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Road trip thoughts: America is a giant food desert. As I& #39;ve eaten through towns this past week, I& #39;m reminded of my previous road trips & attempts to find healthy meals. I think much of this country& #39;s health problems are bc, in small towns, most places don& #39;t serve good food. /1
Yes, the meals are very delicious but it& #39;s a lot of processed meats & foods. Most dishes are fried, greasy, or covered with cheese. Need a salad or some healthy dinner? In most places, good luck! I think about all the small towns I& #39;ve been through & how they are filled with.. /2
..fast food restaurants, pizza joints, greasy spoon diners, & places serving fried whatever. Again, delicious food. But when those are 80% of your options, is it any wonder we have obesity problems in the US? This is, of course, because of the food subsidy choices we make. /3
In the US, the highly processed foods and factory farmed meats are the most subsidized, thus the cheapest. So, if you& #39;re in a town of 10,000 with a low median income, your costs need to be kept low.
I& #39;m trying to be an elitist city guy here. The food isn& #39;t bad. It& #39;s yummy. /4
I& #39;m trying to be an elitist city guy here. The food isn& #39;t bad. It& #39;s yummy. /4
But do I find a lot of healthy options? No. That makes me sad. I don& #39;t believe people want to make unhealthy choices. But you play the hand you& #39;re dealt. And, if you& #39;re a restaurant that can only charge $10-15 a meal, you go with the food you can afford to buy. /5
Outside metropolitan areas, it& #39;s actually pretty hard to find restaurants serving healthy (& affordable) meals. And a lot of that has to do with the choices made in DC & how we subsidy food. Again, not trying to talk trash about small town food. I& #39;ve had some delicious stuff. /6
But I wish we put more of an emphasis on quality, nutritious food in this country so those options were at least available everywhere. (This is a BIG problem in inner cities too.)
Maybe I& #39;m off base. If there& #39;s a food policy expert out there, talk to me! I want to learn more. /7
Maybe I& #39;m off base. If there& #39;s a food policy expert out there, talk to me! I want to learn more. /7
Anyways, I think my second is going to revolve around food/nutrition advocacy because, in a world of food abundance, it shouldn& #39;t only be the urban middle/upper class that get access to the kind of ingredients that make it easy to eat a balanced, nutritious diet. /end
