cheap food

People in this country often think that if somebody is overweight it is their fault for having no will power. They do not think to consider how economics affects obesity. This is why poor people are more likely to be obese. A teenager whose family is poor is fifty-percent more likely to be obese compared to a teenager who is from a middle or upper class family. Due to the way our food system is set up, it is cheaper for a family to buy a bag of chips than a head of lettuce. So parents who do not have a lot of money will need to feed their kid unhealthy food. Also many inner cities do not have grocery stores so they end up purchasing all their food through convenience stores. As a result poor people often end up paying more for food than the rich or the middle class.

Also the food that's cheaper has been treated with pesticides and various other chemicals. Although there are no health issues with pesticides so far, they may cause health risks in the future.

There have been massive food scares throughout the industry. Normally people people who have money are able to avoid the risks that cause these scares. For example, corn fed beef (which is cheaper than grass fed beef) has been vulnerable to E. Coli breakouts. If a corn fed cow is fed grass within three weeks,85% of its E. Coli would be disappear from its gut. However, farmers continue to use corn feed because it is cheaper. So the economics behind our food system causes health issues.