A new cost analysis of diet foods reveals that following the Atkins diet
or the South Beach diet can cost nearly twice as much as following the
USDA's "thrifty" dietary plan. Now here's the real story behind this
news: it's true that the Atkins diet or South Beach diet can be more
expensive the way people typically approach them. The first reason is
because low-carb packaged foods are remarkably expensive. It's
simultaneously more expensive to manufacture many of these low-carb food
items (like
low-carb breakfast cereal) and there's also an element of
profit-taking with these higher
prices, too.
Other items in the
Atkins diet certainly up the daily budget: red meat is very expensive in
terms of calories per dollar, and healthy oils like olive oil, flax oil
and macadamia nut oil -- all of which are recommended on low-carb diets
-- are admittedly more expensive. But that's only the more obvious part
of all this.
The not-so-obvious story here is that cheap sources of
calories from groceries -- like those calories found in soft drinks or
corn snack chips, for example -- are only cheap because they are
subsidized by taxpayer dollars. Both the sugar industry and the corn
growers receive extravagant subsidies courtesy of the federal
government. This makes high fructose corn syrup very cheap in terms of
calories per dollar (but expensive in terms of the fact that it promotes
obesity and diabetes, which create enormous future costs for society).
In fact, every food based on corn or sugar is far cheaper than it
would be in a free market situation. It all comes down to food politics
and influence: Big Sugar, for example, is strongly favored by the Bush
Administration, so there's practically no chance of ending those
subsidies any time soon. And, unfortunately, the foods being subsudized
by taxpayer dollars are precisely those foods that are linked to the
alarming rise in chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity. Processed
foods based on corn, for example, are typically very high on the
glycemic index, low in fiber, low in vitamins and minerals, low in
essential fatty acids, and so on. So it is precisely these
government-subsidized foods that are contributing to the rise in
diabetes and obesity.
The real question to all this goes way beyond
what's been reported in the press. The issue is not that the Atkins diet
is expensive, it's that our federal governmet is subsidizing foods that
directly promote chronic disease. And that's clearly an insane public
health policy. It would make a lot more sense to subsidize foods that
promote health and prevent disease. What if the government gave
subsidies to flax oil and olive oil? What if broccoli were half the
price? What if healthy whole grains like quinoa and brown rice were
cheaper than corn chips and soft drinks? See, the economics really do
matter, because poor people tend to buy whatever they can afford,
regardless of its nutritional merit. (Poor poeple also tend to buy a lot
of packaged, processed foods instead of making their own meals from bulk
ingredients.) And today, I say that the federal government has its food
subsidies policy completely backwards. Refined white sugar, for one
thing, should be double taxed, not subsidized, if you want to teach
people to avoid it. Let's get right down to it: if the government is
going to muck around with food prices, then they should make unhealthy
foods very expensive and healthy foods cheaper, don't you think?
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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Friday, May 07, 2004
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