The Financial Aspect of “Fat”

I saw this on Facebook, and I know this deserves a post.

"Why are kids obese?
Because burgers are $.99.
Salads are $4.99." 

Have you ever really thought about this fact and how ludicrous it is from an economic perspective?  I'm not a farmer, but somehow this doesn't add up.  It doesn't make sense that a hamburger would be cheaper than a salad.

Economics of a Hamburger:

GROUND BEEF PATTY

• Animal feed
• Upkeep on facility that houses animal
a.) Heating cost in winter
b.) Cooling cost in summer
c.) Cleaning staff for facility

• Medical cost of animal (vaccinations, hormones for quick growth, etc.)

• Cost of personnel to slaughter and butcher

Add on top of the patty cost the cost for a slice of cheese (which is also an animal product), the bun, sauces, and three pickles.

Economics of a Salad:

• Seed cost

• Soil preparation

a.) Fertilizer

b.) Cost to til the soil

• Cost of personel to weed, prune, etc.

• Herbicide and pesticide costs.

• Add on this the cost of the dressing, and any other bits that go on top of it.

This makes no sense, and is economic lunacy.  How is it cheaper to pay for animal product than some simple vegetables?  I mean, I've grown plants and raised pets.  Sad to say, my childish forgetfulness killed two innocent iguanas.  I've never killed a potted plant.  They're just easier, they require less effort.

It makes a nasty loop like this (drew it myself):

We pay taxes to the government, lobbyists spend bucko bucks to convince government to give farmers subsidies for planting corn, corn is fed to us, is broken down into corn syrup and is officially the number one sweetener for everything.  Corn is also made into feed to feed our animals.  Then we get sick due to a lack of diversity in diet.  If everything we eat is wheat, corn, soy, or wheat, corn, and soy-fed, then we are in trouble.  Then we go to the hospital, and our taxes and ourselves end up paying those large bills... and hopefully we don't end up in the downward spiral of drugs to treat symptoms, not alleviating the cause of our dis-ease, and end up dying with a big note left to the hospital.

It's crazy!  What if, instead, we allocated resources to eating better food in the first place?  We'd avoid more of the "downward spirals," we'd have healthier animals to eat, we'd have a greater diversity of food, and we'd probably even out the "hamburger vs salad" cost.  It's lunacy that something so complex as a hamburger should be more expensive than a few leafs with some oil as a dressing on top of it.  Keep it simple, stupid.  Or, as one famous dude said:

Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.  -Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine.

About Josh

Josh holds a Doctor of Chiropractic from Parker College of Chiropractic, is currently enrolled in The Carrick Institute studying Functional Neurology, and runs a full-time practice in Farmington, NM.  His interests are in neurology of movement, pain, and what a human being needs to express health.  He also likes to read and write, hence this blog.