I just can't my head around the idea that eating right is expensive. Eating organic is expensive, yes. But in what universe are vegetables, fruit, and basics like beans and grains more expensive than restaurants or prepared, processed food? I don't shop at the 99 cent store, either. What the heck are people buying? Asparagus and strawberries out of season? Organic beef? Artisan cheeses? That's high class stuff, but entirely unnecessary for health. I've been a vegetarian for over 30 years, I cook almost all my family's meals, and I have never, NEVER, thought to myself "gee my food bill is out of hand."

OK, the price of milk went up radically a couple years ago but that hits everyone, not just "healthy" eaters.

I don't get it I don't get it I don't get it.

Honestly...I just don't buy into alot of these arguments and instead think of them more as excuses to clean up ones diet. It doesn't take a PhD to sift through all the nutrition information to realize that eating less processed food and more foods in their natural state are better for you. Get past the hype and all the latest studies and just get back to basics and remember how previous generations ate. As for money, produce in and of itself is not expensive nor are oats, brown rice, peanut butter, eggs, beans, dairy and other sources of whole grains and protein. Its when you get beyond the basics tenets of nutrition when people run afoul and spend more than they need. An apple is always a more nutritious choice than a bag ofchips yet sometimes people just want to eat the chips. It has nothing to do with motivation either, for some people, they really just don't care and taste will trump nutrition any day.

When I was poor as a church mouse with a child and an out of work husband, I quickly learned that baking from scratch was WAY cheaper than processed foods. The processed foods were deceptively scant: a box that should have fed four barely fed two. If I bought the base ingredients and made it, it was a higher initial cost... but I had MORE FOOD.

That might be part of what scares people off. Stocking a pantry the first time is expensive, but it lasts so much longer.

Yes, beans, rice, and eggs are cheap but to have your diet mainly consist of this is nutritionally void. At least 40% of your food intake should be raw. And a comparison of apples to mac n cheese is no contest in price. Also, food that has a long shelf life is attractive to a tight consumer since there's no waste.

Eating right isn't expensive if you plan well, and cook from scratch. I am an omnivore - I eat meat and fish. I also eat tons & tons of fresh vegies, and my weekly budget is under $40/wk. What I do is cook almost everything from scratch, almost never buy processed foods, never ever buy single-serving anything, don't eat meat at every meal (or even every day), and am a ninja shopper who know where to shop for good deals (think ethnic markets...).

Oh, and I also work 60 hours a week, and I make time to cook as it matters to me.

So no, it's not expensive to eat well.

I'm picking up a slightly judgemental tone in some of the comments.
I think the argument re: accessibilty and cost is a fair one. For the average middle class adult, sure, sifting through info is easy and we generally have decent grocery stores in our neighborhoods (multiple if we are lucky) so eating healthfully and mindfully is pretty easy - if you apply yourself. Additionally, many of us come from educated backgrounds which again, makes it somewhat easier to sift through the info and make good decisions.

What we shouldn't forget however, is that for some, accessibility and the knowledge to sift through the information IS a huge obstacle. It's definitely a class issue. Have you spent time in a low income area? Have you seen what passes for "fresh" and "produce" in those neighborhood grocery stores? I certainly wouldn't buy it, so I can't blame someone in that situation for passing on those supposedly "healthy" foods in favor of a fast food meal. In these cases, they do not have the luxury of jumping into a car and going into a different neighborhood in search for more suitable food options - they just don't have the time or reasources for this. Many are working double or triple shifts in order to support their families leaving them a lot less time to brush up on nutrition in their off hours. It makes it much easier to understand why a single working mom (for instance) might just decide going through the fast food drive thru is a viable/healthy way to feed her family.

I consider myself lucky to live in a neighborhood where I can chooes between a jewel or a trader joes or a whole food or a farm stand to get my food. But it also takes time to shop between all of those grocery stores too in search of the best deal. It's easy for me to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies, add pasta, cheap protein etc. But not everyone is so lucky

The "Obstacle to eating sensibly" series is simply annoying. The idea of eating what I want to eat vs what my body needs is silly. It's too vague and black and white at the same time. Personally, I don't usually wanna eat processed foods versus natural and fresh foods--and I know other people who are the same way.

