[dcbell]

"Basic, quality food" isn't the issue. Right now we have an abundance of junk made from subsidized crops. High fructose corn syrup only came into vogue because there was a surplus of corn lying around because of corn subsidies.

Food represents such a small part of the average American's budget (about 12%) that the real restraints on healthy eating are convenience (Chicken sandwich---five minutes of ordering and waiting in line on the way somewhere. Grilled chicken---25 minutes at home) and education (looking up how to make grilled chicken---10 minutes). If anyone actually looks at what they're eating, they can almost certainly increase quality AND decrease cost.

[alextp]

Indeed. A lot of the junk food culture comes from agricultural subsidies, not just the obvious corn syrup. I recall (but can't find the link) a study showing that a really high proportion of supermarket products had traces of corn (even meat).

When you cross the border you see these effects more clearly. Here in brazil, for example, for most of my childhood McDonalds was an expensive-ish place people went out to eat in, and even today junk american-style chocolate bars cost way more than standard not-so-junky chocolate. With an exception for soda (which can be cheaper than bottled water in some places) junk food is not at all attractive if you don't actually have a lot of money (the standard no-money food around here is beans and rice, with maybe cheaper cuts of meat thrown in the beans or served with the food; junk food costs a lot more than twice that).

[johnwatson11218]

yes, I have heard that one of the reasons why there are 99 cent cheeseburgers in all of the major fast food chains here in the US is because of the subsidies. Essentially all the ingredients that go into those burgers are subsidized. When you think about an actual market economy it would seem that some kind of rice and beans with mixed vegetables would be what would cost 99 cents.