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Maybe too much money is spent on unhealthy food and subsidising Coca Cola. > on a typical day less than 1 percent of households now face “very low food securit

Maybe too much money is spent on unhealthy food and subsidising Coca Cola. > on a typical day less than 1 percent of households now face “very low food security.” That low figure contrasts with the 17 percent of U.S. households that currently receive food stamps. > The study found that SNAP shoppers bought slightly more junk food than non‐ SNAP shoppers. Quotes from https://www.cato.org/blog/snap-15-billion-junk-food https://www.cato.org/blog/snap-15-billion-junk-food SNAP is Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Another pertinent quote. From NIH in case you don't like Cato. > It is no longer controversial to say that the United States food system does not support a healthy diet https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6168179/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6168179/

UncleEntity 4y ago
Back in the cab driving days I used to see what people were buying with their food stamps when I helped them unload the trunk and all I have to say is it wasn’t healthy foods. Also heard a bunch of different ways to turn them into cash.
iudqnolq 4y ago
First off, this isn't that important. Our first priority should be stopping people starving to death. Healthy eating is an optimization on top of that. Second, this is complicated by the fact that "healthy" vs "unhealthy" food vibes are often factually incorrect. People assume cheaper and less labor intensive food is unhealthier, when in reality sugar is sugar. For example, this study points out SNAP recipients bought more "prepared deserts". That makes complete sense - they're far less likely to bake themselves or eat out, but there's little evidence that premade the sugary baked goods they ate less healthy than home baked ones. Third, this study is talking about tiny effect sizes. A 2.15% increase in sugary beverage purchase, really? Finally, on a moral level I believe everyone has the right to make poor decisions. Just because someone receives government benefits doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to trade off momentary enjoyment for long-term health issues, especially if society has ruined their long term anyway.
- unmole 4y ago
  > Our first priority should be stopping people starving to death. People are starving to death in America?
  - NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
    No; they’re not.
    - iudqnolq 4y ago
      Mothers receiving TANF benefits live about half a year less on average than mothers receiving the better form of assistance Clinton replaced with TANF. [1] That's 500,000 person-years lost every year for a minor budget cut. https://journalistsresource.org/economics/welfare-reform-impact-mortality-analysis/ https://journalistsresource.org/economics/welfare-reform-imp...

UncleEntity 4y ago

Back in the cab driving days I used to see what people were buying with their food stamps when I helped them unload the trunk and all I have to say is it wasn’t healthy foods. Also heard a bunch of different ways to turn them into cash.

iudqnolq 4y ago

First off, this isn't that important. Our first priority should be stopping people starving to death. Healthy eating is an optimization on top of that. Second, this is complicated by the fact that "healthy" vs "unhealthy" food vibes are often factually incorrect. People assume cheaper and less labor intensive food is unhealthier, when in reality sugar is sugar. For example, this study points out SNAP recipients bought more "prepared deserts". That makes complete sense - they're far less likely to bake themselves or eat out, but there's little evidence that premade the sugary baked goods they ate less healthy than home baked ones. Third, this study is talking about tiny effect sizes. A 2.15% increase in sugary beverage purchase, really? Finally, on a moral level I believe everyone has the right to make poor decisions. Just because someone receives government benefits doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to trade off momentary enjoyment for long-term health issues, especially if society has ruined their long term anyway.

unmole 4y ago
> Our first priority should be stopping people starving to death. People are starving to death in America?
- NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
  No; they’re not.
  - iudqnolq 4y ago
    Mothers receiving TANF benefits live about half a year less on average than mothers receiving the better form of assistance Clinton replaced with TANF. [1] That's 500,000 person-years lost every year for a minor budget cut. https://journalistsresource.org/economics/welfare-reform-impact-mortality-analysis/ https://journalistsresource.org/economics/welfare-reform-imp...