Fruit and vegetable consumption plummets among low-income families

Posted by admin on January 27th, 2012

(NaturalNews) According The Guardian, a UK newspaper comparable to the USA’s New York Times, lower income families have cut their fruit and vegetable consumption by 30% over the last few years. This figure was obtained from 2010, which was the last year those statistics were available.

In England, people are advised to eat five servings of fruit and veggies a day. Many are eating four, while lower income Brits are getting only 2.7 servings daily. The comments on that article were varied. Some readers mentioned fruit is not as healthy or filling as beans and potatoes, for example.

Others commented that EU and UK fruits and vegetables in season are actually cheaper than processed foods. Of course we’re talking non-organic veggies and fruit here. The problem, many commented, is that people don’t cook. They recommend more Brits learn how to cook from scratch.

Here in the States, this problem may be a little more complex. But the result is the same. Many families have both husband and wife working. Add a couple of kids or more, and there’s more travel time added to whatever commuting is required for work. So often it’s easier to make a quick fast food stop to pick up the family dinner, or order a pizza.

An acceptable excuse for most is the time crunch and stress from hectic daily activities. But how come they manage to watch all that TV? Television has lots of commercials that make processed and fast foods look even more appealing. This is a vicious cycle that leads to an unhealthy bind.

When times are rough, it’s time to get tough

Yes, wages and jobs have suffered and stress levels have risen. But priorities need to shift away from taste over health and leisure time in front of the tube, or large plasma screen. Leisurely cooking is a healthier more productive way to relieve a hectic day’s stress than leisurely TV watching or playing video games.

A family willing to pitch in with food preparation is healthier on many levels, including shifting from dysfunctional to functional.

Workers in industrialized or first world nations, whether poor or well off, is addicted to taste delivered quickly and easily, and lots of TV. This is a quagmire many are unwilling to resolve. All you have to do is go to a supermarket and look at what most shoppers have in their carts.

Then on the way home, check out a McDonald’s parking lot or drive-through line. It’ll be busy. McDonald’s sales revenue is up according to several mainstream sources, including the Wall Street Journal. Total revenue from 2011 increased 10% from the previous year, while profits rose from $1.24 billion to $1.38 billion.

Some attribute this to their international reach and monopolistic promotion. Both are unfortunate successes that have lead to greatly increased obesity, diabetes, and other diseases.

McDonalds is also responsible for increasing farm animal suffering, deforestation and other ecological damage from excessive cattle, to satisfy an insatiable lust for burgers. But in the USA, McDonalds is not the only fast food player. Others, while perhaps not doing as well, carry a large part of the toxic convenience food load.

Yes, there are economic issues, lifestyle pressures, and a preponderance of “tasty” toxic foods. But the only way we can change what ultimately threatens our food chain is with more individuals, regardless of incomes, shifting from poor food habits to healthier choices with a willingness to prepare food from scratch.

Unfortunately, many are still not willing to even hear about making that change.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/22/fruit-vegetable-consumption-poorer-families

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120124-706960.html

http://ethicalfootprint.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/unethical-companies-mcdonald%E2%80%99s/

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