Has anyone else heard that impoverished people sometimes result to eating dog food? Is this supposedly because dog food is cheaper than people food? Or is it supposed to be because they are illiterate and think it's people food?

I have a problem with this... because as a poor college student my diet consists of rice and ramen. I can buy a bag of rice, about 25lbs worth for about $8.00. A cup of rice is enough to feed me for a single meal. I'd just guess and say that a cup of rice is about a 1/4 of a pound. That means the bag can last me 100 meals for 8 dollars. That's eight cents per meal plus the cost of Soy Sauce, electricity, water, etc. But we're looking at about, what 30 cents per meal?

Ramen, on sale, is about .10 cents per package, if not cheaper. Two packages is enough for one meal. That's 20 cents per meal, plus a few extra cents for the additional flavoring (which isn't necessary, but I prefer it). Add in the cost of electricity and water to boil it and you probably have less than 40 cents per meal.

On the other hand, a 13oz can of dog food is usually around $1.25, more or less. Even if you only eat half a can per meal, you're still looking at about 63cents per meal, more than the rice or the ramen... and it's dog food. So it doesn't make sense to me why someone would choose dog food over the two other alternatives.

Now, if it's a matter of them not being able to read the can, then why the hell can they not tell from the big picture of a dog on it that it isn't meant for humans? Not to mention that it's in an isle full of pet stuff?

Or is there some other reason that I haven't heard about?