Why is health food more expensive than fast food?

Question

I think it's pretty sickening that you have to pay a wholeeee bunch of money for soy products, but you can go to McDonalds and get a cheeseburger for $1.00.

Does anyone know why this is?

Because right now I'm pretty stumped.

Answer 1

Simple. Health food is higher quality food, fast food is lower quality food. Since higher quality products cost more to make than lower quality products, they cost more to the consumer. Thus, health food costs more than fast food.

Answer 2

Simple really, first off fast food chains buy MASSIVE quantities of food to make their bugers/fries/what have you. Basic economics says the higher the quantity you buy of something the lower the price it will be.

Also, there are so many additives within processed food that if you took a buger that you made at home, the meat you used could make 5x (Just a quick guesstimation) that in McDonald's hamburgers... They are also mixed with other things, for example chicken nuggets were not always 100% chicken..

Another thing that makes fast food cheaper is all those additives raise the shelf life of these foods, that way they don't waste as much money on having to throw out food that has gone bad.

The reason why healthy food is more expensive is because it isn't nearly as processed as much as fast food. And the reason why organic fruits/vegies are expensive is because they take more loss in their crops than non-organic farmers because they don't use pesticides or anything to keep bugs from eating their crops or to promote irregular growth.

Answer 3

Two reasons.

1. It actually is overpriced , there is a premium price placed on foods which we either label as luxury or "healthy" or "____" primarily because whether it's dark-chocolate dipped truffles, or organically grown wheat-germ, the consumer/customer is not primarily considering cost but rather the "whatever" it is, healthiness or luxury or "whatever".

It's the same reason some car dealers sell the "Eddie Bauer" Edition, - Who's Eddie Bauer???...it doesn't really matter now does it.......all car companies care about is that people pay an extra 5 to 10 thousand dollars to have 200 dollars in non-standard amenities and 15 $ in extra stenciling on their cars. Same thing.

Soy is actually a good example of something marketed as healthy that actually is PROFOUNDLY neutral, if not exactly harmful, since soy contains SO MANY isoflavanoids that it can and is used to control hyperthyroidism. In normal people it can induce hypothyroidism so be cautious, if you must - use rice milk.

As far as Mc Donalds, that's a whole 'nother discussion. People pay 1 dollar because of a giant economy of scale and poor quality of product. Basically you are eating mystery meat and deep fried something or other. It's not even something closely resembling food people should eat. However, it's important to know the old saying location, location , location.

Mc Donald's main franchiser Ray Croc was quoted at the Harvard Business School as saying that he was NOT in the hamburger business. But rather he was in the Real Estate Business first, the HR business second and then the Burger business.

Real Estate primarily because then - as now, nobody will go out of their way for Mc D's, but if you find out where people already ARE, and put your store there, you're good to go.

HR because he needs a supply of expendable - reasonably motivated workers (average employee stint is less than 18 months).

Burgers - since that's what they're selling.

Answer 4

As far as fast food, its a simple case of the market tolerating a higher price for good health, and the extreme competition in the fast food industry. For healthier fast food, you might pay a little more now, but consider it an investment in a longer, healthier life. You'll save a lot in the long run than the people who have to take cholesterol drugs, get heart surgery, etc.

