Why Is Healthy Food Considered More Expensive Than UPFs?

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This is from a U.S.-centric viewpoint, though insights from other countries are appreciated.

Nearly every article on the topic says healthy food is 1.5-2x+ the cost of UPFs and other foods generally viewed as unhealthy. That hasn’t been my personal experience at all, bit clearly there is more to the story – because every source on the internet contradicts my opinion.

Groceries are pricey and it’s hard to budget as a single person because of portion sizes. Even so, foods like poultry and vegetables are far cheaper to cook at home than to buy at a restaurant or (from a nutritional perspective) the frozen foods section at Kroger.

Some foods – like certain kinds of beef or fish – are either similar to or slightly cheaper to get a restaurant or frozen food item as opposed to making healthier types at home.

I guess some fruits are kinda pricey and eating healthy is a challenge in a food desert, but otherwise I’d spend so much more on UPFs as opposed to buying whole foods.

What part of the story am I missing?

In: Economics

15 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

There’s also subsidies that goes towards a lot of these processed food by means of corn and sugar which a lot of these are high in. “Healthy food” could be much cheaper with some intervention, but the government wants everyone sick and on boatloads of medications so they can profit off of you.

As other people have said, smart shopping and cooking skills go a long way.

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