May 14, 2004
A useful mantra
So Rob's latest post set me to thinking. Some things never change. One of these is that not everyone can afford to eat well. Now prior to the twentieth century, this meant that not everyone could afford to eat. They were unhealthy because they were starving. Today, almost all Americans get enough to eat. But it seems that most of them can't or don't eat well. People have noticed that the Atkins diet - which in it's sane form is basically a healthy diet consisting of whole grains and lean meats with lots of vegetables - is rather expensive. Not everyone can afford to go on such a diet. I say again: not everyone can afford to eat well.
With industrial farming and food processing, this means that the poor get fat instead of starving. This is arguably a step up from actual malnutrition, because you can live for a long time with chronic weight issues, but chronic starvation leads to acute death pretty quickly. But the fact remains: only the affluent can afford to feed themselves properly.
This may bother some people. If it bothers you, I recommend repeating this mantra until you feel better: "There is not enough to go around." If this bothers you, fine. Maybe it should. I don't know. But it's true, no matter how you slice it.
