joe shaw

Interesting article in the New York Times today. Junk food costs only $1.76 per 1000 kcal, whereas healthy food costs $18.16. This is in part because junk food is much heavier in sugars and other carbohydrates. But as Michael Pollen wrote about in April, a large part of it is because of the massive subsidies for a specific few crops in the American farm bill. The end result? A package of carrots, an unprocessed food and rather straightforward crop, costs significantly more than a package of Twinkies, a massively produced mixture of food (mostly corn)-dervied chemicals.