Every person in the world has to make daily decisions about what they eat. These decisions are based on various factors, including food’s availability, convenience, and taste – and, evidently, its cost. According to Salads Square (2021), it was estimated that, for one person, eating healthily costs approximately $1.5 a day more than eating unhealthily. Savoie-Roskos et al. (n.d.) note that, as a result, people choose less nutritious foods in an attempt to save money. In order to persuade the audience that a solution to this problem is the change of prices to make healthy food more affordable, a problem-cause-solution approach will be used. As per this approach, first, a problem is established; then, the causes of this problem are discussed; after that, a solution is offered.
The problem has been stated, and now it is time to turn to its causes. According to Elementum (2018), to understand the costs of healthy foods, one is to pay attention to the food supply chain. First of all, processed and packaged foods are more efficient in production. Secondly, the transportation of fresh produce is quite expensive since it requires continual refrigeration to prevent spoilage. Thirdly, many organic foods are to be separated from conventional ones in storage, which applies to all supply chain links. Finally, since demand for fresh and organic foods is generally lower, companies cannot do bulk deliveries to reduce logistics costs. When combined together, all of this increases the costs of final products.
When it comes to the solution to this problem, one of the policies that can be implemented is that of competitive pricing. According to County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (2021), competitive pricing is the assignation of higher costs for foods and beverages deemed non-nutritious. This policy includes price discounts, incentives for healthy products, and price increases and disincentives for unhealthy ones. Preliminary data on such interventions indicates that a 1% reduction in prices is connected to more than a 1% increase in required quantities of healthy foods (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 2021). To enhance this effect, Pennington Biomedical Research Center (n.d.) suggests providing incentives to store owners, schools, and sport complexes so that they promote healthier snack and beverages options. Since there is no way to affect the cost of organic foods via the food supply chain, it is the government’s mission to ensure that its people are healthy by implementing such policies.
References
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. (2021).Competitive pricing for healthy foods.
Elementum. (2018).Why does eating healthier cost more? Medium.
Pennington Biomedical Research Center. (n.d.). Junk food relative pricing [PDF file]. Web.
Salads Square (2021). Why is healthy food so expensive compared to junk food?
Savoie-Roskos, M. R., Jorgensen, M. A., & Durward, C. (n.d.). Does healthy eating cost more? Utah State University.