I think the real reasons are: addiction/denial, ignorance of what is good for you, not knowing how to cook, and the simple fact that some people just don't care.

addiction/denial--i have an aunt who is overweight and suffers from type ii diabetes and high blood pressure and cholesterol. she takes medication for all of her conditions and limits herself from certain foods. but, she will break her diet restrictions often by eating food that is very bad for her whenever she eats out, which is often. not fast food, but restaurant food.

some people don't care: my cousin who is very tall and very overweight knows that eating fast food (burger combinations, fries, and whatever else you find at fast food joints) is bad for your body. he admits he's addicted and can't stop eating it. recently, he started practicing the atkins diet to lose weight . . .

while i don't think that money plays a role in what people eat, poor people eat badly vs better off people eat healthier, i do agree with the issue that the lack of supermarkets that carry fresh produce and natural foods in urban areas and ghettos is a big problem since it doesn't provide with these people with the access to better food choices without having to take 2 buses across town (time consuming) to the nearest supermarket.

sorry my post rambles, had hard time posting and home with sinus infection.

She talks a lot about eating junk food and processed food, she makes that food available to herself instead of healthy alternatives. If she quit buying cakes, ice cream, cookies, chips, chocolate, white bread (even the "artisianal" stuff) then she'd save a lot of money and eat better. Please, I have no sympathy for this woman.

Not knowing what good food cooked from scratch tastes like, and not knowing what to do with fresh, nutritious ingredients. Providing tasty, nutritious school meals and educating children about food will do much to break the cycle of generations making poor food choices.

OK, I've just had a look at the first article. Tarlin is educated, has access to healthy food, and presumably earns a decent wage. In this case, it does sound like laziness.

thank you, nuttmeg17 - that is a point i was hoping would get raised. low income families simply do not have ready access to fresh, non-processed food. i've lived in these areas - it is very difficult to shop at the local grocery store and find anything that isn't something like boxed hamburger helper. but you also have to look at the culture of it - low income people can't be expected to change overnight because some rich wholefoods-preachy folks tell them to. it is cheaper to eat from scratch, certainly, but it takes time (difficult with a couple of jobs and a couple of kids and no spouse (or a lazy spouse) to help out) and education, both of which are definitely lacking in low-income areas, both urban and rural. i also agree with pearmelon that providing TASTY nutritional food for school lunches is critical.

I'm with nuttmeg17 as well. Regular Kitchn readers may not be very impressed from the articles, but day in and day out we check out a blog that frequently emphasizes healthy eating, organic foods and produce, ethnic and vegan cooking, etc.

When you stop to consider the average American adult, especially someone who isn't interested in cooking or nutrition - you can see why Tarlin's article might 'inspire' *someone*. Personally, I don't think I'd benefit reading an article from someone who has mowed through an entire box of poptarts in a day... but I know people who would benefit.

As for the cost argument, I've run across coupon-shoppers who can buy $200 worth of groceries for $70 and they feel an immense sense of accomplishment. But when you look at what the coupons were for, they've bought 8 instant muffin mixes, 12 cup-o-noodles, 10 frozen dinners, 6 boxes of instant rice, etc...Almost none of it is nutritious and if you were to suggest that person shop for staple food & produce only (which to them would be more expensive) - there's no way they'd be on board.

The coupon argument is a good one. Every article I see about cutting food costs advocates coupons. I never use coupons. They don't discount broccoli, onions, apples, zucchini, peppers, etc., etc. They discount breakfast cereal, "breakfast bars," drink mixes, etc. But, you can buy more produce than you can eat in a week for 70 bucks! I still say, it's not more expensive to eat cheap. And these articles aren't aimed at the poor, nor are they contending with the availability issue (also valid). This is about fairly educated, more or less middle-class people who eat pricey junk and wail that healthy food is a budget buster. It's dishonest.

@ushabusha: many immigrant families are very poor, live in poorer areas, and still eat better and healthier than the average american. So, no, it's not entirely an issue of food deserts.

I do have to say, in NYC you can get good food ANYWHERE, but you will have to carry it. There are parts of the country where you may truly be miles and miles from anything better than a gas station convenience store. In which case you have a choice of boxed mac and cheese or ravioli from a can. And it will cost you.

@ DCarl1, i dont think i said it was entirely an issue of food deserts.

@Vince: I totally agree. One of my big budget-savers is to go to the "hood" of Oakland - a hard scrabble area with lots of gang presence - and shop at the Laotian groceries. It's super cheap, and there's lots of choice and lots of vegies.

