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I know this is far less politically correct than discussing subsidies and prices, but can it be that poorer communities just assign less value to eating well a

by yan 17y ago

I know this is far less politically correct than discussing subsidies and prices, but can it be that poorer communities just assign less value to eating well and staying healthy and are not necessarily looking to maximize nutrition per dollar?

zach 17y ago
Could be. Looking at it economically, let's say I have a farm that produces equal amounts of two food items. They're fairly indistinguishable, but one is healthier, say because it has lots more omega-3 oils. Which one would I charge a premium for? Which one would I make most of my money on? Which one would end up with the fancier packaging? Remember, that's presuming it's no more expensive to produce the healthy stuff. And who would pay that premium? Who would eat the less-healthy stuff? Taking those two kinds of consumers as the model, I think that's why anywhere a business can apply price discrimination to a healthier food, it totally will.
- yan 17y ago
  I don't know which one you'd pay a premium for. You'd see which one you're selling more of and charge a premium for that. The reality is, foods aren't indistinguishable. They have different tastes, different marketing, different cultural value, etc. How "good" something is is not, and never was, a prime indicator of success in the marketplace or value to the consumer. If Pepsi wants to spend billions on advertising, people will buy Pepsi. I'd also venture a guess in saying that you don't just get a tally of every food component available within some distance of your house, their nutritional content and their price, and then you just optimize on nutrition regardless of what your favorite childhood dish was, or what you're in the mood for or what your friends are having. All I'm saying is it isn't that simple as turning into a simplified problem of supply and demand. Go to a fried foods place at a poor neighborhood and watch how people order; I sincerely doubt they'd always end up getting the cheapest thing just that's what they can afford. Certain lifestyle choices lead you to a certain lifestyle (or perpetuate it) and completely forgetting those choices for problems like obesity is being disingenuous with yourself.
  - zach 17y ago
    It's not as simple as you say either, so I don't know what I'm supposed to say here. But thanks for the conversation.

by yan 17y ago

zach 17y ago

Could be. Looking at it economically, let's say I have a farm that produces equal amounts of two food items. They're fairly indistinguishable, but one is healthier, say because it has lots more omega-3 oils. Which one would I charge a premium for? Which one would I make most of my money on? Which one would end up with the fancier packaging? Remember, that's presuming it's no more expensive to produce the healthy stuff. And who would pay that premium? Who would eat the less-healthy stuff? Taking those two kinds of consumers as the model, I think that's why anywhere a business can apply price discrimination to a healthier food, it totally will.

yan 17y ago
I don't know which one you'd pay a premium for. You'd see which one you're selling more of and charge a premium for that. The reality is, foods aren't indistinguishable. They have different tastes, different marketing, different cultural value, etc. How "good" something is is not, and never was, a prime indicator of success in the marketplace or value to the consumer. If Pepsi wants to spend billions on advertising, people will buy Pepsi. I'd also venture a guess in saying that you don't just get a tally of every food component available within some distance of your house, their nutritional content and their price, and then you just optimize on nutrition regardless of what your favorite childhood dish was, or what you're in the mood for or what your friends are having. All I'm saying is it isn't that simple as turning into a simplified problem of supply and demand. Go to a fried foods place at a poor neighborhood and watch how people order; I sincerely doubt they'd always end up getting the cheapest thing just that's what they can afford. Certain lifestyle choices lead you to a certain lifestyle (or perpetuate it) and completely forgetting those choices for problems like obesity is being disingenuous with yourself.
- zach 17y ago
  It's not as simple as you say either, so I don't know what I'm supposed to say here. But thanks for the conversation.