Contradiction must be the word of the
day, and organic food must be where the money is, as the pendulum swings with
the law of supply and demand.
by M. J.
Joachim
The junk
food diet was created to make our lives easier and more convenient. We’ve heard
the propaganda for years. Follow the money trail and it is not hard to discover
how such misconceived notions are taking a toll on those who buy into them. Common
practices include marketing and selling ideas to consumers. Being helpful, understanding
and service oriented doesn’t hurt either. Consider some of the common
assumptions associated with purchasing pre-packaged and fast food, as a
replacement for eating healthy food.
It’s easier
to eat pre-packaged food than it is to prepare food ourselves. It’s more
convenient to pay (less money) at the drive-thru, than it is to purchase and
prepare fresh, natural food. Perhaps we should (hypothetically) put this notion
to the test and discover exactly how much time and money is saved by ideas like
this, which promote and advocate the need to justify ready-made and easy to
swallow, junk food changes in our diets.
Argument against
Saving Prep Time on Pre-packaged Food
- You still
have to go to the store and shop for it.
- Quite often,
you still have to purchase extra ingredients to make ready-made, pre-packaged
food.
- You still
have to read and follow directions for food preparation, even if it is only a
matter of opening boxes, envelopes and cans to pour dehydrated mixes and sauces
into the mix.
- You still
have to cook your food, following necessary steps like taking it in and out of
the microwave more than once, covering and uncovering dishes or adjusting
temperature settings halfway through cooking.
- You still
have to discard the packaging materials, many of which cannot be recycled
because they are contaminated with pre-packaged food.
Argument
against Saving Money by Using Going through the Drive-thru
- Gas is at an
all-time high these days. Consider the gas to and from, not to mention the gas
waiting in line.
- Fast food
doesn’t fill us up as well as natural food, so we eat more of it; consequently,
we spend more money on fast food, without providing adequate fuel to our
bodies. Yes, this does have something to do with that ever growing waist line
we keep meaning to address.
- Chemicals
used to make fast food have an adverse effect on our health; consequently, we
spend less time at work (calling in sick), more time at the doctor (paying for
tests and treatments) and less time doing things that mentally and emotionally
stimulate us, which ultimately would have a positive effect on our overall
health.
 According to
Natural News, “Approximately two-thirds of the (American) population is
overweight, and around half the people are taking at least one prescription
drug, if not many more.” Interestingly enough, USA Today published an article
on May 16, 2012 stating, “Contrary to popular belief, many healthy foods are no
more expensive than junk food, according to a large new government analysis. In
fact, carrots, onions, pinto beans, lettuce, mashed potatoes, bananas and
orange juice are all less expensive than soft drinks, ice cream, chocolate
candy, French fries, sweet rolls and deep fried chicken patties, the report
says.” Contradiction must be the word of the day, and organic food must be
where the money is, as the pendulum swings with the law of supply and demand.
Somehow this
seems like it will be little comfort to those “addicted” to pre-packaged, junk
food. Old habits die hard, and if they don’t die at all, they’re likely to kill
us.
©2011, 2012 All Rights Reserved Teresa
DePoy Photo Credit (top): Wikicommons, Creative Commons Attribution Photo Credit (center): Wikicommons, GNU Free Documentation License |
