>Similarly, we could replace food stamps/welfare/etc with a government-issued basket of healthy vegetables, complete with printed instructions on how to cook th

>Similarly, we could replace food stamps/welfare/etc with a government-issued basket of healthy vegetables, complete with printed instructions on how to cook them. While many people don't have good cooking instruments where they live, I do think making at least part of food aid into a direct provision of healthy fruits and veggies, including those which can be eaten raw-at-worst, would be a large improvement. Honestly, at this stage, government-run cafeterias serving healthy food for free to anyone in need would be a massive improvement. It's a pity that people have such negative feelings about "paternalism" that they'd rather give out food stamps for buying rice and beans at inflated convenience-store prices than actually let the government provide healthy food directly.