Why don't poor neighborhoods have Grocery Stores? (Chicago, Waukegan: real estate, home)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Costa Rica Chica

The reason why our poor are obese and other countries aren't is because fast food is cheaper here than healthier staples. For example, in Central America McDonalds is actually more expensive there than here, and add in that people there make less money - it's not as economic. However, rice, beans, fruits and veggies are dirt cheap. It's MUCH cheaper to cook than to go to a fast food restaurant. It's the opposite here.

Hints at a solution. Make fast food very expensive and people won't eat it. Tax the living bejesus out of it, until that $1 double cheesburger is $4. Until fast food and processed foods are substantially more expensive than healthier foods, many people, particuarly in very low income areas, will choose the former.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Hints at a solution. Make fast food very expensive and people won't eat it. Tax the living bejesus out of it, until that $1 double cheesburger is $4. Until fast food and processed foods are substantially more expensive than healthier foods, many people, particuarly in very low income areas, will choose the former.

I think that's kind of what people have been saying. Except this could probably be accomplished by reforming our agricultural subsidies, which allow for unhealthy, overprocessed foods to become so much more affordable than raw fruits and vegetables.

[Costa Rica Chica]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

I think that's kind of what people have been saying. Except this could probably be accomplished by reforming our agricultural subsidies, which allow for unhealthy, overprocessed foods to become so much more affordable than raw fruits and vegetables.

Absolutely!

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

I think that's kind of what people have been saying. Except this could probably be accomplished by reforming our agricultural subsidies, which allow for unhealthy, overprocessed foods to become so much more affordable than raw fruits and vegetables.

I see that. I think I diverge slightly in that I believe that so long as fast food is even remotely affordable, some people are going to choose it over healthier choices, and those who so choose will increase as you slide down the income scale. I don't think, for example, you'll find that the average diner in a McDonalds in, say, Englewood or Austin is spending $2 on two double cheeseburgers and that's it. My guess is that the average dinner tab at a typical fast food joint there is considerably higher than that.

We need to make it very expensive, like most European countries do with gasoline. And you don't really need to mess around with agricultural subsidies to do it. Resolve to limit national fast food intake and then tax it, simple as that. I'm sure though, if we did do this, there would be plenty of liberals complaining that the poor no longer have places to eat, LOL Still though, it's something that is ultimately going to need to be done if we're really serious about reducing obesity in the U.S.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by BRU67

We need to make it very expensive, like most European countries do with gasoline. And you don't really need to mess around with agricultural subsidies to do it. Resolve to limit national fast food intake and then tax it, simple as that. I'm sure though, if we did do this, there would be plenty of liberals complaining that the poor no longer have places to eat, LOL Still though, it's something that is ultimately going to need to be done if we're really serious about reducing obesity in the U.S.

We need to "mess around" with agricultural subsides because agricultural subsidies, as currently enacted, are bad for our economy, bad for our environment, and bad for our health.

[icebergsyndrome]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

We need to "mess around" with agricultural subsides because agricultural subsidies, as currently enacted, are bad for our economy, bad for our environment, and bad for our health.

that and high fructose corn syrup makes otherwise delicious (though still fattening) things taste awful!

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by BRU67

I see that. I think I diverge slightly in that I believe that so long as fast food is even remotely affordable, some people are going to choose it over healthier choices, and those who so choose will increase as you slide down the income scale. I don't think, for example, you'll find that the average diner in a McDonalds in, say, Englewood or Austin is spending $2 on two double cheeseburgers and that's it. My guess is that the average dinner tab at a typical fast food joint there is considerably higher than that.

We need to make it very expensive, like most European countries do with gasoline. And you don't really need to mess around with agricultural subsidies to do it. Resolve to limit national fast food intake and then tax it, simple as that. I'm sure though, if we did do this, there would be plenty of liberals complaining that the poor no longer have places to eat, LOL Still though, it's something that is ultimately going to need to be done if we're really serious about reducing obesity in the U.S.

It makes more sense to me to address the root cause - as the dollar double cheeseburger is not the result of a free market, but the result of heavy government intrusion into the ag market, rather than do an end around and tax what we're subsidizing.

[tb4000]

The whole thing is pretty sad. I'm from Gary originally and commute to the loop for work, and in the mornings in Gary, and even downtown, I see little black/latino kids at the Walgreens or corner stores buying Cheetos, Twizzlers, and the like and eating it in the morning as a breakfast food. Either they trash the breakfast they got at home, or they get their own breakfasts, which is basically junk.

[skipcromer]

Originally Posted by tb4000

The whole thing is pretty sad. I'm from Gary originally and commute to the loop for work, and in the mornings in Gary, and even downtown, I see little black/latino kids at the Walgreens or corner stores buying Cheetos, Twizzlers, and the like and eating it in the morning as a breakfast food. Either they trash the breakfast they got at home, or they get their own breakfasts, which is basically junk.

To be fair, i've seen this in Evanston and Glenview as well.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

It makes more sense to me to address the root cause - as the dollar double cheeseburger is not the result of a free market, but the result of heavy government intrusion into the ag market, rather than do an end around and tax what we're subsidizing.

Many countries subsidize agricultural staples like corn, soybeans, wheat and rice, the low cost of which the NY Times editorial blames for the abundence of fast food and thus obesity. Ignoring a pretty massive passing of the buck here, I’m sure that ending or drastically altering these subsidies would have complex and far reaching consequences that I'm sure the author is not citing. Those need to be studied and analyzed. These staples are used to make things other than fast food and junk food you know.

And would that be the end of the problem? I’ve heard obesity blamed in fast food. I’ve also heard it blamed on inability to exercise due to the ‘hood being too dangerous, about low income schools lacking P.E. programs (which directly correlates to the lack of desirability of their surrounding neighborhoods), lack of green space in urban areas to frolic in, etc., etc. Bottom line is that the true problem boils down to negative and inexcusable behaviors among certain groups of people.

It’s comfortable to blame government policy for that but I think we lose out on a lot of insight and perhaps ultimate solutions when we focus on red herrings instead of the root causes of the behavior.