Take a look at the picture below.
How friggin disgusting is it that while foods that are good for you, have only gone UP in price in the last 20 years, where the foods that are bad for you have only gone down. Talk about being the exact reason why the western world is considered “morbidly obese”.
It’s no surprise we see links between obesity and poverty. We know we should be eating better, but we don’t. We don’t keep track of what we eat and have no idea how many calories we’re actually eating. (We think we do but we’re completely wrong.) Our friends have pet theories about what’s good to eat, but it’s rarely informed by data and it’s mostly minuatie (“you should eat nuts 18 minutes before sleeping!”). We say we’re going to cook at home more, but never find time to. We spend too much on food.
What’s interesting is that I feel completely comfortable managing my personal finances, but the food issue–a close parallel–is really intimidating. Realizing this has really opened my eyes to how hard it is to get started on a goal, whether it’s personal finance or eating better.
January 25, 2007 at 4:24 am
def a disturbing piece of info….
January 25, 2007 at 4:50 am
Much easier to mass produce unhealthy (and quite often addictive) foods (and I use the term “food” loosely), than to spend a bit more on growing healthy, pesticide-free, non-cloned food. And yes, it IS so hard to get started on a healthy eating goal, but so worth it.
January 25, 2007 at 5:02 am
This is so sad and so true.
January 25, 2007 at 5:09 am
I used to be vegan, and very poor. Started eating meat to sustain myself.
Fuck the buck.
http://mbcpoetry.wordpress.com
January 25, 2007 at 5:10 am
I think this might be an effect of supply and demand? Not sure though ;/
January 25, 2007 at 5:11 am
*shakes head sadly* What a culture we live in.
January 25, 2007 at 5:19 am
I can’t agree completely. “Cereal and bakery” sounds like mostly unhealthy food. Poultry, and fats and oils are good foods. Not all fats and oils are healthy, but many of them are. It’s definitely good that olive oil prices have gone down.
January 25, 2007 at 5:51 am
Leodora, “some” poultry might be good for you, but not the stuff you get at KFC and not the ones that are fed steroids and antibiotics (i.e. most supermarket fresh chicken). The rises in fruits and vegetables are unjustified and are driven by the large supermarket chains.
January 25, 2007 at 6:06 am
Is someone supposed to be blamed for these figures? Looks to me like the way it is, and we’ll just have to deal with it. Is somone supposed to referee food pricing to ensure that making healthy choices is as easy as possible?
If anyone is interested, I have found it cheaper, healthier, and more convenient to buy frozen fruit and defrost it in the fridge. It works much better than fresh fruit, also, as it does not go bad within a few days, and requires far less preparation. And I must repeat, it is healthier and cheaper than fresh.
Be of good courage, friends – the market fluctuates.
January 25, 2007 at 6:10 am
Wealthy people are fat, too.
January 25, 2007 at 9:18 am
Marcus, eating meat is not good for you, and is more expensive than a vegan diet. That graph is misleading in that those items that have reduced in price are in fact more expensive than those that have increased in price.
January 25, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Whether it’s supply and demand, or whether it’s the evolution of mass production, the real evident fact to me is that there are far too many companies willing to sacrifice your health, in order to save, or make, a buck.
It’s pretty disheartening really. Regardless of whether the items that have reduced in price are still more expensive than those that have risen, the fact remains that this is a trend that will only hinder our health in the long run, and contribute to many diseases for many of us down the road.
January 25, 2007 at 5:01 pm
But why should they care about our health? We’re responsible for it, not them.
January 25, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Agreed, but if everyone was educated about the health risks, and made conscious decisions to eat healthy and exercise, they’d soon realize that the consumer market is simply going to ignore their products, and go with the healthy alternative.
It would be in their best interest to cater to what people need. The unfortunate fact is that they cater to what people want instead, and make their money that way.
January 27, 2007 at 1:32 am
But why should those who sell food be responsible for informing people of the healthy value of the food they consume? I don’t agree that it would be in their best interest to cater to what people need, because they make money selling what people want. Also, agriculteral prices, weather, and all kinds of other factors are involved in the pricing of food. Look at how the price of oranges has gone up due to lowered production.
January 27, 2007 at 6:15 pm
I was simply referring to the ‘ideal’ world, rather than the one we have now.
I think we’re basically agreeing on the same thing here.
I was just making a comment as to how nutritional education has unfortunately taken a backseat to everything else.
January 28, 2007 at 4:07 am
E-Lam, I think you have a point. We seem to be in, if any disagreement, only those of minutest detail. Thank you for the interesting conversation.