Are you going to find plentiful big boxes of American-style cereal? No. But 50# sacks of rice, lots of fresh cheap vegies, many kinds of meat, cheap spices and canned goods? heck, yes!

For those who think they can do better than the Slate writer, she's posted a challenge asking people to come up with the "perfect eating day." I've already weighed in with my opinion that a better approach is a weekly one.

cmcinnyc: "This is about fairly educated, more or less middle-class people who eat pricey junk and wail that healthy food is a budget buster."

Good point!! In addition to junk food & heavily processed foods being more expensive - one has to consider that a person will end up paying for health costs that they wouldn't have if they'd stuck with veggies vs. poptarts.

how is eating healthy expensive, cmcinnyc? a pound of apples where i live runs about $3. 5 apples (one a day for the workweek) runs about $6. SIX DOLLARS for 5 apples. eating fresh produce is pricey.

Here, small granny smiths are $0.69/lb. Larger apples like pink ladys run $1/lb. Organic at $2.50/lb. Can you buy it for twice or three times this? Sure if you shop at the expensive markets.

I'm surprised at the anger this article is generating. For some people, eating in a balanced and nutritional way is something they were taught as young people, or perhaps something they taught themselves, and that's great. However, I don't think it's ridiculous for someone like Ellen Tarlin to recognize that she eats so poorly and figure out why it is she does so. I am a frequent reader of the Kitchn and I love cooking and learning about food, but I don't begrudge anyone else who may not feel the same way I do from navigating this issue herself. It may be easy to say to someone, "Duh - go buy some apples instead of processed foods!" but for the person who is not used to eating whole foods and/or nutritious foods, putting this into practice can be very different. I think it's a bit of a cop-out to judge Tarlin by saying, "you can afford it, and you have access to the food, so eat right." (whatever you view eating "right" to be). For some (I'd argue for many) food represents comfort, and eating may be intrinsically tied to one's emotions, and some people link choosing foods simply with convenience. I personally know a lot about food nutrition, but that doesn't mean I don't naturally go for a sweet treat or feel I deserve some kind of food reward when I am feeling down, or when I had a rough day at work. I naturally feel that way, and I have to work to keep myself from eating emotionally. My point is: I don't think we can judge the writer so harshly simply because she does not have the same habits as many people who read The Kitchn. Further, I think most people will agree that Amercia as a whole is experiencing some seriously negative issues and habits when it comes to eating and nutrition. Our obesity rate is still sky-high and increasing year by year. Perhaps Tarlin will shed some light on why someone who has gotten into a pattern of eating the way she does would continue to do so (or why she started eating that way in the first place).

Jenna, you have me backwards. I'm saying it's NOT expensive and I'm tired of this media line that it is.

Oh, Jenna, I have YOU backwards. Is an apple poptart cheaper, though? No, it's not, and it won't fill you up as long.

Ugh, you said it nuttmegs17. And you're being kind with the "slightly judgmental" comment. All of these folks are writing from their own frame of reference as if that is the only context that exists. Certainly someone who wants to eat healthfully is probably able to with some hard work and smart shopping, but it's downright offensive to paint some of these people as lazy and unmotivated based on your own anecdotal evidence.

I agree that ethnic groceries are great places to get your groceries. Tell me where you can find one in Jamestown, Kentucky. Population: 1,624. I lived right next door to their local grocery, where the vegetable options were iceberg lettuce and red peppers. The fruit choices were slightly better: red delicious apples, granny smith apples, and bananas. You could expect to spend three times as much money at this local grocery than possible at, say, Kroger. If you'd like to tell the residents of Jamestown how they can cart their many children to the nearest Kroger with no car or public transit in order to get a wider, more affordable variety of food, I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

I get the impression that Tarlin, whilst educated and knowledgeable about nutrition, does not come from a background that values the importance of sitting down to a home-cooked meal daily. That is a huge obstacle, and she will probably have to change a lifetime's habits if she wants to establish better eating habits. Many posters mention that poor immigrants still eat well, and that's because in those cultures, good food shared with others is valued. Those immigrants probably spend a greater proportion of their income on food.

I'm sorry to be flatly argumentative, but produce *is* expensive in the "universe" of the San Francisco Bay area. If you are working three jobs (like me) and you have kids, you can't make a bi-weekly jaunt to the farmers' market. It's important to us to eat a lot of fresh produce, lean meats, lean dairy. We don't buy junk food, we rarely eat out. But our food budget is a very high proportion of what we have left after rent of the roughly $2000 per month income. Live on that in Berkeley and then tell me produce isn't expensive. I'm not say *not worth it* -- including for long-term health costs. I'm just saying: it's a large part of our budget. I cook mostly from scratch, but that costs time, too. I'd like to have that time, but instead I have to work at three low-paying part-time jobs despite having a Master's degree. Hello, recession. Thanks.

