Should Food Cost More Money?

I have read most of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, and it’s an eye-opening (but not sensationalistic) look at the food we eat everyday. Most people concerned with sustainability, food security, and public health don’t want the price of food to be higher – in fact, when you consider the hidden costs of farm pollution and land degradation, animal cruelty, reduced plant and animal genetic diversity, obesity, most diabetes, heart disease etc, industrial food has a far higher overall cost.

We need to purchase the food that reflects our values, not “value”.

There is also a lot of false claims for “healthy food” stuff like saying using chemical pesticides are bad, or the whole debacle with GM foods. What we really need is to emphasize locally grown food and eating what is in season.

[...] original here:  Should Food Cost More Money? – The Cheapskate Blog – TIME.com By admin in Uncategorized  .::. You can follow any responses to this entry [...]

Ya know, we can talk all we want about injecting morality into our food supply. What about people on a fixed income? Especially when that fixed income barely covers their expenses. What if those on that fixed income can’t possibly earn anything to supplement that income?

I’m in that position. My disability was not of my doing. I have a recently (18 months exactly) diagnosed nerve disease that left my hands mostly paralyzed and although I can walk, I can’t walk far or fast. My Social Security Disability income covers my rent and utilities and after paying my bills each month, I have about a dollar a day left for food. It’s good that I like peanut butter because I’m forced by my personal economic situation to eat a helluva lot of it. I’m not whining about it, this is just another obstacle that I need to overcome and I’ll do just that; what I’m saying is that before anyone gets on their soapbox about ethics and food supply, take a good, long look at all the ramifications of higher food prices. You might be able to afford it but what about those who can’t?

If/when food goes up, I will find a way to get by because that’s the way I am; I’m a survivor. What about the elderly? What about the disabled who have no family or friends who make up the difference out of kindness? Is it ethically/morally right to leave those people suffer? I don’t think so. Do you?

[...] in terms of taste. It might be better for society if the food we eat is a bit more expensive, as some observers and critics have argued, but that has nothing to do with the taste or quality of generic versus big-brand name [...]