Why is it cheaper to eat unhealthfully...

Options
24567…14

Replies

  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
    Options
    $20 of veges and chicken will go a lot further at the supermarket than at MacDonalds.

    this.

    buy veggies, and freeze the ones you can't eat right away. simple.
  • misao1994
    misao1994 Posts: 78
    Options
    First off...im not sure that "unhealthfully" is a word...but, as the subject states: Why is it so much cheaper to eat crap than it is to buy healthy foods and prepare them yourself? You can go to McDonalds and buy a cheeseburger and fries for a lot cheaper than going to the grocery store and buying foods to make a meal. It just aggravates me...

    Americans supply and demand. And because we're allowed to here, companies I mean, they use cheaper and lower quality ingredients which actually cause more money for the individual in health costs later on. But if you go to Australia for example, it's much, much more expensive to eat unhealthy and they don't promote it either. Like, if you go to a restaurant you pay like $3.00 for a coke, no ice and no refill. Where here it's like $3.00 bottomless. And we also serve much bigger quantities of food because people consume much, much bigger quantitates here than over seas. Like, when my ex-boyfriend came here for the first time from England he was appalled at the size of the portions we were given at places to eat. And he was an 18 year old at the time. You can eat healthy for cheaper. But it requires more effort than a lot of people are willing to put in. It requires looking at the label, understanding the label, choosing grapes over oreos. The less people eat crap food, the more people demand better quality ingredients, then maybe it'll switch. Or the FDA puts higher standards, but I doubt that. American dream, my friend. American dream.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    Options
    THIS IS WHAT I WANNA KNO! If you look at the store, the healthy stuff seems to always b more expensive than the junk lol
  • DakotaKeogh
    DakotaKeogh Posts: 693 Member
    Options
    taking good care of yourself and your body is priceless. I no longer eat fast food because my body feel terrible after I eat it. Quality of life in the long run. Cooking your own food also goes a very long way towards your health and nutrician, and knowing what is actually in your food is also important. I don't buy that people don't have the time. You can prepare food for a week in one evening if you are organized enough. If it matters enough to you, you will find a way.

    Agreed
  • jasondcooper
    jasondcooper Posts: 125
    Options
    Big agriculture companies and chemical/pesticide companies get huge government subsidies to keep their products cheap, plentiful and profitable.

    Corn, soy and dairy, for example, are HEAVILY subsidized. That's why you get asked if you want cheese on your burger, that's why there's high-fructose corn syrup in everything, and that's why people aren't aware of the ACTUAL cost of their food and are surprised and daunted by the costs of organics.

    Fast food ingredients (including all processed sugars, wheat, corn, and factory-farmed meats) are kept artificially cheap for the consumer because our taxes support government subsidies that keep them that way.

    Ding! Follow the money. Corn (and therefore, high fructose corn syrup) is massively subsidized, which is why it winds up in virtually everything on the shelves. We even put corn (ethanol) in our cars! I also agree with those who pointed out that when one considers healthcare costs as a result of heart disease, diabetes, etc., it's ultimately much cheaper to eat healthily.
  • Pimpmonkey
    Pimpmonkey Posts: 566
    Options
    I understand what you are saying. It is cheaper where I live to buy the unhealthy foods tahn it is the healthy. That just means we have to buy less food and make it stretch because we only have $200 a month for food. We are actually getting ready to evict someone because we are spending our $200 (for 2 people) on healthy stuff which she sneaks and eats when we are sleeping (night shifters) and then she spends hers on crap that is either unbelievably bad for you (4 cases of ramen noodles, a case of redbulls, mochaccino thingies, etc) or hides it in her room. I don't mind feeding someone, but not if they are intentionally eating my food so that I have to go without.
  • RainHoward
    RainHoward Posts: 1,599 Member
    Options
    I wrote a paper several years ago on a subject I know way to much about. The slow but steady fattening of Americans. It started in the late 50's and early sixties when things like toaster ovens, microwaves, mixers, food processors, all the things that made cooking so easy. Even things you don't think about like refrigeration. Back in the day an ice box was exactly that. So people ate differently than they do today. You are fresh.

    How common was it 50 years ago for people to have a garden in the back yard? Or some chickens? You bought meet at the butcher who in turn bought it from the local farmer. Things stayed local for the most part. And then urban sprawl happened. You couldn't have the chickens in the back yard because the city folk neighbor would complain. Small local farms started to vanish and large grocery stores became the norm. What has a longer shelf life? Things in packages, from factories. They stack neatly. They ship easily. And they cost less to make. So these became the norm. It's what many of us grew up on.

    Fresh produce became more expensive because people didn't want it. It was cool to be able to pop dinner in the microwave. How many are old enough to remember the early 80s and the popularity of things like Hungry Man? If there is no market for produce then why grow it? Grow something you can get some money for. Corn. Supply went down, price went up.

    With all things there is a pendulum that swings from one extreme to the other. Healthy food is in the process of swinging at the moment. If you learn to cook, learn how to use fresh produce, spend the extra money and buy local, eventually that pendulum will finish its swing.

