This book's original purpose was to assemble bread prices in order to develop an improved measurement of the standard of living. Here we turn to this original quesiton with a wealth of data and new information about changes in consumer behavior that call into question the conventional methodology for estimating the standard of living and making comparisons across societies. In a society experiencing "deep commercialization," the cost of living rises because basic commodities are replaced by processed foods, and simple, coarse foods by more refined and even luxurious foods. In this chapter the standard is living is examined from a demand-side approach rather than the conventional supply-side approach.