Scott from Straight to the Bar asked on his website whether or not a healthy diet is expensive. My answer to him is that it depends, but generally no, it is not.
This morning I stumbled upon a map indicating the states of the US which have the largest obesity problems. These states, not coincidentally, are also home to a large percentage of the countrys poorer families; who have developed an inexpensive, high fat diet over the years.
It seems to be a commonly held belief that healthy diets are automatically more expensive than others […]
As Scott is discovering, I believe that a healthy diet is generally less expensive, despite the commonly held belief that he is referring to. A healthy diet is going to be heavier on fruits and vegetables than a high fat diet, and the foods that are eaten on a regular basis will have been refined and processed less and so should be available at a lower cost. Healthier foods also lend themselves to better portion control which will lead to less eating over all.
The example that Scott pointed out, where the states with the largest obesity problems are also the states with the poorer folks on average, is not due to the mean income. I have not done any sort of study, but my operating assumption there is that the problem lies with a lack of education about how to eat in a healthy manner rather than the fact that people could not afford to buy the foods.
I think that the misconception that eating healthier is more expensive is due to the organic food craze, where you can buy the exact same thing as “normal” food except for twice or thrice the price. A $1 bundle of broccoli might cost $3 if it is organic broccoli, for example. The thing is, though, that most of the time those foods are really necessary to eat a healthy diet.
I have previously posted some healthy recipes of foods that do not cost much to make and provide a good nutritional element to the diet. As of right now, I have talked about how to make ghoulash (which, coincidently, I am making for dinner tonight), beef jerky (which I am out of and need to make more of), and roasted vegetables (which Scott introduced to me and I have been making since). I really need to post some more recipes at some point in the near future.
The point, though, is that low-cost but healthy foods and meals can be worked into your diet. A healthier eating style can be more expensive, but not for a frugal shopper and somebody who takes a few minutes to learn what they are about.
I am surprised that there is so much difference in price between organic and ‘regular’ vegetables. However, eating the cheaper veg (rather than the organic) is still much better than none at all.
One of the big cost savers seems to be buying foods in bulk. Also, as you rightly pointed out, the fewer hands a product has been through (in processing), the cheaper it is. Just making a couple of meals from scratch, rather than buying ready-made meals, saves a lot. Not to mention the health benefits.
I do not really think that eating regular vegetables is all that much worse than eating organic. I think that organic is just an excuse to charge more for your produce than it costs extra to produce it that way.
The best of course is in the summer and fall when there’s a lot of farmer’s markets to be found around the area.
The benefits of organic foods become a lot clearer once you start looking at organic meat and its byproducts. The way an animal lives, and is fed, directly affects the quality of the meat, milk or eggs; as well as the amount of fat. Organic salmon, for example is roughly twice the price of regular farmed salmon (at least in the UK) yet is more active and has a much more nutritious diet than its counterpart -- meaning a lower level of bodyfat and better quality, more nutritious meat.
As for organic vegetables, the effect is cumulative. It’s pretty hard to see the benefits short term. I’m not sure, though, that the extra cost isn’t without good reason. Perhaps if everyone (who could afford it) replaced just one or two items in their shopping basket with organic versions, the prices would come down. That’s what seems to be gradually happening in the UK.
I still have trouble justifying the expense. I tend to buy my meat in bulk when it is on sale and vegetables as I need them.
Organic vegetables have less added and less taken away from them. The additions are things like pesticide residues, preservatives and even colour and flavour enhancers. The subtractions are a large chunk of vitamins and minerals usually found in those vegetables.
Several studies (I have details if you like) have shown that organic vegetables have up to 10 times the vitamin and mineral content of ‘normal’ vegetables. As this is a major reason for eating the vegetables in the first place, it’s a real reason to consider organics.