Road trip thoughts: America is a giant food desert. As I've eaten through towns this past week, I'm reminded of my previous road trips & attempts to find healthy meals. I think much of this country's health problems are bc, in small towns, most places don't serve good food. /1

Yes, the meals are very delicious but it'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'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're in a town of 10,000 with a low median income, your costs need to be kept low.

I'm trying to be an elitist city guy here. The food isn't bad. It's yummy. /4

But do I find a lot of healthy options? No. That makes me sad. I don't believe people want to make unhealthy choices. But you play the hand you're dealt. And, if you'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'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'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'm off base. If there'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'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