I WAS IN THE GROCERY STORE YESTERDAY. While I was squeezing avocados to pick just the right ones for my family’s dinner salad, I overheard a conversation from a couple who had also picked up a fruit.
“Oh, these avocados look good, let’s get some.”
Then looking up at the price, they said, “Two for five dollars!” Dejected, they put the live avocado back and walked away from the vegetable aisle toward the aisles full of dead, boxed, canned, packaged goods where they can buy thousands of calories of poor-quality, nutrient-poor, factory-made, processed foods filled with sugar, fat, and salt for the same five dollars. This is the scenario millions of Americans struggling to feed their families face every day.
The odd paradox is that food insecurity — not knowing where the next meal is coming from or not having enough money to adequately feed your family — leads to obesity, diabetes, and chronic disease. Examining this paradox may help us advocate for policies that make producing fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole other foods cheaper, while rethinking the almost $300 billion in government subsidies that support the production of cheap, processed food derived from corn and soy.
At the same time, a Food Revolution, along the lines of that advocated by Jamie Oliver, a radical chef, can help Americans take back their table and their health from a food industry that has driven us to eat more than 50 percent of our meals out of the home compared to less than 2 percent 100 years ago. And most of those meals eaten at home are produced in plants, not grown on plants, are from a food chemist’s lab, not a farmer’s field. Cooking and eating whole fresh foods at home, can be cheaper, more fun, and simpler than most people think.
So I would ask you to consider: Have you ever made poor food choices because of cost? What is the REAL cost of this cheap food — the cost in dollars, on our health, on our environment, and even on the fraying fabric of our social and family systems?
This is what you need to remember:
- The true cost of unhealthy food isn’t just the price tag — in fact, the real costs are hidden.
- Eating healthy doesn’t have to cost more.
Sure, it seems cheaper to eat a burger, fries, and a soda from McDonald’s than to eat a meal of whole foods, but there are healthier options. Let me review why the true costs of eating unhealthy food are hidden, and give you some suggestions that will help you save money and suffering by eating well for less. Poverty or financial limitations do not preclude eating well, creating health, and avoiding disease.
Let’s start by looking at how our economy and public policy are geared toward the production of cheap, unhealthy food.
Government Policy Supports the Production of Unhealthy Food
Unhealthy food is cheaper because our government’s policies support its production. We’re spending nearly $30 billion a year to subsidize corn and soy production. Where do those foods go? Into our food supply as high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated soybean oil (trans fats), that are the foundation of almost all fast food and processed foods that are “manufactured” by the food industry.
Since the 1970s — when our agricultural policies where changed to support corn and soy farmers — we’re consuming, on average, an extra 500 calories (mostly in the form of cheap, artificial high-fructose corn syrup) per person.
When you eat unhealthy foods like these, the costs of medical visits, co-pays, prescription medications, and other health services skyrocket.
Corn and soy are also used to feed cattle for the production of meat and dairy. In fact, 70 percent of the wheat, corn, and soy farmed in this country is used to feed animals used for our food. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people — more than the entire human population on Earth!
So, when our government helps pay for these foods — well, of course they’re cheaper! That explains the low price tag. But what about the OTHER costs to you?
The Hidden Costs of Eating Poorly
We all know that bad foods are bad for your health. It turns out they are also bad for the national pocketbook. For example, one expert has estimated that healthcare costs related to obesity are $118 billion per year. That’s nearly 12 percent of total healthcare expenditures — and more than twice that caused by smoking! Seventy-two percent of Americans are overweight and over one third are medically obese. One in three children born today will be diabetic in their lifetime and the life expectancy of our population is declining for the first time in human history.
A report from the Worldwatch Institute called Overfed and Underfed: The Global Epidemic of Malnutrition documented the real costs of obesity related to poor diet — and this does NOT include the other effects of poor diet such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, autoimmune diseases, and osteoporosis. Here were some of the conclusions of that report:
- Obese people account for a disproportionate share of health-related absences from work.
- Obesity accounts for 7 percent of lost productivity due to sick leave and disability.
- 7 percent of all of North Carolina’s healthcare expenditures are related to obesity.
- Obese people visit their physicians 40 percent more than normal weight people.
