From 1965 to 1988, spending on food in the United States

Question

From 1965 to 1988, spending on food in the United States climbed 46 percent. But over that same period, spending on food to be consumed at home â€” purchased mainly from supermarkets â€” grew only 20 percent.
Which of the following statements about the period from 1965 to 1988 in the United States is best supported by the statements above?

(A) Spending on food increased at restaurants and other food retailers that prepare food to be consumed away from home.
(B) Shoppers spent more on certain food products to be consumed at home that are not generally available in supermarkets.
(C) Food prices at supermarkets neither rose nor dropped relative to food prices at other food retailers.
(D) There was a decrease in the number of heads households, who tend to spend more than other household members on food consumed away from home.
(E) The number of people who ate at restaurants decreased relative to the number of people who ordered take-out food from restaurants.

rthothad · Answer

I am between 'A' & 'C' but would go with 'A'

nocilis · Answer

I am getting an A.
But your questions are usually tough. Is there a catch?

gayathri · Answer

The OA is A.

I was not able to strongly refute B, so I was hoping some of the forum members would post their reasons.

Can someone give me a good reason to eliminate B?

gayathri · Answer

Btw, I thought this question was similar to 
 https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=11533

chunjuwu · Answer

Excuse me, I think B is non-relevant. 

The total spending on food climbed to 46%, while spending on food to be consumed at home grew only 20%. 

Therefore, we need to compare  at home  with  not at home . A is the answer. 

However in choice B, we need not care whether the food is available in supermarkets.

gayathri · Answer

From 1965 to 1988, spending on food in the United States climbed 46 percent. But over that same period, spending on food to be consumed at home â€” purchased mainly from supermarkets â€” grew only 20 percent. quote]

Is the "purchased from mainly supermarkets" just to throw us in a loop. It appears to me that the question stem is saying that spending of food for home at supermarkets was 20%. So, why isnt it possible that a significant postion of the remaining 26% was spent at places besides the supermarkets? :roll:

vprabhala · Answer

gayathri i think that would be over analyzing the given statement when a much clearer answer is available in the choices.

rthothad · Answer

It cannot be 'B' - becos the question talks about spending on food to be consumed at home - for all we know during that period there could be some natural calamities like the Tsunami were people donated to charities that spent a lot on food to be consumed else where.

From 1965 to 1988, spending on food in the United States

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