Ramen is the Hottest Commodity Among US State Prisoners, Study Reveals; Reasons Explained, Find Out Why
A research conducted in a US state prison shows that ramen is now considered the hottest commodity among inmates.
Background of the study
According to a research, ramen is now the highest regarded currency among state prisoners. The instant noodles have now replaced tobacco products in US prisons with regards to being the most highly demanded by the convicts.
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Michael Gibson-Light, from the University of Arizona School of Sociology was the one that conducted the study (to which a copy was previously accessible online but has now been deleted). Fifty inmates and 7 staff members in an unnamed male state prison underwent several interviews for the duration of the study that spanned for a whole year. Gibson-Light is set to present the study at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in Seattle.
The ramen economy
The surprising switch from tobacco products to ramen was not due to tobacco ban in state prisons. It was largely attributed to the hunger brought by faulty budgeting that disallowed for bearable and sufficient meals.
As a food supplier entered the state prison, meal budgets were slashed from $2 to $1.25, making three complete meals per day barely possible. Aside from this downward spiral in quantity, the quality of food served to the prisoners also suffered. Gibson-Light went as far as stating in the study that a certain Corrections officer warned him not to eat the food served, as he is running the risk of getting food poisoning.
In the entirety of the research, it is frequently mentioned that ramen, called soups by the inmates when sold in packs, are the main form of money inside the studied prison. They are used as bargaining chips during card games, payment for bunk cleaning, laundry, denture creams, and exchanged for other foods.
Ramen's worth has also become higher than its actual cost. A pack of ramen costs only 59 cents inside the prison, but can be exchanged for five hand-rolled cigarettes which cost significantly higher at $2.
The study also notes that inside the prison, everything boils down to money—who controls it and what it buys. With ramen being at the forefront of inmate economy, prisoners have increased its value due to their basic need of avoiding hunger and a small luxury of having a hot meal that doesn't taste as horrible as prison food.
State obligations
Gibson-Light states that the flourishing black market of ramen in prisons is due to the oversights in state laws. Per capita corrections in expenditures have not been adjusted to match the growing number of inmates, resulting in smaller allocations per prisoner.
He stated that the Bureau of Federal Corrections have consistently decreased corrections over time. With this, the state prisoners suffer in both quantity and quality of their meals, resulting into an economy run by ramen.
