An Ounce of Prevention is Worth 450 Grams of Cure

This morning I read another article about the deceptive marketing practices companies are using to repackage their supermarket goods. Old half gallon ice cream tubs now come in 1.5 quart containers, 20 ounce beverages are now half-liters (16.9 ounces), and a "pound" of coffee now weighs in at around 11 ounces. The price of the packages haven't changed, just the amount of consumables in them.

60 years ago beverage and liquor companies would brag that their product came in "honest quarts" (32 ounces). At the time a lot of liquor came in "fifths", which was equal to one-fifth of a gallon (25.6 ounces). In the 70's the industry changed a standard size of liquor bottle once again, making it the metric equivalent of 750ml (25.2 ounces). Today most liquor and sodas come in liters while milk, water, beer, and ice cream is sold in pints, quarts, and gallons.

From a consumer and marketing standpoint, switching over to the metric system once and for all makes a ton of sense. Afterall, why spend $4 on a gallon of gas when you can get a liter for only $1? Buying non-sensical measurements of items (eg: a pint of sour cream) only makes it easier for companies to trick us by shrinking the product and changing the packaging. It's disappointing and confusing when a recipe calls for a cup of non-fat yogurt and you realize that the old 8oz container is now 6. Buying consumables in grams and liters would eliminate a lot of these dishonest marketing ploys.