Why does food that is good for you cost more than food that will end up killing you?

Question

I've always been curious as to why the healthy food is so expensive compared to unhealthy foods. Also, why does the FDA approve these foods that are high in sodium, high in fat, have no nutritional value. That is why a lot of lower income families are obese. It is just too expensive to eat healthy. Having a fit body depends upon exercise AND diet. To me, is seems like a conspiracy. Raise the price of healthy foods, feed us cheap unhealthy foods, then rake in the money from the sale of the drugs we will need to "fix" our health. Yeah, I know the FDA doesn't rake in from the sales of the drugs, but they get benefits from the pharm company lobbyists.

Answer 1

As you mentioned...

1. It costs more to produce healthy food which is why unhealthy food is mass produced.

2. It is easier and cheaper to add chemicals and preservatives to give a longer shelf life than to get organic food to it's destination before it goes bad. Then they make sure to leak conflicting information about the healthy stuff to make the unhealthy stuff look good.

3. The bottom line is we all are going to pay. Some are going to pay more for healthier, organic food and others are going to pay doctors, pharmacies and hospital bills.

It's odd that we seem to think the FDA is not corrupt. The one with the most money gets their stuff "approved" and the ones who don't, won't. It's scary how many people still blindly say "just trust your doctor." Why would anybody, including a doctor, be more interested in our personal health than we are?

Answer 2

Why does there have to be a conspiracy theory for everything? It is more expensive to ship and maintain fruits, vegetables and perishable foods & less expensive to mass produce non-perishable foods - not to mention the preservatives added to maintain the freshness of food. A lot of lower income families are obese partly because they are less educated on nutrition and healthy eating. Bottom line is... We have a choice in what we put in our mouths and we have a responsibility to educate ourselves on eating propertly. Lets stop with the conspiracy theories and the victim mentality for poorer families.

Answer 3

Because the food that will do you in faster is processed to have a longer shelf life, so it's easier to make a profit while still selling it cheaply because there is no loss due to spoilage. I figure that the government allows it because if it didn't, it would have a hefty Social Security situation to deal with with people living a few extra years. It's very sad.

Answer 4

Personally I think it is a myth.
Fast food can be very expensive. You can buy healthy food for the same price or less.

Answer 5

I think it's a government ploy. It's all about money. Did you know that "Free-Range Chickens" - which cost way more than regular - actually only have to have eight more inches to their cage? That is hardly 'free range'.