Should governments subsidize healthy food?

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

So I'm at Denny's last night and I'm ordering a grand slam. Now I know a grand slam isn't health food but I wanted something moderately healthy with it and I had three choices:

Granola and milk
Yogurt
Fresh fruit

The thing is, each of these three choices cost EXTRA. I could get any 4 of the regular things (bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, hash browns) for the standard price but if I wanted to eat a little bit healthier it was going to cost me.

Ever been in a convenience store? Often times fruit juices cost MORE than sugar and caffeine filled sodas.

And what about restaurant value menus? $2 and change will get you a burger and fries at a lot of places (or a whole MEAL at Taco Bell now) but you'll have hard time finding any kid of even remotely healthy meal for that price.

You might be able to buy a couple of pieces of fruit for $2 and that's about it. Take a walk through the grocery store. $5 spent on a bunch of bananas, a few oranges and some strawberries can buy 4 TV dinners or 8 boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese or a couple of packs of hot dogs and a bag of buns.

The government (the U.S. government that is) does subsidize certain types of food. Why do you think there's high fructose corn syrup in just about everything? It's because HFCS is cheap and that's possible because of, you guessed it, government subsidies.

It really bothers me that junk food is so cheap and easily accessible while you have to work harder and pay more to find healthy stuff.

Now I know the last thing anyone wants these days is more government spending but let's think about this a moment: If healthy food was less expensive, a lot of people (myself included) would probably buy more of it. More accessible healthier food options would also improve the nation's health as a whole, improving worker productivity and reducing health care costs in the long run.

Sure it's not a magic bullet solution but if we can subsidize junk food why can't we subsidize apples and oranges instead?

[Teysa]

It would be nice if the government subsidized healthy food. I've really been trying to make better choices food wise but it's hard when it's cheaper to buy the junk food. Unfortunately most of my choices are influenced by price. Hopefully, it won't always be that way but that's my reality for now.

[radiocerk]

Or they could just stop subsidizing the junk food, giving everything a more level playing field. Or swap the subsidies. If junk food became more expensive and healthy food got cheaper at the same time, who would continue to eat unhealthy? Only those who could afford it.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Ever been in a convenience store? Often times fruit juices cost MORE than sugar and caffeine filled sodas.

That's true at any store, not just convenience stores. A two-liter bottle of Coke will cost you a buck or two; a 64 oz. carton of OJ around here runs $3-4, depending on whether or not it's on sale. Soda will always be cheaper to produce than real juice. (Though just about everything at a convenience store will be more expensive than a regular grocery store.)

And what about restaurant value menus? $2 and change will get you a burger and fries at a lot of places (or a whole MEAL at Taco Bell now) but you'll have hard time finding any kid of even remotely healthy meal for that price.

A burger and fries at a fast food place is a whole meal for me. Last night I was craving McDonald's...I got 3-piece chicken selects and small fries (cost over a dollar less than the value meal, which includes medium fries which I eat maybe half of); took it home and added some salad and a glass of water to drink. On the fairly rare occasions I get fast food, I've stopped ordering meals; I get my craving satisfied for less fat/calories and money by ordering items separately.

[MaseMan]

I think it's up to the consumer to make healthy eating a priority. Yes, it may cost you a little bit more on each shopping visit, but in the long run, what is your health worth to you?

[joe hx]

Here's a question: What if the healthy food the government subsidizes turns out not to be so healthy after all? The government is often slow to react, so it would probably take awhile for the government to stop subsidizing the not-so-healthy food.

[Greenday]

It also hurts that the stuff that tastes good is the unhealthier stuff.

[powerboy]

I always thought that the healthier food, should be cheaper.

[Red Panda]

Healthier foods are cheaper if you look around. A carton of juice might be more expensive then pop but powdered juice is cheaper. I don't know where you live but banannas around here are probably a couple dollers a bunch. A head of lettuce is less then a doller. I can usually make a pasta dish with vegetables for less then the cost of a tv dinner and keep eat it for more then one meal.

For three dollars I can get a big bag of baby carrots, which i always put in my mac n cheese, so for a little more even an unhealthy meal can become healthy.

Heck, rice is dirt cheap and not the most healthy by itself, but can be combined with vegetables into a very healthy meal for little money. You just need to know how to shop

[Boozy]

I have to agree with Red Panda, here. I've never had problems buying healthy food for cheap. I can make large batches of vegetable stirfry with whole grain rice or pasta for a few dollars and get about four large meals out of it. (This isn't including the cost of the wine and oils I use, which are optional).

A carton of 12 eggs isn't much more expensive than a package of 12 hot dogs, but they are much better for you -- and far more versatile.

Restaurant prices are not a good indicator of how expensive it is to eat a healthy diet. Restaurants charge for their meals what they think people will pay for them. It doesn't always have anything to do with the actual cost of ingredients.

[Salesmonkey]

The government doesn't directly subsidize unhealthy foods, but its agricultural subsidies are most profitable when changed into unhealthy foods. I'm in favor of totally ending the handouts to ADM &etc. by subsidizing corn, cotton, tobacco, rice and peanuts. But not wheat, because it is necessary in the production of beer.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I often buy frozen veg; that's cheaper than fresh but is just as healthy.

[Boozy]

Frozen veggies are often healthier than regular if they're out of season. They're flash-frozen within several hours of harvest, and the process "locks in" the nutrients, so to speak.

[Mishi]

There is talk of a junk food tax here, but I'm not sure if it's happening thanks to all the news services only reporting on the mining super-tax. I don't think that just making healthy food relatively more affordable than junk food is going to change the obesity levels. I think there needs to be more education about proper dietary intake and appropriate exercise levels as well as the change in food pricing.

[Red Panda]

How about just educating on nutriants and excersize and not changing food prices? Actually allowing people freedom to make their own choices without big brother guiding them.