Lindsaur has it exactly right, writing from one's own frame of reference does no good for anyone. It only leads to closed-mindedness and disdain and distrust of others who are different from you. Whether poor or rich, if you're exposed to diverse ethnic neighborhoods, come from families who instilled values for nutrition and community, or are well educated by whatever means then you are blessed.
I am in Birmingham, Alabama, born in Mississippi - obesity states #2 and #1 respectively. Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama and there is a serious lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables both in the markets and restaurant choices that are available for low income neighborhoods. There is pretty much no public transit, and many neighborhoods only have a corner market that stocks a few highly processed foods. The grocery down the street from me has an acceptable produce choice, but a few miles away in a more destitute area of town the same chain carries very little fresh healty options. Parents are uneducated, undermotivated, and overworked. There's a hierarchy of needs, and getting the freshest most healty foods are very low in that hierarcy. As long as their families get food on the table, they are doing well.
You can say "make food from scrach", "shop around", "they don't have my values", "they are just lazy", but you have no idea what most of America, where people are truly struggling and the cultural environment is almost hopeless, is like.
What eating well boils down to is access and education, and you're personal beliefs and experiences are really not part of the equation. They are largely irrelevant.

The information overload argument is interesting. What is striking is Tarlin's familiarity with the latest diets and nutrition advice, yet no mention is made of what she ate growing up, nor what her own points of reference are regarding food. Did her parents cook? Did they eat as a family? Maybe she will address this in a later article, but the omission is telling. What's interesting is that Tarlin clearly does not fit the profile of a low income individual with no access to nutritious food - it's her choice, and a choice that many people make, although I'm not casting judgement. I agree with AnnaK that it really is a blessing to grow up valuing nutrition and community, but that requires parents to make the decision to spend precious time in the evening cooking, or accepting that the kids won't be in bed before 10 if you want to eat together as a family. It's not always easy.

I agree wholeheartedly with AnnaK and am surprised this issue hasn't been raised all that much here before.

Furthermore, the assumption that all poor areas are ethnic and thus treasure troves of food bargains is naive at best and patronising at worst. Not all poor areas are filled with knowledgable migrants passing on their hard-earned culinary skills. Also, many countries besides the US, UK and Australia have diet and obesity problems, including many european countries such as Greece. Europeans are not blessed with some magical dietary knowledge we can tap into to fix what's wrong with our eating habits.

No one is arguing that cheap, healthy food is impossible to prepare, even where fresh food is scarce. But it is very unlikely that in time-poor, money-poor families living in poor areas, healthy food will magically appear on the table. And it's a myth that just because one person can jump such hurdles, everyone else in the same situation can and must and if they don't they are somehow bad, lazy people.

Oh and I say this as someone who has been cooking her meals from scratch since she left home, makes meal plans, writes a food blog shops for groceries regularly and is ALWAYS looking for a better deal.

I can't quite get over how incredibly judgmental some people are being. To people like Lindsaur, nuttmegs17, and AnnaK, thank you. There is absolutely a class element to this discussion; unfortunately, to properly explain would take far more space than I have here.

Let me just say that I've recently discovered how difficult it can be to eat healthfully. I am college-educated (I graduated from an excellent school last spring), and I would consider myself to be fairly knowledgable about nutrition - both its importance and how to eat "properly." (Just for background: I ate a home-cooked dinner with my family basically every night growing up, and my mom is very concerned with healthy eating.) Even so, I find myself eating far fewer fruits and vegetables than I should because they can be expensive. And when I say "expensive," I'm referring to cheap apples, frozen broccoli, and the like.

To jenawithonen: "Expensive" is relative. $6 for 5 apples may not seem that expensive. However, consider that I can buy 6 pounds of dried beans for the same amount of money, and those beans will make many, many meals for me. Compared to the beans, the apples are expensive. For that $6, I could easily make food for five meals; if I needed to, I could possibly cook enough for a week.