In general, it is CHEAPER to cook from whole foods than it is to buy packaged or processed foods. If there is no inexpensive fast food in your part of the world, make your own. Learn to cook, buy in season fruits and vegetables and make large quantities, then freeze some for when you are too busy or tired to cook. Learning to cook isn't a fast answer, but take this for an example. Do you like hummus? Don't pay $3.49 for an 8 ounce plastic tub of it. Buy a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) for 80 cents, add a few cloves of garlic, some lemon juice and olive oil, some spices, and you have a pound of it for a little over a buck, and it doesn't have unnecessary preservatives. No cooking required, just pulverize it in a food processor for about 10 seconds, put it in little reusable plastic containers in the fridge, and you have about 8 servings of high quality protein for less than 25 cents each. Like a good vegetable soup? Go to a farmers market, buy whats cheap, local and in season, and you can make over a gallon of soup for about $10. Add some beans or barley, and you will have at least 10 servings for about a buck a piece. You can make a huge batch of potato soup for about three dollars right now. I used to have a budget of $10 a week for food (in the 1980's). I learned how to make homemade pasta (eggs, flour, salt) and soup and grew veggies and herbs, and lived very well. Now, there are two of us, we eat 3 meals a day, gourmet cooking, and our food bill runs about $50 a week including organic milk, eggs, veggies and meat. That is about $2.50 a meal per person. A couple times a year we have big purchases like the 22 amish chickens I bought for the freezer last week (164 pounds at $1.25 a pound). Thanksgiving rarely costs me more for 16 people than it does for the two of us for the week because of all the deals in the grocery store.

Just learn to cook, and enjoy life. Leave the cheap rainforest destroying hamburgers to someone else.

Answer 5

Mcdonalds may have cheap food but you medical bills will be much more expensive and you get a 20 year discount of your life if you eat Mcdonalds every day.

If you eat Healthy food then your medical bills will be low and may live to 100 years old.

Fast Food= poor quality of life
Healthy food= good quality of life

Answer 6

Sure, most people who want alternative foods from what is generally proffered to the masses, will unusually pay more to get it. Industries are out to make money and will price it to make the widest possible profit margin. Also,since most people eat the typical fast food and the companies buy that in bulk with quick turnover, it is cheaper for them. The other stuff doesn't move as fast and so smaller quantities are purchased by the merchant and that drives their cost up and that is passed on to the consumer.

Answer 7

Health food is cheaper to make thus cheaper to sell, health food isn't and contains ingredients that cost, also if you add taxation to it as well, then it becomes a chore, thats why most businesses that specialize in health food have to sell it at a higher rate, maybe if the government gives health food special taxation rates then maybe we can eat a healthier lifestyle for cheap

Answer 8

I am actually a Food Service Director for a prominent Organic/Natural Food Store in the Southeast. Organics require extra TLC because of the lack of additives and chemicals. When potato bugs attack a crop, instead of spraying them the farmers hand pick them from the plants and relocate them to another area of the farm. This requires more field hands, thus increasing overhead. Other natural foods, such as free range chickens, are more expensive because of the care they receive. Conventionally, chickens are stacked in cages and when slaughtered, the most primitive methods are used. Natural chickens require extra room, fenced in yards to wander in, and more humane slaughter methods. This is what interests people most. Plus, their store bought chicken is injected with saline, water, and artificial fillers. This causes your cheap chicken to seem huge for the money. Actually, you're eating the residues of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and the chlorine they use to bathe the carcass. What this boils down to is that "healthy food" does not adhere to the quick service methods of conventional farming or ranching. Thus, a more natural product, again requiring more TLC, is better for you and does cost a little more...all things considered, it's quite a value.

Answer 9

Most expensive products available are *usually* the ones that have more advantages than the products that are cheap.

Say for example, a laptop is more expensive than a computer.
Why? It is handy and convenient. It has lots of features. It is modern technology.

A computer isn't handy and it's heavy and you can't even bring it back overseas with the keyboard and CPU, etc.

The same thing goes to differentiate the good and the bad. ;)

Answer 10

Well, if you eat at restaurants, yes, you'll pay more for food that is actually food. But if you buy groceries at the store, you will spend less money shopping the perimeter of the store (and, by the way, less money on doctors and hospitals down the road) than you will in the canned food and the 'aisle of death' (this is the aisle that contains all of the macaroni and cheese, and pre-fab food. You'll be healthier, you'll feel better, and your food will actually taste good - not to mention it will actually be food.
Furthermore, because non-food food, like mcDs doesn't provide your body with what it really needs, you'll be hungrier, eat more (with less nutrition), and be less healthy.