Why is healthy food so expensive & unhealthy food is so cheap?

Question

A BIG bag of Doritos costs less than a bag of oranges & a 12-pack of soda costs less than a gallon of milk. Why?

Answer 1

I say it's a gimmick to destroy our health, like when gas stations sell a 44oz. soft drink for 69 cents! Yeah, it sounds good, but overtime it could lead to serious health problems if it's consistently consumed!

Answer 2

Who knows the answer to that question, but yes it's ridiculous that a gallon of milk cost more than a 12 pack of sodas. Small children need milk and the food industry makes it so expensive. Same with baby formula. Look at the price of that along with baby food. You'll be so shocked. Cheese is another thing to look at. That's a chosen food group for growing children, nursing mothers, etc...the price is a little pricey. It's quite sad that our government has allowed cost to get out of control.

Answer 3

Healthy foods are more expensive because they aren't big sellers compared to the unhealthy versions of the specific food. They cost more to produce because they aren't produced in as large of quantities and they are a bigger risk for a lot of companies compared to their original lines. Also, if you think about it, many "healthy" foods have a lot more artificial ingredients in them which cost money to develop and produce. Your best bet is to stick with naturally healthy products like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. For things like bread, buy the healthy bread that's on sale or clip coupons. Because healthy products are just now really coming into the main stream, you can find a lot of products just being introduced that are discounted to get you to try them. Eventually, people will be buying a lot more healthy foods and the price will come down.

Answer 4

It's all about cost

Chips are easily mass produce and think about packaging chip bags are half empty(me thinks that factory workers are sampling the merchandise) while oranges cannot go for longer than 3 weeks of the branch. chips have a shelf life of 16 months.

same thing with soda, all they need to do is make the syrup and it can last for 3 years in this form, 2 in cans, while milk turns bad in a 2 weeks.

it is more expensive to grow stuff like orange groves and cows

Answer 5

Junk food makers are notorious for using extremely cheap chemicals/ingredients that actually make food taste better, but allows the manufacturers to create these products with a huge profit margin. Quality food is usually natural and therefore takes time to grow, create etc. Check the ingredients list on your junk food and you will be shocked at what you read. You really do get what you pay for.

Answer 6

I actually heard the answer to this on National Public Radio. The most heavily government subsidized crops are wheat, sugar and corn. Most junk food is made with some combination of that; so it's the junk food industry that profits.

Answer 7

Producing natural foods (no pesticides, natural fertilizers, natural pest treatments) is more labor intensive than "industrial" farming, plus there can be more risk of loss (more vulnerable to natural problems like blights and bug infestations.) But you get more nutrition for your buck, a lot more. You get less food, but better quality, see what I mean?

Answer 8

Because growing something takes more work rather than a computer mixing synthetic edible ingredients.

Answer 9

i think the prices of fruits and vegetables are determined by what kind of weather the farmers had to endure.

i think gas prices also affect the costs.

cokes and chips are mostly chemicals and preservatives..

Answer 10

The reason why is because unhealthy food is made from left over stuff, like bakers after making a pie and they dont need anymore of the left over dough and they use it to make a bag of chips.


well i dont feel like typing much rite now so if u need more info about this then send me a message.