Fast food. They get you with convenience. Piping hot food, wrapped up, ready to go in a bag. You need not leave your car, just tell the speaker in front of the menu what you would like and pull forward to your bag of ready to eat food.
The same is true at the store. Buy carrots, which you will have to peel and slice, or buy a bag of potato chips? The chips are cheaper and the only preparation needed is to open the bag and pour. You know the sodium and fat-laden chips are no good, but who has time these days to peel carrots? Plus you get so many more chips for the same price.
Junk food is bad; we all know that, but when it is the cheapest, most convenient food it is hard to stay away. We have become a nation in which fried, cream filled desserts cost less than a packet of cleaned and sliced celery. The prepared celery is convenient, but not as cheap.
We want sugar, but we need vegetables. The sugar will keep us coming back for more so it is marketed heavily. It is researched and fine-tuned so manufacturing costs are little to nothing. We need to figure out how to produce wholesome foods at little to nothing costs so even the poorest of households can receive the quality food everyone deserves and needs.
What can we do about this? Store shelves are lined with processed foods filled with ingredients we cannot pronounce; much less know the origin of, but they are so much cheaper than their healthier counterparts.
While watching the documentary Food Inc. an amazing point was made by higher ups at Walmart. They stated that milk from cows treated with rBST is no longer stocked on their shelves because people chose to buy rBST free milk. You literally cast a vote every time you purchase an item.
What can you do to help? While it is difficult to completely change your dietary lifestyle, small, gradual changes are doable and can be put into affect immediately. When vegetables you like are on sale buy them instead of a snack food. Also, keep track of how you feel after eating different foods. It might be worth it to spend a little bit extra money less often than spending little amounts of money more frequently.
Another option would be to look into starting your own garden. It does not need to be anything big and time consuming.
If we all choose to make more conscious decisions about what we eat, companies will find ways to lower their production costs for healthier foods which means lower costs to consumers.
The same is true at the store. Buy carrots, which you will have to peel and slice, or buy a bag of potato chips? The chips are cheaper and the only preparation needed is to open the bag and pour. You know the sodium and fat-laden chips are no good, but who has time these days to peel carrots? Plus you get so many more chips for the same price.
Junk food is bad; we all know that, but when it is the cheapest, most convenient food it is hard to stay away. We have become a nation in which fried, cream filled desserts cost less than a packet of cleaned and sliced celery. The prepared celery is convenient, but not as cheap.
We want sugar, but we need vegetables. The sugar will keep us coming back for more so it is marketed heavily. It is researched and fine-tuned so manufacturing costs are little to nothing. We need to figure out how to produce wholesome foods at little to nothing costs so even the poorest of households can receive the quality food everyone deserves and needs.
What can we do about this? Store shelves are lined with processed foods filled with ingredients we cannot pronounce; much less know the origin of, but they are so much cheaper than their healthier counterparts.
While watching the documentary Food Inc. an amazing point was made by higher ups at Walmart. They stated that milk from cows treated with rBST is no longer stocked on their shelves because people chose to buy rBST free milk. You literally cast a vote every time you purchase an item.
What can you do to help? While it is difficult to completely change your dietary lifestyle, small, gradual changes are doable and can be put into affect immediately. When vegetables you like are on sale buy them instead of a snack food. Also, keep track of how you feel after eating different foods. It might be worth it to spend a little bit extra money less often than spending little amounts of money more frequently.
Another option would be to look into starting your own garden. It does not need to be anything big and time consuming.
If we all choose to make more conscious decisions about what we eat, companies will find ways to lower their production costs for healthier foods which means lower costs to consumers.