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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 11:33 am
by GORDON
TheCatt wrote:So, I've yet to see how eating healthy is cheaper than fast food?
You may be the only one not seeing it.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 11:36 am
by TheCatt
Grilled salmon, asparagus, and wild rice - price?
Quarter pound cheeseburger - $1
Fruit salad - price?
Large fries - $1
Grilled chicken stuff with spinach, side of cous-cous - price?
Chicken nuggets - $1
Guess I'm blind.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 11:49 am
by GORDON
I felt like being the snippy one for a change.
Although, I've never eaten salmon, asparagus, and wild rice in my life, so I really have no clue.
Ditto the spinicah stuffed chicken and cous-cous. I thought only people on TV ate that stuff. How about a serving of chicken and a green salad? That's under $3.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:08 pm
by Malcolm
I suppose one could abuse the dollar menu there, using $2-3 per day. I've not eaten at a place like that in years, literally. At the very least I find them repulsive to my olfactory sense. I also know for a fact that I can go to the local grocery store & live for a day for less than $2. If I'd a week's list & stuck to it, I bet I could drop it a bit more. If I went to the Super Wally World instead of the local (yet still relatively cheap) grocery store, I'd wager it would fall slightly more.
I'd a Plan D once where I'd live at the U and get food on the cheap around there using various loopholes in merchant logic at the time. The idea was to live as cheaply as humanly possible in case I was unemployed for a long period of time whilst still in school. The plan did not include fast food as the option was killed during the optimization process cos it did cost too much. My calculations were in a notebook that I've long since tossed, though. I did take the idea seriously, though.
Edited By Malcolm on 1191341815
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:20 pm
by Leisher
Also, you have to factor in the time component of prepping food vs. fast food into the costs.
No you don't. First and foremost, people have time. One of my biggest pet peeves in life is when people say they don't have time for something because they're so busy.
"I don't have time to chat in the office." No, but you have time to surf the web and shop?
"I don't have time check my email." No, but you have time to golf 4 times a week?
People make time for what they want. My point is, lots of people just don't WANT to prepare food. Tough shit. You need food to live. If you don't want to get off your ass and make yourself something healthy, then don't bitch to everyone else when you get fat.
Besides, you can make a good, healthy meal in under 30 minutes. Don't believe me? Go to the library or turn on the food network. Hey, there's another great point. Do the people so poor they only afford to eat at McDonald's have cable? I'd bet a year's salary that the majority do.
Priorities.
I'd also wager that a shrink would tell us preparing your own food is better for your mental health and for helping family members bond. I know most of my food related memories involve cooking with family, not heading to McDonald's because mom/dad was too lazy to cook.
The real truth is that this is more of the same "gimme gimme" & "it's not my fault" horseshit that is infecting our country and being played to by our scumbag politicans.
Grilled salmon, asparagus, and wild rice - price?
Quarter pound cheeseburger - $1
Fruit salad - price?
Large fries - $1
Grilled chicken stuff with spinach, side of cous-cous - price?
Chicken nuggets - $1
How about we compare the price of a single McDonald's salad versus the price of going to the store, buying the ingredients and preparing salads for a few days? How about we compare the price of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at any restaurant versus the cost of a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of jelly?
You're the big capitalism proponent and you're going to sit here and use grilled salmon and cous-cous in your argument? You're the first guy who should be pointing out that they don't need to eat THAT good. Shouldn't their eating be dictated based on what they can afford? And shouldn't their choices be their own responsibility?
If a business made the same poor decisions as the people you're defending, you'd never defend that business.
I'm sick and tired of paying for other people to be stupid or having my freedoms and options limited because other people can't take responsibility for themselves or those they're responsible for.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:44 pm
by Malcolm
Shouldn't their eating be dictated based on what they can afford?
No. The human body has certain basic nutritional needs not affected by how much I earn.
And shouldn't their choices be their own responsibility?
Completely. No one's putting a gun to someone's head & making them order at McD's just like no one's forcing me not to go there.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:55 pm
by GORDON
Malcolm wrote:Shouldn't their eating be dictated based on what they can afford?
No. The human body has certain basic nutritional needs not affected by how much I earn.
As long as we can recognize it is possible to spend $.25, or $6 to get the same daily-recommended supply of vitamin C.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:55 pm
by Leisher
No. The human body has certain basic nutritional needs not affected by how much I earn.
Sorry, I didn't realize that there are certain nutrients the human body needs that can only be found in cous-cous, calamari, filet mignon, etc.
Completely. No one's putting a gun to someone's head & making them order at McD's just like no one's forcing me not to go there.
That's our point...
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 1:10 pm
by thibodeaux
TheCatt wrote:So, I've yet to see how eating healthy is cheaper than fast food?
I didn't really say it was; I said fast food is expensive. If you're going to eat shit, at least eat cheap shit.
Also, you have to factor in the time component of prepping food vs. fast food into the costs.
Why? They're poor. They're probably unemployed.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 1:17 pm
by GORDON
Which means they get food stamps, and free money for (supposedly) healthy food. McD's doesn't take food stamps.
However.
