The American Heart Association announced a very unsettling survey today regarding the things Americans are skimping on to get through the recession. To wit:
What the heck? Fewer fruits and veggies? Look, the economy is effecting the Fitness Nerd as much as the next blogger, but if you remove the 24-packs of Diet Coke and double pack of Cheetos from your shopping list, buying apples and carrots just isn't going to break most people.
I wonder how many of these people also planned to downgrade their cable package or get rid of text messaging on their cell phone.
Ohhh, bile and rage! I'm angry! ANGRY, I tell ya.
No, not really. Eat whatever you want. I don't care. I'm going to go get myself a handful of cherries from the fridge. They're in season, ya know.
If you'd like to join me, here's a link to a great article at Consumer Reports explaining how to save money when buying produce.
Hopefully people who are eating lots of Cheetos and canceling gym memberships can try growing their own produce and do some workouts at home with water filled milk jugs- but for some- choosing between eating fresh produce and paying their rent is a very real choice. I consider myself very blessed to not be in that position, but even as a healthy eater/shopper, it's easy to see that healthier food is more expensive. The lean meat I buy is much more expensive than the fatter cuts next to it. Produce, even in season, can often be expensive when you are comparing it to cheap high-fructose corn syrup'ed processed food. Fortunately, I realize that money spent now is money saved in medical costs later, but for some... they may not even be able to pay their future medical bills let alone healthier food now. Everybody likes to say that eating healthier isn't more expensive, but I'd like to see someone go shopping and prove that. I certainly notice my pocketbook takes a hit the healthier I try to eat.
ReplyDeleteYou're a feisty one, aren't you?
ReplyDeleteMy point is that there may be a limited few people who can't afford food at all (I've been there), but most people who don't buy fruit still buy diet soda or beer. Also, if you click through to that consumer reports article, you'll see that there are mega cheap options, such as frozen fruits and veggies.
Also, I occasionally encounter people who feel healthy food is too expensive and they still have cell phones, fancy manicures and 27 pairs of sweat pants. I do not think the American public puts much value on healthy food and that is why they think it's too expensive. They could afford it if they cut some other luxuries.
Feisty... always, lol. You can't write a blog, though, and not expect some feisty-ness here and there! ;) (Seriously, though, despite that, I DO like the blog.)
ReplyDeleteBack on topic- perhaps it's just because of the people I know, see, and interact with that I feel so strongly about this issue. I live in the Midwest. I have family that live next to Elkhart, IN- one of the worst places for unemployment right now. They are staying put, but the houses next to them are selling for 25K. In my neighborhood, we have four foreclosed houses already. I'm just saying, I know a lot of people that struggle, and although I'm not in their position, I think it can be insulting to hear "suck it up and buy healthier food" when some people might be more worried about running out of diapers. These aren't the people that are running around with expensive cell phones and manicures, they are running around as single moms with 3 kids on their hip and working at McDonald's.
I realize your post is more aimed at those who COULD afford to eat healthy, but choose otherwise, but I feel very strongly about the issue of poverty and how it affects people's access to nutritional food. Ultimately, people are responsible for themselves, but more work needs to be done to help those below the poverty line afford nutritional food.
Also, take into account the lack of resources. I think it should be a crime that some neighborhoods have a plethora of gas stations with junk food and the nearest grocery store is prohibitively far away. Just by doing a quick Google search, many of these articles on this topic show up as the first results. Here are just a couple...
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_12_29/ai_55100689/
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1638358.html
The point is that we can all talk the talk about eating healthy, and tell people that they need to do a better job, but what are we doing to make this a reality for people? How do we help the poor and frustrated, the uneducated and unemployed? I don't think eating healthy should be something only the middle and upper class can afford. This government and the news and all other avenues of information can shout from the roof tops over and over again about the benefits of eating healthy, but until we fix a broken system, it will only go so far.
Point well taken, Kelly. Although I just can't imagine that 42% of Americans are in that dire of straits.
ReplyDeleteI like feisty. Bring it on.
Mmmm. Cherries.
ReplyDelete