- spraying pesticides is cheaper pest management then not

- less ingredients = less chance to substitute cheap ingredients for expensive ones.

- scarcity

I don't see what's odd about any of this. The real game is seeing how much weak food you can get away with to bring down your cost of living without giving up too much future/quality time.

The body has an appetite until we have consumed sufficient nutrients to sate it. You need less food if its jammed full of nutrients. So like most top quality produce, good food is not as expensive as it seems. A hard sell, because it's only apparent over a period of time.