1) The paradox of choice: Farm Aid explains, clearly and with great detail, how our country’s “food” is the industrial products of a handful of corporations, even though it seems that we are choosing from a multitude of options.
Thanks to a series of farm policies, farmers have been encouraged to produce loads of corn and soy while the prices they receive have often dropped far below the cost of production. While this is bad for farmers, it’s turned out to be a pretty cool deal for the factory farms, and soft drink and snack makers who use all this cheap, excess product as inputs for mass-produced meat and processed food. As a result, the relative cheapness of these foods help manufacturers set retail prices below those of otherwise-competitive, healthier alternatives, further constraining our access to better options.
(via The Irresistible Fleet of Bicycles)
2) Given the forces that make fake food so much cheaper than real food, how a could a person afford to eat well? One option could be to reduce the number of cars in one’s household — according to this calculation, switching from car to bike probably saves between $2500 to $8000 per year.
I can say that in my case (I haven’t owned a car for almost a year now), I think my savings has been in the $5000/year range. And my mood is generally better, and my sense of scale is much more human. All of which I enjoy.