Why does health food = expensive?
Options
Replies
-
i tend to look at it this way: healthy food is medicine for our bodies, and although it may cost more, it probably saves us money in the long term. if you eat nothing but fast or highly processed foods (which tend to be less expensive), then you're more likely to end up with costly health problems. so, INVEST in healthier foods to save money and maintain health in the long term. my two cents.
0 -
It's simple supply and demand. As demand goes up and supply can't keep up the price goes up. Also when farmers don't use pesticides or GMOs they have a tougher time with pests and growing food that is "perfect" in the eyes of the consumer. That means they have more waste and less that they can sell. So what they do sell has to recover their costs and give them a bit of profit to live on. Also animals raised without hormones, antibiotics and are grass fed do not grow as quickly and may get sick. This again raises costs.
But you can bypass most of this by supporting local growers and by growing some of your own food as well. Most places also allow you to raise some livestock but I'm sure about the laws on that in NY...
I disagree about supply and demand. Its trendy, so they are jacking up the prices. I think its that simple.
Also - there is pesticide usage on organic produce.
Yep. It's in demand so they are going to try to make as much as they can on something that lots of people are buying.0 -
i tend to look at it this way: healthy food is medicine for our bodies, and although it may cost more, it probably saves us money in the long term. if you eat nothing but fast or highly processed foods (which tend to be less expensive), then you're more likely to end up with costly health problems. so, INVEST in healthier foods to save money and maintain health in the long term. my two cents.
You are absolutely right. Pay now or payyyyy later. Its more effective for us to invest now. Thanks for your two cents.
0 -
Organic represents about .5% of farming and the maintenance for organic farming cost more. Believing they would rather just price it to rot instead, doesn't make much sense.It's simple supply and demand. As demand goes up and supply can't keep up the price goes up. Also when farmers don't use pesticides or GMOs they have a tougher time with pests and growing food that is "perfect" in the eyes of the consumer. That means they have more waste and less that they can sell. So what they do sell has to recover their costs and give them a bit of profit to live on. Also animals raised without hormones, antibiotics and are grass fed do not grow as quickly and may get sick. This again raises costs.
But you can bypass most of this by supporting local growers and by growing some of your own food as well. Most places also allow you to raise some livestock but I'm sure about the laws on that in NY...
I disagree about supply and demand. Its trendy, so they are jacking up the prices. I think its that simple.
Also - there is pesticide usage on organic produce.
Yep. It's in demand so they are going to try to make as much as they can on something that lots of people are buying.
0 -
I buy mustard and turnip greens......kale was SO last year.
0 -
Laurend224 wrote: »I buy mustard and turnip greens......kale was SO last year.
And mustard greens are amazingly delicious.0 -
It's just basic economics. Shrug*0
-
neanderthin wrote: »
Organic represents about .5% of farming and the maintenance for organic farming cost more. Believing they would rather just price it to rot instead, doesn't make much sense.It's simple supply and demand. As demand goes up and supply can't keep up the price goes up. Also when farmers don't use pesticides or GMOs they have a tougher time with pests and growing food that is "perfect" in the eyes of the consumer. That means they have more waste and less that they can sell. So what they do sell has to recover their costs and give them a bit of profit to live on. Also animals raised without hormones, antibiotics and are grass fed do not grow as quickly and may get sick. This again raises costs.
But you can bypass most of this by supporting local growers and by growing some of your own food as well. Most places also allow you to raise some livestock but I'm sure about the laws on that in NY...
I disagree about supply and demand. Its trendy, so they are jacking up the prices. I think its that simple.
Also - there is pesticide usage on organic produce.
Yep. It's in demand so they are going to try to make as much as they can on something that lots of people are buying.
If it sells at that price it isn't rotting soo.....0 -
My wife and I also get frustrated at this trend, we try to remind ourselves that ultimately the healthy food and exercise will help us shrink and therefore buy less food than previously and hopefully work out closer on the budget.0
-
Trendy or not, hate the stuff (kale). This topic comes up daily. I live in Minnesota. The growing season is very short. I have been on MFP a little over 3 years, on maintenance 17 months. My grocery bill is less than it was pre-MFP. We eat fresh fruit and veggies 99% of the time, the rest is frozen unsweetened fruit, but always fresh vegetables. It comes from South America, Central America, Mexico, Texas, Florida, California etc. when it is not available here grown in this state (9 months of the year) Very rarely go out to eat, a little more often we get take out, but most of our food is cooked by me from scratch. Fresh meat and fish. Dried beans, lentils, rice (mostly brown & wild). Cheese, low fat dairy. I work full time, long hours, and 45 minute commute one way. I go to the gym every morning before work. If you want it bad enough, you can do it, it is up to you to determine that. I am 63 and in the best shape I have been in in my adult life. If there are no health issues to limit you, anyone can do this, and save money.0
-
Yeah I do remember when Kale was a decoration! Ha!! Also, I get sticker shock sometimes and often think we'd be a healthier country if healthy foods cost less than unhealthy foods. My heart rate goes up every time I go to buy a jar of almond butter (which now I don't have to do because cashew butter) or grass-fed beef. To recover, I think about how much I was spending on pizza and beer this time last year and realize I'm probably saving money.0
-
LovelyIvy466 wrote: »Ahh, another New Yorker. I think people who live outside of NYC don't really understand how bad it can get. If you live in Manhattan and/or don't have a car it can be especially hard to find healthy food for a reasonable price- the upscale markets are beautiful, have a huge selection and charge outrageously, while the cheaper markets often don't have the things you actually want to eat. When they do have the things you want, the quality is often not great, and sometimes the prices are just as bad. I currently live in the outer boroughs, which is both easier (price-wise) and harder (most markets are smaller, don't have the selection), but when I lived in Manhattan it was very hard to cut down costs.