I am lucky enough to have the time to cook, so my first priority doesn't need to be that my food is quick to prepare. I eat mostly beans, rice, potatoes, and lentil soup, in various combinations. Is that healthier (and cheaper) than most frozen processed foods and fast food restaurants? Yes. Is it healthy? No. "Not healthy" doesn't necessarily mean "reliant upon fast food and frozen dinners."

Even the cheapest fruits and vegetables aren't typically as cheap as dried beans, and they definitely aren't as filling. Sometimes, it's difficult to choose to buy fruits and vegetables when I can get by on grains and legumes for less, even though I know I'm not following a nutritiously complete diet.

You can tell me that I'm being stupid, neglectful of my health, self-pitying, or something else if you'd like. I just wanted to bring to the discussion a different viewpoint. I recognize that I am much luckier than many and that I am far more capable of eating more healthily than many are.

As far as I'm concerned (for my reasons and for other people's reasons that I may not share), eating "healthfully" with large amounts of fruits and vegetables can be very difficult, and I think it's narrow-minded (as well as a bit mean-spirited) to simply judge everyone as lazy, stupid, misguided, or having their priorities wrong if they don't eat healthfully. Just because you can eat healthfully, with plenty of fruits and vegetables (as well as meat and fish), on what you consider to be a budget doesn't mean that everyone else is in the exact same situation.

Tarlin has raised relevant questions about why some of us don't eat as well as we could, and I'm following her posts with interest. I think this description of her feelings about eating homemade soup is revealing: "Am I gloating? OK, maybe a little. But it was so warm and delicious and eating homemade just makes me feel cared for."

Hi, all!

Wow, I am overwhelmed by all of your comments. This is a great debate.

I can understand why people wouldn't have any sympathy for someone like me. After all, I do know better and I have the means.

However, I was hoping to find that I wasn't the only person with this struggle and to be representative of other folks who are struggling to eat right, regardless of what advantages (or disadvantages) they have. Though I didn't rule out the possibility that I would be the only one and people would say, "You're crazy! What is your problem?"

I do plan to discuss in future pieces how my family shaped my eating and how I came to have such terrible habits of late. Next week, in my piece about time, I'll talk about the sort of eating schedule I grew up on and how it disintegrated.

If I've inspired any sort of feeling in you about these issues, I'm glad, and I'm glad you are all discussing this so vehemently.

Thank you!
Ellen Tarlin

Vince, with all due respect, it's obvious that you have virtually no idea what it's like to be a single parent of several children in a small town. I no longer live in that area, but my community didn't have the time to be outraged. Unfortunately it was wrought with the usual plagues of small towns (drugs, corrupt politics, teen pregnancy, etc) and after dealing those issues, nobody had the time, resources, or energy to focus on something like rallying the market to stock better produce or somehow gathering a group to drive the better part of an hour in order to get more healthful options. Even as a health-conscious person, when I was working with troubled youth there, my concern was that three children under the age of 16 in one family were pregnant--not what their mother was feeding them.

It's a different world there and your suggestions are so foreign to that lifestyle that they would fall on deaf ears. What motivation do my former neighbors have to eat better when it won't change their immediate quality of life? They have no reason to be resourceful and travel for good food when they literally have bigger problems to worry about. What do you suggest? (I apologize if I'm digressing here)

Wow - this has been a really interesting topic/debate!

For those that mention low income ethnic neighborhoods and how your korean/polish/chinese/italian/russian great grandmother was able to feed a family of 10 w/o foodstamps and made everything from scratch, walked 10 miles to and from work, and STILL had a 5 course dinner every night(ok, I'm taking some liberties here! haha)....well that is certainly commendable and I applaud her/his resourcefulness. I think that is a great thing, but again, something that shouldn't be taken for granted.

What you should take into consideration is the fact that, in many of these neighborhoods, CULTURE, not food/healthy eating was the priority and food simply used as a means to preserve it... it preserved their families' traditions. It was a way for them to feel as though they had roots in a new country and a way to ensure that their culture was not forgotten by their kids. It created a since of community. Powerful stuff. However, in my small town, there were no "neighborhoods". There was just the (somewhat) rich side of town and the (really really) poor side of town. Cultures weren't really a consideration - getting by was. And the people didn't come from families with a rich since of tradition or pride about where they came from.