- Obese people are 2.5 times more likely to require drugs prescribed for cardiovascular and circulation disorders.
- Liposuction is the Number 1 form of cosmetic surgery in the US, with 400,000 operations a year.
- Over 100,000 people a year have gastric bypass surgery.
According to a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine (i), we’re spending about $20,000 per person for each extra year of life gained from medical interventions like drugs and surgery … as if that’s something to be proud of!
That doesn’t even take into account the $282 billion in costs resulting from medical interventions that go wrong — hospital infections, medical errors, deaths from drug reactions, bedsores, or unnecessary surgeries.
And what if that $20,000 per year was given to each person during his or her lifetime to support better nutrition, lifestyle, and stress management? My guess is that we would save trillions of dollars in health care expenditures on chronic disease!
As these numbers prove, the costs of eating fast, junk, and processed foods are often deferred until later. And that’s the key point: When you go to McDonald’s for a cheap burger and fries, you might immediately compare that lower price to whole organic foods which are more expensive in the short term. But the total cost isn’t reflected in how much you pay for your meal in the immediate moment, it’s the cumulative cost of what those decisions cost you over a lifetime.
For example, when you eat unhealthy foods like these, the costs of medical visits, co-pays, prescription medications, and other health services skyrocket. There are other non-economic costs of eating poorly as well. You reduce your ability to enjoy life in the moment due to increased fatigue, low-grade health complaints, obesity, depression, and more.
The biggest advantage of eating well now is not just preventing disease and costs later, but simply enjoying each day to its fullest. You can make that happen. Eating well doesn’t have to cost more.
It’s true that there are very few, if any, subsidies for the production of produce or healthier alternative foods. And the same government agency that supports the production of the ingredients for junk food provides less than $300 million for education on healthy nutrition.
But change is in the air. Dean Ornish, MD, has shown that a program to teach people to eat better, exercise, and learn stress reduction can prevent heart disease and reduce the need for heart bypass or other treatments. Insurance companies are starting to take notice as some cover the costs for that program. Paying $5,000 for such a program now, Medicare has finally recognized, is better than paying $50,000 later for a cardiac bypass operation.
A number of us advocated last year that a “health council” be established to coordinate and develop national polices that create and support health for Americans. This was part of the health reform bill and the National Council on Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health was created by executive order of the President in June. Drs. Dean Ornish, Memhet Oz, Michael Roizen and I, among others, have been nominated to be on a 25-member advisory council that helps guide the council. The council is made up of all the cabinet secretaries in charge of departments that in some way affect our health — agriculture, health, transportation, environment, trade, labor, and more — and will be chaired by the Surgeon General. This provides a way to influence national policies to support and create health — including our food and agriculture polices — for the first time.
The idea that you can save money by eating well is further supported by studies like the one published by the American Dietetic Association (ii) that shows eating well to lose weight is actually cheaper — or at the worst, no more expensive — than eating poorly! The authors of the study concluded that “adopting a lower-energy, nutrient-dense diet did not increase dietary costs over time. Consequently, cost should not be a barrier in the adoption of a healthful diet.”
That’s powerful evidence that eating well is not just good for your body, it’s good for your wallet, too! Here are some ideas to get you started.
Four Tips to Start Eating Healthy for Less Today
- Listen to Gandhi. Yes, Gandhi! He said that we should never mistake what is habitual for what is natural. Case in point: Some Chinese are very poor and yet they eat extremely well — small amounts of animal protein, with an abundance of vegetables.
- Be willing to learn. We have to learn new ways of shopping and eating, new ways of ordering our priorities around our health and nutrition that supports our well-being, even if it is hard at the beginning.
- Do your research. There are ways to find cheaper sources of produce, whole grains, beans, nuts, and lean animal protein. You just need to seek them out. It doesn’t all have to be organic. Simply switching from processed foods to whole foods is a HUGE step in the right direction.
- Make an effort. Eating healthy does take more planning. It may require you to find new places to hunt and gather for your family. You might have to reorder your priorities regarding where you spend your money and your time so that you can make healthier eating choices.
Remember, eating healthy foods without spending a lot is possible-and you can do it.
Now I’d like to hear from you…
What do you think about the long-term costs of eating poorly?