The prices for fruits and vegetables in particular are freaking outrageous. The farmer's markets are EVEN WORSE, talk about price gouging! I have found the best places to get a reasonable price are either buying frozen and in bulk at Costco/BJ's, schlepping over to Trader Joe's (and enduring that freakin line of death) or Fairway market. TJ has the most reasonable prices on veggies and fruits, although they carry a pretty limited supply, and you're not going to find everything you want. It's also the most annoying place to shop by far, but you either pay with your money or your time...
I lived in Brooklyn for the longest time. It's crazy obnoxious even in Brooklyn. I hear ya.0 -
It's simple supply and demand. As demand goes up and supply can't keep up the price goes up. Also when farmers don't use pesticides or GMOs they have a tougher time with pests and growing food that is "perfect" in the eyes of the consumer. That means they have more waste and less that they can sell. So what they do sell has to recover their costs and give them a bit of profit to live on. Also animals raised without hormones, antibiotics and are grass fed do not grow as quickly and may get sick. This again raises costs.
But you can bypass most of this by supporting local growers and by growing some of your own food as well. Most places also allow you to raise some livestock but I'm sure about the laws on that in NY...
I disagree about supply and demand. Its trendy, so they are jacking up the prices. I think its that simple.
Also - there is pesticide usage on organic produce.
Doesn't 'trendy' almost by definition mean 'in demand'... as in increased demand?0 -
I may sound cheap, but on Saturday mornings I go to the "fancy" grocery store, and their reduced stuff is SOO cheap and better quality still then the store I normally shop at. I get my kale and chard any any green leafy stuff there too because it seems to be super cheap as well. Asian stores in my area are also less expensive compared to the normal market.0
-
It's simple supply and demand. As demand goes up and supply can't keep up the price goes up. Also when farmers don't use pesticides or GMOs they have a tougher time with pests and growing food that is "perfect" in the eyes of the consumer. That means they have more waste and less that they can sell. So what they do sell has to recover their costs and give them a bit of profit to live on. Also animals raised without hormones, antibiotics and are grass fed do not grow as quickly and may get sick. This again raises costs.
But you can bypass most of this by supporting local growers and by growing some of your own food as well. Most places also allow you to raise some livestock but I'm sure about the laws on that in NY...
I disagree about supply and demand. Its trendy, so they are jacking up the prices. I think its that simple.
Also - there is pesticide usage on organic produce.
I avoid unnecessarily expensive products (organic) whenever possible. This is increasingly difficult in the "trendy" SF bay area where they put tofu in everything, organic is "the only way to go" and "GMOs are evil"... Sorry, just because someone paid the government money to "certify" their food does not mean I am certifiable enough to think it is worth paying more money for less product.
Also, I love farmers markets and all... but I have never paid so much for dead plants in my life as I have at the farmer's markets around here. They have charged as much as double there as the grocery stores do. I still go, but I don't end up with much because I could easily spend my entire month's grocery budget on 1 weeks worth of fruit and veggies at a farmers market.0 -
I haven't found mine has increased and I eat quite healthy.
I buy in bulk when it goes on sale ie skinless chicken breast or pork loin or fish.
I buy frozen instead of fresh because I got news for people who think fresher is better it's not nutrionally unless you go to your back yard and pick it yourself...most of my family works in the transportation industry and did you know that fruit and veggies that are slated for fresh selling are picked prior to being ripe and ripen on the truck to the store or in storage waiting to get to the store...
For an example oranges are picked when they turn orange..well guess what that's ripe...so what is gonna happen to it when it takes 1 week to get to northern us or Canada then sits on the dock for another 2 or 3 days then another day to get shipped to the store and another day to get loaded into the store and on the shelf....
Frozen on the other hand is picked at ripeness and taken to a factory close to the fields and processed immediately...I know this because McCain's is handy and in the plant close to home they only process potatoes and fiddleheads.0 -
I buy frozen instead of fresh because I got news for people who think fresher is better it's not nutritionally unless you go to your back yard and pick it yourself
Yes, thanks for posting this. The circular logic we see here all the time of healthy = "eat lots of fresh produce!" = expensive, therefore healthy = expensive is nonsense.
There's no real reason your calories and macros can't be dialed in for cheap.
0 -
Yup, some folks charge what the traffic will bear so be flexible and look for alternatives.
A head of cabbage is a LOT of food and lasts a good long time in the fridge. Red cabbage will be fine for about 3 weeks.
Follow the weekly ads of your supermarket and buy accordingly. In other words, if carrots are on sale, it's a good week for you to incorporate lots of carrots in your menu, make carrot soup to put in the freezer or pre-cook and pack in meal-sized portions to freeze and throw in the microwave later.
One of the best bargains I ever bought were deli-style, stacking containers in 1- and 2-cup sizes. They stack beautifully and take up very little room. "Extreme Freeze Reditainer 8 oz. Freezeable Deli Food Containers w/ Lids - Pack of 40 - Food Storage" (1 cup containers) are only $15.95 on Amazon. A lifetime supply!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007V2W3VO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
0 -
if theres a produce junction near you, go to it. its so cheap and still decent produce. ive heard there are food pantries and stuff that have healthy food too for really cheap. i would look it up if i were you.0
-
Laurend224 wrote: »I buy mustard and turnip greens......kale was SO last year.
i buy collard greens. mustard greens are passe.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 931 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions