Comments on: Higher Food Prices May End Up Being A Blessing In Disguise

By: Higher Food Prices May End Up Being A Blessing In Disguise | Classified Ads

Higher Food Prices May End Up Being A Blessing In Disguise | Classified Ads — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:32:24 +0000

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By: Lou

Lou — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:56:45 +0000

I don’t trust food suppliers to look after our health. I’ve bought cheap imported garlic that was toxic (watered from sewage in China), I’ve bought cheap water melon that tasted so strongly of detergent (watered with untreated grey water), the list is endless. Unfortunately today the dollar matters more to our suppliers than quality (processed or so called fresh).

I believe that in the coming depression will ensure that we go back to basics & grow our own food (the four pillars that hold up our economy have been swaying for some time, talk to those that lived through the great depression they know it’s on its way).

The taste of home grown produce is second to none, now is time to plan ahead, set up community gardens, coops & do what we can in our own backyards.

I live in the city & have only a little space, but I use every square inch of it. With the help of aquaponics, I have faith that even here I can provide for most of my family’s diet in these uncertain times.

Don’t just complain about food prices & quality…. do something about it!

By: nebby

nebby — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:45:12 +0000

Great article! However, lets think about this in depth.
Food prices increase=like you said more selective on food choices.
The problem with this being what Americans contributing to obesity and this solving that issue may be backwords from what you have discussed.
Lets think about a large family with many mouths to feed on a limited budget:
Heatlthy foods tend to be higher priced and food that are high in fat and calories are the cheapest when bought in bulk……therefore people will lean towards the comfort food that make them feel full…higher in fat foods! So, i think they will tend to spend less and get more fatty food beacuse they are cheaper and fill you up with less quantities based on their caloric vales anyway.
Just a

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 01:44:19 +0000

Being morbidly obese myself, and having come from a childhood of receiving food from a food pantry, and having just applied for health insurance, you’re flawed on both angles:

First, I started gaining weight around 8 years old, coincidentally, that was when my parents where running out of money (and their marriage started falling apart). Coincidence? Hmm, well I can say that free food from a food pantry is mostly junk. Also, as you said, calories are calories, so if you need fuel to survive, you’ll pick the cheapest high calorie food you can find. Obviously, that leads to the health issues, which brings me to the…

Second, health care costs and obesity have less to do with each other than health care costs smokers. I looked, and I couldn’t find any hard facts about obesities’ real cost to insurance companies, but the information for smokers is pretty easy to find. The thing is, obesity is something they can test for and quantify as a way to charge you more, because in theory, you can loose weight if you want to be insured. Same with smokers, except there’s certainly more research to show smokers will require more medical care in the long run.

Another point about higher health care expenses for the overweight that doesn’t compute, what about the trim and fit who need knee surgery because they climb rocks, ride bikes and play basketball and break their knees’ ACL? Using my brother, who’s 1/2 my weight as an example, his knee surgery cost his issuer over $80,000. In my entire lifetime, 21 years of being overweight, 15+ of being class 3 morbidly obese), I think I’ve had maybe $3,000 – $4,000 worth of medical care ever, most of which has been self paid because I’ve only had health insurance for 3.5 years of my whole life. The fact is, I’m 29 and 370lbs, and I’m not going to go climb a mountain or do some of the activities that could cause me to break a leg or arm. So, sedentary lifestyle can save insurance companies in a different way. Not to mention, how many fat people die suddenly saving health care companies tons of money? What about treating AIDS, cancer, injuries and other genetic disorders? Umm, yeah, being fat doesn’t amount to the large percentage of our health care costs… of course I’m biased, so take it for what you will.

By: Calls Out

Calls Out — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:20:24 +0000

Nice try… no quick fix remedies to our national disease however… less spending power = better health? A novel theory, definately not one I’ve heard before. Get off our lazy asses and do some exercise – and teach our children to eat properly. Stop hoping it will “all be ok in the end” because we will die (as will our poorly raised children).

By: Amanda (Me vs Debt)

Amanda (Me vs Debt) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:37:28 +0000

Eating less definitely doesn’t make you healthier. I’m sure you’re aware that nutritional value and calorie density are often inversely proportional.

By: Amity

Amity — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:57:34 +0000

Actually I just read an article the other day about food costs in corolation to a proper diet. On average a person can eat processed high calorie foods on an average of a dollar a day, in order to match the calorie intake with healthy foods it goes up to almost 35 dollars a day.
With cheaper processed foods there is so much filler that you end up eating twice as much as you would the healthy alternatives in order for your body to get everything it needs. No matter how much excercise you get in a day you will always be at a disadvantage for getting rid of the excess, you are also going to get a lovely lack of energy from not getting the right stuff from you diet.
Rising prices will seriously hinder Obese america with 10 cent raman noodles and $1 menus everywhere the only way low income families might be tempted by nurtius foods is if they are poor enough for food stamps and Uncle Sam is footing the bill, though the problem with that is that usally at that point they’ve been raised on twinkies, coke and canned meat product and don’t know the first thing about proper nutrition.

By: Selome

Selome — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:46:56 +0000

Creative. But ultimately not well-thought out. If anything, rising prices in food will cause manufacturers to use subpar chemical ingredients, even moreso than they already do, to comprise their offerings. Which will lead to issues with malnutrition and drive the cost of health care even higher. The level at which my generation subsists off of boxed macaroni and cheese is quite frightening. I can’t imagine what will happen to diabetes levels when cheap sugars and chemical byproducts are the only thing you can afford to buy.

By: Ron

Ron — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:41:13 +0000

What a load of garbage. Have you actually gone to the store and compared prices on healthy vs junk food? Junk food=cheap and bad for you. Normal food=more expensive but better for you. Organic food=very healthy and very expensive. We looked at an organic turkey for Christmas, it was $70. The hormone raised, antibiotic injected ones were $20 or less. Compare the price of Mac & Cheese vs fresh fruit and vegetables. Eating healthy is expensive, and people spreading stupid ideas like this article are not helping the problem.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:40:26 +0000

An interesting speculation on your part, to be sure. I certainly hope you don’t get paid by “subsribers” to produce this kind of “journalism”. Maybe you could get a blog started, however. Have you tried MySpace? Cool photos there.