Wasted food, wasted money: Why some poor families can’t afford to eat healthy

According to Harvard Public Health Graduate 's data, healthy meals cost money - an increase of $ 1.50 per day compared to unhealthy meals - but may lower the income households healthier There is no other hidden costs.

Recent studies published at Harvard University doctoral student doctoral course student Caitlin Daniel in the Journal of Social Science and Medicine show that low-income households are unlikely to give children new health foods to reduce waste is showing.

"Waste" comes from the fact that children are initially dissatisfied with new food. According to data cited in this study, children may refuse 8 to 15 familiar foods before receiving food.

Low-income households choose fast food and other foods to increase the reliability of the actual diet of the child, not to keep buying fresh vegetables that the child keeps wasting. As the Atlantic Ocean pointed out, wealthy children tend to eat healthier, which may be the reason

Daniel said the cost of wasteful use of health foods could expand and change the entire food purchase model for low-income households.

Basically, wealthy parents can continue to challenge - and then continue to waste healthy food, while low-income families will appeal knowing what their children actually are eating There is a tendency

Daniel interviewed 73 parents in the Boston area for food shopping habits from various economic backgrounds and continued shopping for about two hours each time. (Daniel admits that her presence affects their shopping decisions, but she knows that even though they know what she is seeing, three participants join the shop notice.)

Daniel wrote that low income Caucasian mothers, Daniel, Kollee immediately expressed concern about food waste.

According to the paper, "I got a food stamp on the 5th and tried to preserve it for a month, but young children are wasting a lot of food, so it's really difficult." "It is really difficult to make him eat vegetables and such things, I just get what he likes, it is not always the best."

Sometimes low-income parents will waste after a child learns to eat snacks at school. For Daniel, this suggests that schools, daycare and other organizations may promote the healthy eating habits of young children.

The data is qualitative but shows that parents with different economic backgrounds have different views on food waste and child's feeding. Low-income parents wanted to offer "authentic" food to Daniel, but said they insisted on reliable foods such as frozen burritos and hot pockets. "High income families will not feel sick about healthy snacks when they are not wasting such a thing.

Who can bear this waste? It is not a parent with limited food budget. A recently published study on low-income and high-income parents' diet and shopping habits shows that the high cost of introducing food to children is high enough to prevent some parents from trying It is. This cost reduction decision may explain the difference between American wealth and poverty. Surprisingly, the discussion on the price of healthy meals did not show the basic idea of ​​how humans like new foods. This is a topic opposed by economists, public health researchers and journalists. On the other hand, some say that buying fast food on a calorie basis is more affordable than cooking with fresh ingredients. On the other hand, Americans are eating too much calories anyway, so people insisting on thinking about calories are meaningless.

Like the rest of the world Brazil is wasting about 30% of its food. In rich countries, food waste usually occurs at home - consumers buy more food than they eat. In poor countries food waste is related to production, harvesting, processing, storage and distribution. In Brazil, food is wasted at both ends of the chain. Small-scale farmers, large-scale food companies, retailers, and government agencies cooperate to reduce food waste from production to distribution. However, a new way of thinking is needed to reduce consumer food waste, and the school plays an important role in helping new generations pay more attention to it.

Reduce food waste. It is estimated that Americans are wasting approximately 100 billion pounds of food each year. Reducing the waste at home does not directly help hungry people feed at elsewhere, but Americans can pay more attention to their eating habits. Donate money with savings, not excessive purchase