[mjevans]

The last time I bought 'healthy' food, I couldn't use it before it's shelf life expired. Smaller portions are prohibitively expensive (it costs less for me to get something that looks better, tastes better, and has more variety going out to eat).

It also isn't cost effective for me to make the time to make my own food, even ignoring the cost of the ingredients; aside from simple things that use mostly non-perishable ingredients.

However, even going out to eat, the incentive to buy in bulk /there/ exists too. Purchase of a single meal that should fill someone up for a day has a substantial discount over getting what should be a properly sized portion for a small regular meal.

For all sides, the market incentives push towards over-consumption which is why we have the outcome we do.

I recall hearing that the cost of labor was actually one of the primary factors in meal price.

[cik2e]

This is a load of horse shit, and I am holding back from being too harsh.

Eating out is in no way cheaper than making your own meals. The only way I can even imagine someone claiming otherwise is if you haven't yet built up a pantry and have to buy things like vinegars, dressings, sauces, flour, etc., every time.

Here are some numbers. I cook an average of 4x a week, making 4 portions of each meal. My grocery bill is never more than $70 and that's if I have to restock on some pantry items or am splurging on something like shellfish. So on the high end, that's $4.38 per portion that always includes meat or fish and a vegetable. That's comparable to eating on the value menu at McDonald's but certainly cheaper than the full combo meals which can run upwards of $10.

I'll admit that I shop at Trader Joe's which has some of the best prices out there. But the point is, it's not too difficult to make your own meals that cost about the same as shitty junk food. And at least for me, it's faster than any sit down place or even take out that you still have to go somewhere to get.

[jlarocco]

Are those not all personal choices? You're choosing cheap, easy, and convenient over healthy.

IME eating healthy isn't particularly expensive or difficult, but it does require more planning and consideration than just eating what's convenient.

[tomjen3]

There is nothing wrong with buying in bulk, and cooking in bulk is a good way to save money and time: just put the rest in the freezer.

[mjevans]

There is an area where I definitely differ.

I don't have the knowledge, skills, or training in pallet to accept self-prepared frozen meals. Those just sound inherently disgusting to me. I don't expect to find crispy anywhere within that and thinking of trying to save things in the freezer makes me think of freezerburn.