Do you agree or disagree that eating poorly in the short-term has dramatic long-term consequences on your health care costs?
What other costs of eating poorly have you seen or experienced?
Are you also worried about the exploding costs of health care, whether insurance, medical, Medicare or other costs?
Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, MD
References
(i) Cutler D.M., Rosen A.B., and S. Vijan. 2006. The value of medical spending in the United States, 1960-2000. N Engl J Med. 355(9): 920-7.
(ii)Raynor, H.A., Kilanowski, C.K., Esterli, I., et al. 2002. A cost-analysis of adopting a healthful diet in a family-based treatment program. J Am Diet Assoc.102(5): 645-650, 655-656.
Thanks for this post, and I agree with you. There is an additional price to pay in families that eat unhealthy food — training the next generation to eat unhealthy foods. Children take their eating habits with them into adulthood. I will put a link to your post in the August 24 issue of our free parenting newsletter, Parenting News You Can Use, so that more parents will have the benefit of your insights. Subscriptions are free at http://www.WholeHeartedParenting.com. Thanks again!
Thank you for addressing the financial challenges of healthy eating.
I run a culinary education program. Many of our students come to us after being ordered by their doctors to “eat healthy”. They are surprised and discouraged by the high price of real foods.
I have found that a good way to convince them that quality is a bargain is the nutrients-per-dollar “formula”: i.e: a dollar-worth of fresh a apple contains X times more nutrients than a dollar-worth of its sauced, packaged counterpart. In other words, a dollar at the produce department buys you thousands of nutrients while in the snack isle – not so many….
Now I have your article to encourage my students to invest in their diet. Thank you for that!
fast food for 4 people today is 20.00 at burger king. so yes organic or healthy food is same price but alot better for you.
Dear Doctor Hyman, Thank you for the concise description of one of the issues causing obesity in our nation. I am a Personal Trainer with over 23 years experience. I am working in my community to educate my clients and all who will listen on the benefits of eating whole foods. Now you have given me one more “selling” point. Please alert the new Health Council that experienced trainers and professionals like myself and Jillian Michaels, Tony Horton and others are attempting to turn the tide, and we need your help! Please make the whole foods trend strong by cutting the subsidies for soy and corn in half, then give that half to organic and all natural food producers to lower the prices~ in other words level the playing food! Thank you for being an advocate for a lean healthy America.
We have begun our journey to healthier living, healthier eating since we came back from Europe in 1991 and promptly became ill on “normal” America foods. It’s a long, sometimes dificult road that we are travelling. Thank you for the information you generously provide.
I don’t buy the argument that eating healthy is any more costly than eating processed foods or eating out. I can show someone how two people can eat very well on one person’s food stamps budget. That’s right– gourmet eating on a food stamp budget. It is cheaper, healthier, easier and faster than going to the nearest fast food place or restaurant. You are exactly right, Dr Hyman — habits just have to change.
My husband and I are in our early 50s. We have just decided to embrace a healthier lifestyle with diet and moderate exercise. We’re both overweigh (I am pre-diabetic) and our lifestyle has become so sedentary and sluggish that we both always feel poorly…no energy or ambition. Our doctor bills/co-pays are witness to our poor habits. We are pledging to eat healthier, more natural foods. I have always known this but I guess it took middle age to bring me to my senses. We will definitely become regulars at our local whole foods market. I’m just sorry that we didn’t adopt this lifestyle when our children were young when we could have taught them at an early age how to eat properly.
I completely agree with you! I think that nutrient dense alternatives are a great way to spend your money. I would like to see a subsequent article that actually breaks the cost down.
For instance:
Eating healthy for 20 years. Cost: (approx. monetary value)
Eating badly for 20 years. Results in obesity and obesity related diseases.
Actual hospital/pharmaceutical Cost for:
High Blood pressure: (approx. monetary value)
Heart disease: (approx. monetary value)
Type 2 Diabetes: (approx. monetary value)
etc.
I think that would break it down into terms people might finally listen to!
