I don't buy the notion that only unhealthy food is available to the poor. Do the grocery stores near them never carry fruits and vegetables?
I do think that regardless of economics in one's family, it is seriously tempting to buy the convenience foods. None of my college roommates could cook, didn't know that brownies and mac n cheese could be made 'from scratch.' I think that 'cooking at home' is far less prevalent than it used to be, and when it does happen, often it's from a box of chemicals (hamburger helper, for example).
Everyone decides for themselves how to deploy their food budget but availability is not an issue in this country unless you live very far from civilization and refuse to grow your own food.
Note that I am hardly the model of 'eating clean' as I do enjoy an occasional egg mc muffin and since Mc Ds is very near work, I have on occasion eaten their salads. I'd be interested in how lettuce becomes unhealthy when dispensed from a fast food joint? does it lose it's classification as a vegetable?
Moderation is the key, as there is no way that I will Never Again eat ice cream or fast food fare.
hmmm…where do I start? #1, no one said "only unhealthy food is available to the poor."
But here, let me give you a project. Go into your local grocer, with 100$ to spend. Have as your goal to only spend it on healthy food (that being, whole foods, fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs, nothing in a box.). How far did that 100$ get you? Now, take the same 100$ and 2-4 hungry kids. Now, your goal is to get as much "food" as you can for that 100$, because that is your food budget for the week. See the difference? Can you feed your family of 4 on that grocery cart of 100$ worth of healthy food? The answer is, no you cannot. How much more "food" do you have in your cart when you went for volume, rather than health? THAT is what I am talking about when I say "food poor on poor food". I live in a nice neighborhood. A nice neighborhood that is surrounded on all sides by working class to working class poor. I see what they can afford. It's not good stuff.
So, it's not as simple as saying "everyone decides for themselves how to deploy their food budget." Some folks decide based on filling hungry tummies in the best way they possibly can. Stuff in a box is dirt cheap compared to fresh options, and it can live on your shelf 12-24 times as long.
As far as salads becoming less nutritious when served from a fast food joint… not sure who said that, you'd have to look thru the posts and address THAT poster. Iceberg is low on the nutrition scale, so if that the only lettuce the salad has on it, then there's that. But yes, a salad in a fast food menu is USUALLY better for you than the burger and fries, though not always.
Here's the way I look at it. If you take two people one that for 30 years eats nothing but healthy foods, organic, whole foods, no processed stuff, etc, and another person who eats whatever they want, even in moderation, you study those two people for 30 years….
Then at the end of 30 years, let's say that all the folks who say it doesn't matter what you eat, a calorie is a calorie, let's say they are RIGHT. What is the outcome of the two folks? Well, the "healthy eater" has a few less bucks in his 401k than the other guy, but otherwise all is equal, they have the same bill of health.
But…let's say the "calorie is a calorie" folks are wrong. Let's say the stay away from processed foods, chemicals, additives etc because it's horrible for your health folks are RIGHT. Then what's the outcome? The healthy eater still has a few less bucks in his 401k (it's not cheap to eat whole foods), BUT, his health is better. He doesn't have lots of chronic issues, inflammation, etc. The "calorie is a calorie guy" feels like crap. All the time.
Which person do YOU want to be? I already have made up MY mind.