I've known poor people that used to scam their WIC/food stamps by taking the baby formula they got for free to a grocery store for a "refund" where they'd buy cigarettes.
edit - SCAM, not scan
Edited By GORDON on 1191353862
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 1:53 pm
by Malcolm
Leisher wrote:
No. The human body has certain basic nutritional needs not affected by how much I earn.
Sorry, I didn't realize that there are certain nutrients the human body needs that can only be found in cous-cous, calamari, filet mignon, etc.
Protein tends to be expensive. So does produce. Yet I still need them.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 2:18 pm
by GORDON
Malcolm wrote:Leisher wrote:
No. The human body has certain basic nutritional needs not affected by how much I earn.
Sorry, I didn't realize that there are certain nutrients the human body needs that can only be found in cous-cous, calamari, filet mignon, etc.
Protein tends to be expensive. So does produce. Yet I still need them.
Is a 5 ounce steak enough protein for a day?
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:01 pm
by Leisher
Malcolm wrote:Leisher wrote:
No. The human body has certain basic nutritional needs not affected by how much I earn.
Sorry, I didn't realize that there are certain nutrients the human body needs that can only be found in cous-cous, calamari, filet mignon, etc.
Protein tends to be expensive. So does produce. Yet I still need them.
Fine, you need protein. Does that mean you need a $30 steak to get it? Eat an egg. Eat the steaks Gordo has been talking about. Eat some peanuts. Eat some dairy. Hey, eat some cheap ass beans!!!
Grains, beans, vegetables, and nuts all provide protein. It isn’t necessary to have a "high-protein" food like cheese, soy, beans, or meat analogs at each meal.
From a vegetarian site. You'll find similar lists all over the web.
Produce doesn't have to be expensive, shop around. Coupon clip. Look for sales. Shop at Aldo or whatever that chain of super cheap grocery stores is called.
Many Americans save boatloads of money by using coupons, shopping smartly, looking for sales, etc. and they're not necessarily poor. So why should we as a society bend over for poor people not willing to make this same effort?
Obviously, there is going to be someone out there, busting their ass to live in poverty, and they realistically have little time for meals. I think we all get that. However, that percentage of the population is going to be ridiculously small and they're not the ones bitching.
People who work hard and are responsible for themselves don't blame McDonald's for making them fat.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:04 pm
by TheCatt
So, someone give me a healthy meal and compare it to the cost of McDonalds.
The bottom 33% of all US households (37.3 million households) earn less than $30k/year. Poverty level is $20k for a family of four.
Tell me how they can eat healthfully.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:05 pm
by Malcolm
No matter where I go, fruit will always be more expensive than something like, oh hell I dunno, bread, for example's sake.
Fast food appears cheaper in the short term. Actually shopping & making food yourself appears cheaper in all other cases. That being said, you could easily live off McD's for the rest of your life. Personally, I'd rather be dead, but that's just me.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:10 pm
by Malcolm
TheCatt wrote:Tell me how they can eat healthfully.
Whoa, we arguing about eating just to stay alive for the next week or really getting all the vitamins, minerals, ad naseum, that various bio nerds say we need?
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:31 pm
by Leisher
So, someone give me a healthy meal and compare it to the cost of McDonalds.
Actually, let's start off by comparing apples to apples.
Quarter Pounder with cheese extra value meal (comes with fries and a soft drink)- $4.32
That is ONE meal.
Jar of peanut butter - $1.14
Jar of jelly - $2.75
A loaf of bread - $.99
Glass of water - Comes with the house/apartment/etc. (Yes, there's a bill, but one has to pay it for flushing toilets. If your toilets don't flush, you have other issues.)
Total - $4.88
Considering there are 20 slices of bread in the average loaf, that's 10 sandwiches. Throw in a $.25 cent bag of chips (Doritos, Lays, Fritos, Cheetos, etc.) available at all grocery stores (they're meant for lunches) and you have 10 meals at a cost of $.74 each.
Maybe a PB&J with chips isn't as nutritious as we need, but it's better than McDonald's. Although, I will point out once again that a documentary made to counter Super Size Me proved that a person can eat McDonald's and not get unhealthy. They just have to be willing to not order 12 sandwiches at once and do a bit of exercise.
Here's a site dedicated to healthy, low-cost meals. Maybe the real problem is poor people don't have internet connections?
Edited By Leisher on 1191354175
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:33 pm
by Leisher
Whoa, we arguing about eating just to stay alive for the next week or really getting all the vitamins, minerals, ad naseum, that various bio nerds say we need?
Some claim poor people are fat because the only food they can afford to eat is fast food.
Most of us are arguing that's bullshit. Catt says it's not.
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:39 pm
by GORDON
TheCatt wrote:So, someone give me a healthy meal and compare it to the cost of McDonalds.
The bottom 33% of all US households (37.3 million households) earn less than $30k/year. Poverty level is $20k for a family of four.
Tell me how they can eat healthfully.
I think the amount of food stamps you get varies by state. Conceivably it's possible that a family under the poverty line will be able to afford better food than a family over it.
Edited By GORDON on 1191354108
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 4:15 pm
by TheCatt
Malcolm wrote:TheCatt wrote:Tell me how they can eat healthfully.
Whoa, we arguing about eating just to stay alive for the next week or really getting all the vitamins, minerals, ad naseum, that various bio nerds say we need?
Yeah, I sorta thought that was half the point of Gordon's post.