A couple years a ago, a friend of a friend tried to explain to me that if someone is over-weight and living below the poverty line, then they are wasting too much of their money on food. This individual continued to say that, perhaps, if these over-weight, poor Americans spent less money on food, they would have a nicer place to live and not be living paycheck to paycheck.
The lunacy of this statement was appalling to me.
I’ve heard similar things since then and I can’t help but conclude that many Americans do not understand that being healthy and eating well is an uphill battle in this day and age. The truth is that, in the United States, people who are the most economically disadvantaged are the least able to maintain their health and prevent illness. Why is being healthy in America (and Western Europe) so difficult for lower income citizens?
The answer to this question is fairly complex. It starts with the overabundance of food in this part of the world (ironically), the over processing of this food, food prices and our natural tendencies to crave foods that are calorie dense. If an American were to consume the stereotypical/average American diet without discriminating against what they ate, they would probably be very unhealthy. Currently, more than 2 out of 3 Americans are considered over weight. This was not the case 50 years ago and it’s safe to assume that this shift in health has coincided with other changes that have occurred.
One of the biggest changes that has contributed to food inequality and the health crisis American is currently experiencing started in the 1980s. The technology needed to grow large amounts of corn, soy, meat and dairy in the Midwest was being developed, which lead to an increase in supply and a decrease in food prices. The Reagan administration wanted maintain this momentum for low food prices and decided to build part of its platform on the idea that Americans are entitled to affordable food. That was a good sentiment, of course, but the actions taken to make food budget friendly had lasting consequences that are still impacting the average American's health.
Reagan insisted that farmers grow as much corn and soy beans as they possibly could. There was a “fence row to fence row” policy, where farmers were pressured to farm every square foot of every acre. Currently, the price of corn is so low that most farmers cannot make a profit from farming without the farm subsidies provided from the government. Everyone else, however, appears to benefit from such low food prices, at least financially.
Of course, most of the corn that grows in the Midwest has long been inedible right out of the field. If you go out into the middle of a field of corn in Nebraska and take some corn off the stalk, you’ll notice that it is rough and dry. This is because almost all of the corn that is grown meant to feed cattle or to be further processed. Ingredients like maltodextrin and sucrose are derived from this corn. Because corn is so cheap, using ingredients derived from corn in other products helps lower the cost of those products. The problem is that foods with ingredients derived from corn and soybeans tend to be heavily processed, high in calories, high in sugar and very low in nutrition.
From a biological standpoint, it makes sense that humans find it hard to avoid the processed foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat. For most of human history, we’ve found it tough to come across those kinds of foods in nature. Through natural selection, humans with a taste for salty, sugary and fatty foods were able to survive longer by taking advantage of all the opportunities to consume those foods (because they are calorie dense, giving them more energy). Today, foods that are high in calories are extremely abundant, accessible and cheap. It’s not surprising that people find it difficult to stay away from unhealthy foods; that goes against several of our natural inclinations. We are biologically predisposed to consume them every time we get the chance. People in poverty find it hard to stay away from these foods, just like any other person. However, the poor often don’t have the option of changing their eating habits. Their financial constraints keep their options limited to items like soda, chips and the dollar menu.
Some try to argue that healthy foods are actually affordable and in some respects, they have a point (not really). If you base your comparisons on servings, healthy foods appear to be cheaper. One serving of ice cream or pizza is relatively the same price as a serving of spinach or fruit. However, the price per calorie is different. A calorie from most healthy foods is far more expensive than from unhealthy foods because things like spinach and apples and carrots have far fewer calories. We need calories, but we also need nutrition. The most nutritious foods are also the most expensive. Organic foods can be up to 50 percent to 100 percent more expensive than their inorganic counter parts. Ultimately, it’s safe to conclude that the foods people need to prevent illness and stay healthy are not budget friendly. Remember this: calories are cheap; nutrition is expensive.
It is a major challenge for people who don’t make much money refrain from buying cheap, overly processed foods. Why spend money on expensive, fresh, healthy food when you can get more food that is cheaper and fills you up? Sometimes, people don’t have a choice. If they buy foods that have the nutrition they need, they may have trouble paying for other aspects of their life, such as rent. The truth is that, being of lower socioeconomic status doesn’t just mean not being able buy the next smartphone or have a really nice house and car.
It means not being able to support one’s own family and to care for them in the best way possible. For many, means not being able to be healthy.
