11 votes

Our food is killing too many of us: Improving American nutrition would make the biggest impact on our health care

6 comments

  1. ibis
    Link
    A fantastic book on this topic is “In Defence of Food” by Michael Pollan. He goes into the structural, political, economical, and ideological shifts in society and the food industry that have...

    A fantastic book on this topic is “In Defence of Food” by Michael Pollan. He goes into the structural, political, economical, and ideological shifts in society and the food industry that have created such a toxic food culture.

    I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in food and health - on both an individual scale and a societal scale.

    2 votes
  2. [5]
    semideclared
    Link
    Blame consumers. Americans go to great lengths now to save money We all loved lower prices but this is the result. This happened as a choice everyone made as they went to Applebee's/Burger...

    Blame consumers. Americans go to great lengths now to save money

    We all loved lower prices but this is the result. This happened as a choice everyone made as they went to Applebee's/Burger King/Olive Garden instead of John's Local restaurants or healthy stores.

    In 1966 the typical family spent $319 eating out. Adjust the amount for inflation $2,416.

    According to the USDA, Americans spent a little more than 25 percent of their food budget eating out a few years later in 1970.

    • Versus 2017 it was $3,008 on food outside the home for 55% of food being bought.
    • Inflation and trend adjusted the Avg family should be spending well over $5,300

    Accounting for about one-seventh of the chain's total sales, the Dollar Menu, once a brilliant marketing gimmick, is now an anchor—both economically and metaphorically, speaking—enraging franchisees who can't make any money selling 2013 processed cow meat at 2002 prices.

    if you sold 100 dollars worth of food at a McD's on average it included 14 dollar burgers

    1 vote
    1. Akir
      Link Parent
      You can't blame individual consumers for acting according to basic economics. To fix the problem, we need to fix the parts of the economy that cause this problem. Let's shrink this problem to the...

      You can't blame individual consumers for acting according to basic economics. To fix the problem, we need to fix the parts of the economy that cause this problem.

      Let's shrink this problem to the US McDonald's menu. IMHO, McDonald's only offers one adult meal that is actually well balanced, and that is their "Premium salads". And to be more specific, I'm talking about the salad varieties that use grilled chicken, or possibly the fried chicken version without the dressing. The economic problem with this is that that salad will cost between $6 and $9, depending on the locations. On the other hand, a cheeseburger will only cost $1. If it only takes two or three of those cheeseburgers to satiate a person's hunger, that same person can have two meals for the price of one.

      While, sure, there are many more choices than McDonalds, pretty much every fast food restaurant works this way. Sit-down restaurants are not much better, either, because even though their salads are still mostly ultra-cheap lettuce, they still charge high prices for them.

      And don't forget that there are many more parts of this economics problem. People are going to these restaurants because they provide more value than just the food; it also provides convenience, which saves time - an extremely value economic currency. There are also psychological elements in place - eating unhealthy food makes you happy - it quite literally gives you a dopamine rush.

      8 votes
    2. ibis
      Link Parent
      Don't blame consumers, blame the US government. They spend billions of dollars subsidising corn, which leads to artificially cheap, unhealthy, processed foods. And over and over again they...

      Don't blame consumers, blame the US government.

      They spend billions of dollars subsidising corn, which leads to artificially cheap, unhealthy, processed foods.

      And over and over again they prioritise the profitability of the food industry over the health and well being of citizens.

      7 votes
    3. [2]
      Litmus2336
      Link Parent
      It's not as if John's Local eatery's lasagna is better that McDonald's burgers. It's mostly that we're eating out more, and when we do we generally eat a ton.

      It's not as if John's Local eatery's lasagna is better that McDonald's burgers. It's mostly that we're eating out more, and when we do we generally eat a ton.

      4 votes
      1. GnomeChompski
        Link Parent
        I'm so glad you said this! Portion control is so important in this modern food market. I have a feeling that far less people are even aware of how many calories they expend in a day versus what...

        I'm so glad you said this! Portion control is so important in this modern food market. I have a feeling that far less people are even aware of how many calories they expend in a day versus what they eat.