The absolute cost of food per household is 8 times greater in the US than in India
An American household spending 10 percent of the median US income of $42,228 actually spends more money on food than the Indian household that spends 51 percent of its $1,005 median income ($4,223 vs. $513). That is to say that the absolute cost of food per household is 8 times greater in the US than in India.
Source: Salvador, R.J. and Gretchen Zdorkowski. "Cheap Food That Isn't." Iowa State University Graduate Program of Sustainable Agriculture. March 2003. http://www.iatp.org/files/ISSUE_BRIEF_-_Cheap_Food_That_Isnt.htm