Why eating healthy is so expensive in America

Produce helps your health and hurts your wallet, but some strategies may change that.

The American dinner plate is deficient in nutritious produce, and part of the problem is cost. Because diets low in fruits and vegetables have serious consequences, health advocates have tried to incentivizes Americans to choose apples over donuts for years but with little success.

In the US, a nation with high rates of diseases such as obesity and diabetes , a variety of strategies - from a junk food tax to a produce prescription program - are now being tested. But there are a number of factors that still stand in the way of Americans having healthier, more affordable produce and dietary options.

[Vox]

Even for those who want to eat healthy, picking the right diet can be tricky.

[ndcmxtp]

In Russia with ten dollars you can buy ten donuts



or 10kg of apples

[jackshen]

“Doctors can give vouchers for produce to low-income patients”. Yeah, like low-income patients have access to doctors in the US.

[tonicastaneda]

In Mexico with ten dollars

You can eat
For 4 days

[blancaguts]

Mexico adds warning labels on junk food, similar to the ones on cigarettes. They removed mascots from packaging so they can’t used them to temp kids. In Guadalajara, they close down main streets on Sundays to allow pedestrians to walk/run/bike/ roller-skate freely. Lots to learn.

[robyn]

$2??!!!?? for an apple!!??? in europe they’re like €0.30 lol

[dancoulson]

instead of just increasing the cost of unhealthy food, which will leave poor people starving, how about trying to focus on how to reduce the cost of healthy food, so people can have an easier choice.

If I could buy 1/2lb of blueberries for the same cost as 1/2lb of sweets, I'd buy the blueberries every time.
But if they both cost as much as the blueberries do now, it would be unacceptable.

[RealMattHaney]

It’s interesting there is no discussion of lowering the costs of healthy food items. Or explanation of why these are comparatively markedly cheaper in other countries, like in Europe. Why can you shop so much healthier, cost effectively, there vs the US? It can’t just be because of the size of the country. I still don’t understand this.

[bitterbug]

I feel like too many people are stuck on the price of the apples instead of talking about the point of the video

[emmacooper]

"people can't afford to eat healthy food and choose cheap junk instead"
"Hmm, let's tax junk food, then"

[IdioticTamizha]

In India Fast foods are Expensive..
Good old mom's cooking is healthy and best 😁❤️

[Skyewastaken]

“Americans eat like they have free health care”
- an American that lives in a country with free Heath care

[zpookybooky]

do NOT add taxes to unhealthy foods. this will only hurt the working class. instead, subsidize healthy produce.

[CrossfacePanda]

Do 5 apples seriously cost $10!?

USA truly is the upside down.

[ZePopTart]

The problem is not the cost of food. It’s wages in comparison to the cost of food. It’s actually astounding how cheap fresh food is when you consider how much goes into growing it, how far it travels, and how pristine it looks.

[ForceEight]

"I mean, it's one banana, Michael. How much could it cost? $10?"

[hugoalmgren]

2 dollars for one apple??? I jus ate an apple for 0.3 dollars at my local store

[malcolmbojangles]

$10 can get you way more than 5 apples.

[inmyglowupera]

A nutrition class, like physical education(PE), should be added to the graduation requirements in high schools across the country. My bio teacher started teaching nutrition as an elective class and it was such an eye opening class. It really did change my perspective on food and it was one of my favorite classes I took

[adamrecaw]

In Poland fast food is often more expensive than good quality meal in a restaurant, It's like 6 $ for a burger & fries & cola and 4.50 $ for soup and main dish, also for 1$ you can buy like 2 kg (sometimes even 4 kg) of apples but half of a donut