While it is true that you can eat healthier on a modest budget, unless the actual cost as you mentioned above goes down for many of these foods, people will simply be unable to afford them. Additionally, things like whole wheat flour and whole wheat rice cost us much, much more than if we’d purchased things that weren’t whole wheat. Sure, it’s healthier but when you’re talking dollars and cents and living from paycheck to paycheck, it’s much more difficult to convince someone to go that healthier route.
I am really interested in acquiring *nutrition* credentials so I can help in the fight. Can anyone direct me to a good resource? I’ve check the local colleges and I’m not finding any degree programs in nutrition.
I just got finished watching Food Inc. Very scary to see the control that the govt. has seized from us. I now realize how important it is to buy locally grown, seasonal food that is organic. Readers, watch this movie and read what Dr. Hyman is saying. I feel blessed to have his advice!
Thank you for another great article. I must have this conversation with a couple of friends of mine constantly – that it’s really not that much more to buy organic and eat healthy. My frustration, though, is really how to get the word out – many people I know think that there is no truth in what I’m trying to tell them – and I don’t want to browbeat anyone, so I try not to preach. How do we get the message across to a nation of people who won’t listen or believe – even if they CAN afford to buy the healthy alternatives?
This is an excellent article. For over 30 years, I have traveled in my car for work and sometimes feel I “live” in my car. The food choices on the road are not good and after a 12 hour day, I crawl out of my uncomfortable car and start thinking (with anger and resentment) about making dinner for my family. By the time dinner is finished, I am completely exhausted and crash on the couch in front of the TV. Years of this lifestyle has taken its toll on my health. I’m 100 pounds overweight, Type II diabetic and my joints hurt (especially knees). I have also had severe financial stress over the last 20 years and can relate what you said about “food insecurity”. Anxiety over getting food leads to really bad choices. My metabolism and pocketbook are also shot from so much yo-yo dieting. Now any attempt to restrict calories leads to extreme hunger, depression and fatigue after about 2 weeks of following any diet regimen. Lately, I’m looking for some way to finance “lap-band” surgery. Maybe I should just quit work, stay home and cook and exercise and let the financial chips fall where they may.
Thank you for this detailed, acurate article. If people shopped at local farm markets and there are many these days, they will begin to enjoy the taste of fresh foods. I am fortunate to have a local farmer who provides organic produce at reasonable costs. The food tastes much better and I know I am getting great nutrition. It’s not always easy to make good food choices but it’s worth it. Over time people can learn to eat healthy. I know I am in the middle of a food revolution thanks to movies like Food, Inc and articles like these. They keep me motivated!
I have peach trees in my yard, (upper midwest) and the kids flock to my yard to eat them all, they have never seen fruit grow on trees. Many of them don’t even know how to garden, they all depend on someone else to take care of their needs, so we aren’t really teaching self- sufficiency from the get go. I’m the only person in my neighborhood that even knows how to pull weeds! Everybody’s caught up in their own world, and they don’t have time, being too busy, is how we neglect our health. Who cooks from scratch anymore? Today, I juice veggies and fruit, twice daily to remove candida, fungus and detox. It’s changed my life, and I also give my dog wheatgrass juice, it’s changed his life for the better and wheatgrass gives us enormus energy. I am so glad that I discovered juicing and it tastes great. I have also just watched the pounds melt off with this new way, and I am weaning myself off the bad foods we are all so accustomed too. Bad food is on every street corner and in every store, and I don’t really like to buy “healthy” food that resembles bad food. I just juice, and it is filling, one large glass of it, and I’m full for 3 hours. You don’t have to eat eat eat, all the time! There are other ways, of getting nutrition in your body besides chewing. I call juicing, my life line. Check it out, and it will reverse your bad habits and bad food choices and you will see radiant health. First thing, I noticed was the whites of my eyes became really white, (after 2 weeks) my nails grew stronger, and the brain fog is gone, and much more energy, no more needing naps thru the day anymore! I’m 51. Do reseach thru your internet browser and it will bring many search results of recipes and different kinds of juicers, good luck to all of you in your health quests.
