That seems like a real sacrifice and real change.

是啊。

It

没错。

is.

有时候我会试着一天只吃一顿，或者两顿。

Sometimes try to eat once a day or just twice.

是的。

Yeah.

完全对。

So Absolutely.

别吃太多分量。

Not too much portions.

吃够就好。

Just eat just enough.

吃的时候别吃撑，刚刚好让身体舒服就行。

Eat to not be entirely full, but just eat just enough for your body to be okay, basically.

你这辈子有没有被迫这样做过？

Have you ever had to do this in your life?

没有。

No.

没有。

No.

我一向都吃得多，吃得过量。

Always ate, overate.

一直都能做到这样。

Been able to do that.

是的。

Yeah.

是的。

Yeah.

你懂的。

You know?

我们经常会做点意面、鹰嘴豆和米饭这类东西，就是那种……

We try to make, like, pastas, chickpea and rice kind of thing, like, you

你知道的，用凤梨酥做的汉堡。

know, jackfruit burgers.

你知道，我们确实会尝试。

You know, we try.

对。

Mhmm.

你们之间是什么关系？

What's your guys' relationship to each other?

我们有两个

We have two

十几岁的儿子。

teenage boys.

两个十几岁的男孩。

Two teenage boys.

十二岁和十四岁。

12 and 14.

他们吃得很多。

They eat a lot.

是的。

Yeah.

他们吃得比一般人还多。

They eat more than often.

这

That's

就是我们

what we

得做出的取舍，或者说，得少吃点，因为他们需要足够的营养。

have to sacrifice or, you know, eating as much because they need the nutrition.