eli5: why is unhealthy food usually much cheaper than healthy food?

Question

I live in the US so i’m not sure how it is in other countries, I’d love to hear your thoughts from various locations in the comments!!

In: 1

Answer 1

Companies are always looking for ways to reduce cost. If they can substitute for a cheaper ingredient without compromising taste (or at least beyond what people are willing to buy), there’s little motivation not to (unless the brand depends on being organic, natural, etc).

For example, most soft drinks were originally sweetened with sugar, but corn syrup is cheaper. Beef is expensive, so some companies mix in fillers so there’s less actual beef per pound of beef product.