Educated and motivated and give moms incentives to breastfeed. Right now at the hospital I work in, moms are supported during their stay but when they leave they are given a”gift bag”which contains formula which its supplied by the formula companies, but because they get it from the hospital moms go away with the idea that it must be okay to feed formula too.When moms begin feeding their babies the best and start to see the health benefits, it spreads to the rest of the family, this is a conscientious mother, a critical mother.The public has to be educated on the benefits of breasteeding so moms don’ t feel embarrassed and sometimes harassed because they are feeding their baby in a public setting.That already deters the prolongation of a healthy start which has shown time and time again is the building block for a healthier life. Please bring this message to Washington on behalf of lactation consultants across America to trying to initiate good nutrition one baby at a time.
Roseline Hartmann MD, IBCLC
The cost of good health is cheap, the practice of disease management is expensive. One baby step shift that a person can make is to look at your plate, make the animal portion the smallest and the plant portions the largest.
Step 2 eat more live foods, you’ll feel fuller longer and actually have energy rather than being sleepy after a meal.
Everyone has an opinion. It is easy to get on a soap box and criticize and shame people who are eating poorly. It is easy to say and harder to do. I would venture to say each person has a weak spot they can work on as well.
I am one of the obese in this country. I eat very healthy with unfortunately a big dose of unhealthy. Don’t forget that the obese are reminded of their poor shape and health every minute of the day. They are their worst critics, they don’t need your angry voices and judgmental looks and comments.
How to, and encouragement go a long way. Most people are eating poorly because there is real unrest, sadness, or unhappiness in their lives.
Eating more healthy is a great thing, makes you feel loads better and can be the same price as eating poorly with some effort. The most effective help would be acceptance and validation that they are still of worth. The most effective help is to encourage by doing exercise with and along side of someone.
And for heavens sake, we all make mistakes from time to time – allow for real life.
Dr. Hyman, thanks for the encouragement – sincerely yours in good health is my goal.
Through sound nutritional pronciples and high quality supplementation, I was able to recover naturally from an 18 year late stage disseminated lyme infection. I was also able to heal 2 of our children born with it.
Our health has remained so stable that my pediatrician calls every year to see if my girls need to come in for a visit.
I have also recovered my thyroid function naturally, and come off my thyroid medication.
Because of our investment in natural, whole foods we have avoided costly medical bills!
I tried cutting out processed food and was losing 1 lb. per day. The challenge was how to eat on the road, but I found that keeping a bag of apples and a jar of peanut butter in my car could get me past the urge to pull into a fast food drive-thru. I was amazed at how much money I saved by not going out to eat so often. The frozen salmon filets and frozen stirfry vegetables sauteed in coconut oil are my fast food now, and as good as a restaurant or better. The hardest thing to give up has been sodas, but I add some fruit juice to seltzer water and have even used my Breville juicer to make vegetable juices with ginger, then add some seltzer, for a kick start on the vegetables. A vacation sidetracked me, but your article will help me to get back on the program. Thanks!
although i was raised on whole foods, and raised my children the same, i do take issue with the economics of a healthy lifestyle. specifically, i was in an accident and suffered multiple head-injuries (closed, no concussion). as a result, my doctors had me on a coctail wherein i was swallowing 16 chemically laden pills each day. these chemicals cost me nothing, medicare & medicaid picked up the tab. after loosing 4 teeth and having other side effects, i approached my MD about getting off all of those meds. his initial response was “You’re not taking anything that bothers me.”
well, i proceeded to wean myself off of most of my meds, with a little help and some hinderance from my dr. i now take 5 chemically laden pills each day, for my thyriod and migrain prevention. i also take about 15 different pills each day. they are whole food suplements & an ultimate omega complex. unfortunately, the cost of my supplements is one i must bear on my own. i now spend $30 – $60 per month (out of a very small, now endangered, social security disability income). while this change has cost me monetarily, the health benefits began to show in a very short time. durring this period, i have changed my eating habits as well. although i have been a generally healthy eater most of my life, i have been cleaning up/letting go of those few bad habbits i was still practicing. and now, i do almost ALL of my grocery shopping at my local co-op, eating real food, much of it organic, for all of my meals. fortunately for me, i get a 10% discount for being disabled and an additional 25% discount for working as a volunteer cashier one day each week.
it doesn’t really matter how you calculate the cost, whole foods (and whole food supplements) come out on top any day of the week. both my physical and mental health have improved by my making these changes in the foods and meds i consume. when it gets right down to it, my life has improved in so many ways since i began to take control over what foods and chemicals i consume.