I think it's great that some people (myself included, at times, although, yes, Ellen, I too have fallen victim to a dinner of random snacks!) are able to shop wisely, cook healthfully and eat mindfully. I encourage you to keep it up and to help others do the same. However, do not for a MINUTE think that the reason you are able to do this is simply b/c you are dedicated/resourceful human being. You should recognize that you are incredibly lucky (most likely you live in a decent neighborhood, had access to good education, learned at least a FEW healthy habits from your family, know who/what to seek out when you have food/health related questions, etc...) compared to many individuals in this country.

I agree with Lindsaur : To believe that those in bad circumstances could get out of it if they just applied themselves/put a little effort into it, is completely misguided/condescending. Yes some responsibility falls on them, on us all, but not all responsibility- bad habits/way of life are ingrained and it will take a long time to improve it. The government will need to get involved to help educate our kids, ensure there is ample healthy fresh food provided in ALL neighborhoods - not just the ritzy ones, change cafeteria food options in public schools (sorry, Palin), etc. This will take time and a lot of effort on EVERYONE's part.
They shouldn't be looked down on b/c they are in a bad situation.

I think it's great that for the most part we are able eat healthfully and whatnot, but we should be careful not to get too self-righteous about it.

The social debate on here is very interesting, but I have little to add that hasn't already been said. Ditto to nuttmegs17, Lindsaur, morganong...

So a different random thought that this sparked for me:

You can be well educated and still be quite ignorant about nutrition. Regardless of what your health teacher has taught you about the food pyramid, a person who has grown up with poor nutritional examples at home can blindly continue to emulate those bad choices into adulthood. They're probably aware that their choices probably aren't great, but don't understand just how bad it is to eat lipton cheesy noodles or croissants on a daily basis (yes, these are real people I'm thinking of).

I'm not saying that someone who had a bad example growing up is excused from learning, but sometimes someone's whole worldview makes more sense if you sit down to a meal prepared by their mother.

Nuttmegs has hit the nail on the head regarding the problems of low income families eating well. Only government intervention will effect any real change; subsidizing fruit and veg, and meat produced with concern for the environment; providing children with a good example of healthy eating in the form of nutritious school lunches; and educating the next generation about healthy (and tasty) eating. The fact is, even if the poor had the means to purchase, and access to healthier food, they would probably still make poor food choices. Any change will require investment and real, long-term commitment on the part of the government - results will not happen overnight. If the UK example is anything to go on, people will yell about the nanny state, and how dare the government dictate what people should be eating. It's disingenuous, and the consequences are obesity and a rise in diseases related to poor nutrition. If someone like Ellen finds it difficult to eat well, what hope is there for those on a low income? She's very wise to question her eating habits and embark on her food journey - this is an important issue.

@rachiebob80: I live in Berkeley. I recommend 99 Ranch just off Central Ave. in El Cerrito for cheap meat and seafood as well as asian staples; the Oakland Farmers market on Fridays for very cheap vegies (difficult for those with normal work schedules - I am self-employed so can get there more easily); Milan Grocery on University for Indian staples including dals and rice in bulk and spices that can be bought in very small or very large amounts; as well as a number of Asian groceries out on International Avenue and East 12th for cheap Viet/Thai/Chinese ingredients. I find the clearance produce section at Berkeley Bowl very good if you can get there right when they open too.

Oh - and the Oakland farmers Market on Fridays "officially" opens at 8, but believe me, the little old Vietnamese grandmas are there at 7, so if you are an early bird and schedule allows you can show up early and score good stuff. There's also a Chinese lady who always sells fish heads, backs, parts on sidewalk for a song (not an official vendor), and that's great for making soup or curries.

I'm confused: If the "uneducated" and "poor" are the ones who need articles like this, what is the value of putting it on the Internet. When I was working four jobs and trying to make ends meet, indulgent Internet articles certainly weren't on my radar.

Also, y'all are aware that most farmer's markets accept food stamps, right? The "I don't know any better" argument is valid - many don't. But that's the problem - we need more education. On food, on health, on a lot of things. No one is going to learn because some people whined on the Internet about it. The time argument is invalid as it takes me three hours of prep work to cook for a whole week. My mother, the "blue box and microwave Queen" spends at least that much time waiting for the microwave to go bing, bing, bing!

There are SO many ways to spend little on food for fresh, raw, etc. based foods (yes, even in San Fran - I did it in NYC) and spend little time cooking. However, no one is out there educating the people who really NEED that information about it. And by NEED, I mean the poor women with 5 mouths to feed, just as many jobs and a lack of ends meeting - not the Tarlin-ite who chooses to make excuses about how things are "hard."