    Just a thought anyway.
  • sweetchildomine
    sweetchildomine Posts: 872 Member
    Options
    264722_433213526731060_557730020_n.jpg

    Ok, the Chicken Breasts and ground beef part is totally wrong, they end up being around 5 dollars for me but still lol.
  • Alohathin
    Alohathin Posts: 360 Member
    Options
    264722_433213526731060_557730020_n.jpg

    Ok, the Chicken Breasts and ground beef part is totally wrong, they end up being around 5 dollars for me but still lol.

    I wish groceries were that cheap for me. All those groceries would probably cost me close to $50. No joke. It's stupid how expensive food is here.
  • RainHoward
    RainHoward Posts: 1,599 Member
    Options
    264722_433213526731060_557730020_n.jpg

    Ok, the Chicken Breasts and ground beef part is totally wrong, they end up being around 5 dollars for me but still lol.

    Amazing what a month of lifestyle change can do. That KFC looks straight up NASTY to me. And that corn, all I can say in ,,,nom nom nom nom nom
  • Pimpmonkey
    Pimpmonkey Posts: 566
    Options
    264722_433213526731060_557730020_n.jpg

    Ok, the Chicken Breasts and ground beef part is totally wrong, they end up being around 5 dollars for me but still lol.

    Holy crap! Where do you live?!

    Same list where I live in FL:
    2 lbs chicken breast $10-$12 Winn-Dixie
    *3 lbs potatoes $3.47 Walmart
    8 ears of corn $4 Walmart
    1 individual peach $0.88 Walmart
    1 Gallon Milk $3.48 Walmart
    1 lb ground beef (97%) $4.07 Winn-Dixie
    32 oz tub fat free yoplait $2.48 Walmart
    18 oz oats $1.18 Walmart
    2 lbs frozen peas $4.56 Walmart
    1 lb dry kidney beans $1.28 Walmart

    total $34.40-$36.40
  • Ddmck1
    Ddmck1 Posts: 89 Member
    Options
    Most of the big fast food chains process their own meat and have big government subsidies. There is more tax breaks for meat processing factories then there are for organic fruits and vegetables.
  • Alohathin
    Alohathin Posts: 360 Member
    Options
    264722_433213526731060_557730020_n.jpg

    Ok, the Chicken Breasts and ground beef part is totally wrong, they end up being around 5 dollars for me but still lol.

    Holy crap! Where do you live?!

    I live on the Big Island in Hawaii, and the chicken would cost me 7-8 bucks, the milk 6 bucks, yogurt 7 bucks. Each bag of frozen veggies is about 3 bucks. A pound of almonds is 11 dollars. 1.5 dozen eggs is 4.50. Five pound bag of red delicious apples is $6.

    There are a lot of farmer's markets around here, though, so we're going to start checking those out.
  • Pimpmonkey
    Pimpmonkey Posts: 566
    Options
    it's crazy just how different it is everywhere!
  • Domi_BTGfit
    Domi_BTGfit Posts: 149
    Options
    I heard a comedian do a bit on that the other day.... he said "you wanna know why our kids today are obese? Because at McDonald's you can get a cheeseburger for 99 cents, but it's $4.99 for a salad!"

    Agreed!

    In this day and age, many people are either broke, overworked or too lazy.
  • RainHoward
    RainHoward Posts: 1,599 Member
    Options
    Oh, and when contemplating that burger at the 'ol drivethrough window, remember this
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_slime

    I don't normally use wikipedia as a source but hey, it was at the top of the google page and covers it pretty well. Yum Yum.
  • MoiraCunningham
    MoiraCunningham Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    Government subsidies on corn, wheat and other crops are major contributors. They make the prices of certain foods artificially low and discourage farmers from growing healthier crops. This and other contributing factors are discussed in the HBO documentary, the Weight of the Nation. Quite a sobering look at the nation we've become...

    http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/
  • DrJeep
    DrJeep Posts: 37 Member
    Options
    I have a little halal butcher/turkish grocer around the corner. I can choose to either go there, or go down the road to the supermarket. I get my weekly shopping at the little store now, and for about €30,- (+/- 37 USD) I get fresh fish, fresh lean meat (beef and chicken) and lovely fresh vegetables and fruits. And all the lovely spices I can think of.

    If I walk down to the supermarket I get about the same for a good €20 extra, and it's mostly pre packaged processed stuff.

    Ever since I made this whole change in eating habits, I never went to the supermarket again.
  • althaluszombie
    althaluszombie Posts: 94 Member
    Options
    It's actually much much much cheaper to eat wholesome healthy foods. It will just take you a While to figure it out. It seems like a learning curve everyone has to go through.

    I concur. It is just learning what is healthy and learning to love it. i find some people I know buy cheap food because it tasty to them and has nothing to do with nutritional value. Humans live to eat sadly. Gotta learn that food is just the fuel to begin the adventure
  • sungminez
    sungminez Posts: 7
    Options
    I went to our local super market, and one watermelon on the smaller size was $8 usd. Absolutely ridiculous.

Categories