Eating healthier doesn’t always mean shopping at a whole foods market. Over the past year, I have made efforts at eating a more healthy diet and have found that many ‘whole foods’ can be found in the local chain supermarkets around. A chain near me has a store brand called ‘Organics’ that are less expensive than the identical item sold in a specialty food store. In my research I have found that a lot of the high cost of processed food is built into the convenience, packaging, or ‘snack size’. It can be overwhelming going to a supermarket with so many items, but you would be surprised at how much comparison shopping and paying a little more attention will pay off by finding more healthy and lower cost items.
I think the real key to eating healthy is not so much the cost it’s the organisation to make it cost effective and work. We buy whole organic chickens, not the overpriced breast. The meat is cut off the chicken (I asked my local butcher to teach me how to do this and he was thrilled to be able to show someone). We get several meals out of the chicken meat and then the chicken frame (carcas) is boiled up for broth or stock (a whole chook provides at least 3 meals + lunch the next day for 2 people). Any meals that freeze well, I double or triple the amount cooked so that I always have several healthy meals in the freezer for busy periods when I’m either too tired or don’t have time to cook. I now no longer buy lunch, I make it the evening before or take dinner leftovers. That saves me around $10 per day.
It’s taken several years to get to the point where this now the new normal – a healthy lifestyle habit. In the past when life got busy we’d resort to takeaway food often for weeks at a time. But now take away is extremely rare.
When I visit friends whose pantries and freezers are full of packaged foods I am horrified to discover what their weekly grocery bill is. I spend about a 1/4 less each week on fresh food and produce and we thrive on this real food.
While it is objectively true that you can eat well and healthily for similar or the same dollars, there are other factors to consider as well. Many famliies with children have an extremely hectic lifestyle, and to cook nourishing and nutritious meals means you have to actually be home long enough to do it. With the “more-is-better” mindset that pervades our society, we push our children into multiple activities, as well as trying to “have it all” as parents, individuals, and families.
I love it that there are people like you who are helping readers see that healthy eating doesn’t have to be out of reach, even for a lower-income family. It’s a pretty huge tidal wave to roll back, so the more baby steps we can take to influence people and make changes, the better.
To your health!
When we were children we ate a lot of pinto beans really cheap, but as soon as mainstream America learned beans are a good source of protein the price went up. Same for nopales, jicama, and cactus pears. The cheap cuts of meat were cooked with vegetables (wild spinach) and lots of fresh tomatoes. My mother made her own red chile sauce from dried peppers, water, salt and garlic. Beats the canned stuff, and of course her own flour tortillas. Yes she did use bacon grease. but we were not overweight! Vegetables were grown in our backyard with a few fruit trees. Nowadays most backyards are landscaped without any trees. Fortunately I have two avocado trees and an orange tree in my backyard. I make freshly squeezed orange juice every morning. The rest of the day does not go too well, hence I am over weight.
I’m in Canada, so this may not be advertised the same way for US readers….
When you enter a certain large grocery chain store, they have 3 grocery carts, piled with food. One represents the big name brands, another is cheaper options & the 3rd is of their own name-brand foods. All I think when I look at those carts, is that there’s no way you could convince me that the quality of food in that cheap cart is as good as or better than any of the others (nevermind comparing to whole foods). Cheaper isn’t better!
My local newspaper assigned a reporter and spouse to live on a food stamp budget for a month. They ended up eating low quality, filling foods and drained of energy. Most people have no idea of how to bake bread, use dried beans and complex carbohydrates for better nutrition at a lower cost. Many are not motivated to do the extra work in a state of fatigue. It is too easy to grab the cheap, but filling foods with little nutrition. Much of this is because we no long know how to cook using basic food like flour, yeast, dried legumes etc. There is a need for re-education for many of us regardless of educational level. Most of us are just following roads that we know.
Yes i agree with everthing you sent to me. Infact i tell my children, grandchildren just what you shared with me.I also tell my friends that the cheap way is not healthy. They think that i am to critical about our health. I have been telling people this for years. Nobody took heed to what i had to say about our healthy way of eating.My friends eyes have finally been open after they have seen so many young people is dying because of not eating right, or exercising . I thank you very much for this information.
Although I have eaten healthfully for most of my adult life ,I do not completely agree with you that eating healthfully is affordable for many families where there is little money or time and two or three young children. When Mom and Dad work full time, have to pick up kids at daycare and after school programs, they’re all tired and hungry. Unless they are highly-disciplined enough to have food cooking in a crockpot and ready when they get home, or having left-overs every other night, it’s tough. How many nights do families want to eat this way?
Many pesticide free vegetables are just too expensive, and some that are not pesticide free are not especially healthy. The same is true of fruits.
Their means of transportation may be essential to maintain their jobs–so keeping autos functioning frequently have higher priority than eating well. So may co-pays to take a sick child to a doctor, assuming they have decent health insurance.
I am almost 70 years old, and have the time to eat cheaply. But, I would not buy an avocado for $2.50 either. I also have access to some good, inexpensive markets which sell good quality produce. Unfortunately, most people do not have this availability. Wherever markets exist that offer reasonably priced good produce, I notice that they are extra-busy.
Yes, many people do not know the basics of eating well and cheaply. I think just as many (or more) do know, and cannot afford the time, the energy, and/or the cost to eat more healthfully.
Thank you for this well-written and thoughtful article! Many people ask me if I spend more money on food now that I’m vegan, and it can be hard to explain to them the idea that eating healthier is more cost-effective in the long term. And by buying things in bulk, avoiding processed vegan “meats” and “cheeses, ” and seeking out sales, my family has been able to keep costs low while enjoying a HUGE variety of whole foods.
So I agree wholeheartedly–eating healthy now saves not only money, but also personal health costs and sanity, in the long run.
I think eating healthy is as cheap as or cheaper than paying for the processing – it’s buying organic that gets to be expensive, THAT’S where the subsidies should be going until organic is the common fare and cost-effective.
I agree whole heartedly with what is said. I’d like to see actual dollar for dollar comparisons of how to feed a family of four with a poor diet vs. whole foods diet. Two avacodos for $5 can not feed a family of four but the same $5 will buy five boxes of macaroni and cheese which can feed a family of four five meals. How do you teach a family to shop for healthier food with a $5 dollar budget?
this is a great piece of information. info that needs to be shared more widely as almost all think/believe that eating healthy costs more, I have tried to tell people I know that eating healthy does not cost more, it is all in how you do it. eating healthy is worth the time and effort put into it. as has been said anything worthwhile takes time and effort and so does not your body mind and being deserve and welcome the healthy stuff we put into it… mind, body, soul working together as a well tuned piece of equipment.
How good is well water? I have hard water but I have a water softener, although water is always tested and reports say water is safe to drink, is it really? Is it better or worse than drinking bottled water?
Eating healthier is cheaper from both the grocery budget and the health care budget. An example I heard on TV was that if a poor person only had $1.00 per meal to spend they would spend it on 2 McDonald’s burgers because produce is too expensive.
I believe that ignorance and need for conveinience is the real culprit. A burger is essentially protein, starch, fat and convenience. I can usually get a can of pork and beans for 48 cents. It has a little more than 3 servings per can. (cooking dried beans is even cheaper and healthier and is easy to do in a crock-pot style cooker).
After I heard the TV show, I actually sat down and came up with 5 quick meals for under a buck, using the prices in the local store. I don’t have the list any more, but as noted below there are better ways to spend a buck than the McDonalds burger.
So take a serving of pork and beans with a little chopped onion, a little rice and stir fried veggies(I can usually buy a bag of frozen veggies for less than a dollar with at least 5 servings per bag) or a slice of 100% whole wheat bread, and some green beans, half a banana or apple and a glass of skim milk. You have a relatively balanced meal-very convenient and costs about a buck.
Of course, cooking your own beans is healthier than canned. Frozen is often cheaper and more nutritional than fresh. It is easy, and cheaper to grow your own veggies, and nothing is better than home grown veggies especially tomatoes fresh from the garden. I got started using the sq. foot method.
How about everyone takes the money they spend on SODA POP, (so unnecessary and unhealthy don’t even get me started, lol,) and go buy some fruits and vegetables. Problem solved.