The cheapest food in the world is in the USA

In 2010, Americans spent just over 9 percent of their income on food (5.5 percent on home-cooked food and 3.9 percent on other food). That's the lowest percentage in decades; in the early 1960s, that figure was just over 17 percent, and in 1930, it was 24 percent.

It would seem that having cheaper food makes Americans look more decent than other countries, but in reality, if Americans can save a few dollars on their food, they have to give these saved money to their health and the ecology of the planet.

There is no place on the planet where food is cheaper than in the United States.

As reported on the TreeHugger website, Professor Mark Perry stated on his blog:

“…compared to other countries, there is no place on the planet where food is cheaper than in the United States. Americans spend 5.5 percent of their income on home-cooked meals, less than half what the Germans (11.4 percent), the French (13.6 percent), the Italians (14.4 percent), and less than one-third what South Africa (20.1 percent), Mexico (24.1 percent), and Turkey (24.5 percent) spend. Americans spent far less during the Great Depression than consumers in Kenya (45.9 percent) and Pakistan (45.6 percent) spend.”

Unfortunately, the “faster, bigger, cheaper” approach to food production that the U.S. has embraced is unsustainable and is contributing to the destruction of our planet and your health. Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and many other bestsellers, said it best:

“Cheap food is an illusion. There is no such thing as cheap food. The real cost of food is paid for somewhere else. And if it is not paid for at the cash register, it is reflected in the environment or in the public purse in the form of subsidies. And it is reflected in your health.”

In other words, pay now or pay later. American food may be cheap, but that's the only "compliment" it deserves, because when you rely on cheap food, you usually get what you pay for.

Why are there so many fat and sick Americans?

In many cases, it’s due to dietary factors. Millions of Americans live in “food deserts” where fresh produce is hard to come by and processed and fast food are all that’s available. If your diet consists of $1 burgers and large drinks, you’re on your way to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, to name just a few of the negative consequences that can happen to those who eat the typical American diet.

If you were to receive an annual federal subsidy, you would receive only $7.36 to buy junk food and only 11 cents for fresh fruit. In other words, this money would go to pay for various food additives, fast food, and only a small part of it would go to fresh fruit.

Heart disease is a direct reflection of diet. Heart disease costs Americans $189.4 billion annually. However, projections show that by 2030, this cost will triple to $818 billion. TreeHugger reports:

“If Americans continue to pack on the pounds, the cost of fighting obesity will be an estimated $344 billion by 2018, equivalent to today’s health care costs plus 21 percent, according to USA Today, and that doesn’t even include the unresolved health issues associated with genetically modified food production.”

What is the income from food containing genetically modified products?

The question is almost philosophical. In the United States, almost all processed foods contain genetically modified (GM) components, especially Bt corn and Roundup Ready soybeans. These and other transgenic crops are now planted on nearly 4 billion acres in 29 countries, and their producers (primarily Monsanto, Dupont, Syngenta) continue to praise them for their boundless value. These companies own the intellectual property rights to 70 percent of the grain sold worldwide. They extol the virtues of GM crops, supposedly they will solve the problems of world hunger and the food crisis.

But in fact, a joint report by Indian NGOs Navdanya and Navdanya International, the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture (ICFFA), the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) and others says that GM crops are surrounded by false promises and have degraded crops to such an extent that they are now damaging the entire agriculture sector with superweeds, super pests, etc.

Scientists have found many health risks associated with genetically modified foods, including problems with hormone reproduction and damage to the pituitary gland, but these studies have been repeatedly ignored by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). GMOs have generally been regarded as equivalent to conventional crops. However, this is not true at all, because GMOs contain foreign genes that have never been present in these crops before and are contaminated with GMO-specific toxic herbicide residues.

Almost every cheap bun has a filling with CAFOs

We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that domestic animals are fed and raised in confined animal feed operations (CAFOs) as a trade-off for the cheapest American food. A typical CAFO can house tens of thousands of animals (100,000 if chickens) under one roof in horrific, unsanitary, disease-producing conditions.

Animals raised in CAFOs are often kept in overcrowded cages, with feces-covered bedding and often no air circulation. For those who don't know, approximately 80 percent of all antibiotics used in agriculture are used not only to combat disease, but also to make animals gain weight quickly. Unfortunately, this practice contributes to the spread of antibiotic-resistant diseases, which kill tens of thousands of Americans.

CAFOs were developed as a quick way to get food for the masses. Large farms feed large quantities of corn, soybeans, grain, and other crops that they can buy for less than their true cost due to government subsidies. Because of these subsidies, American farmers grow vast quantities of soybeans, corn, wheat, etc. As described in “CAFOs: The Tragedy of Animal Farming.”

“Thanks to U.S. government subsidies that were in place from 1997 to 2005, large farms saved approximately $3.9 billion annually by allowing them to purchase corn and soybeans at low prices. Without these discounts, it is unlikely that many large livestock operations would have been able to survive and be profitable.

But there are many small farms that grow most of their own feed and receive no government money. Yet they hope to somehow meet the requirements that subsidize the mega-big farms. As a result of this unfair competition, CAFOs are "squeezing out" their much smaller counterparts."

Currently, “70 percent of all arable land and 30 percent of the planet’s ice-free land are used to grow forage for livestock. If current growth trends continue, scientists predict that meat production will double between the beginning of the 21st century and 2050.” Are you happy with that?

Food is a direct reflection of your health

If you want to be healthy, you simply must go back to the basics of food choices. And as more and more people become aware of the simple requirements of healthy food, there is no other way if you want your family to be healthy and to do this you must spend some time in the kitchen, preparing your meals using fresh ingredients.

Giving up processed food requires a change in thinking, which is not always an easy task. It must be done, however.

Instead of looking at processed foods as something that's convenient and practical, tastes good, or saves you money, try thinking of them as:

• extra calories that will harm your body;
• a toxic mixture of foreign chemicals and artificial fragrances that will make you sick;
• a waste of your money.

Your goal should be to eat 90 percent unprocessed, whole foods. Not only will you enjoy maintaining your health, especially if you buy mostly organic food, but you’ll also get even more satisfaction from knowing exactly what you’re putting into your body. It may cost you a little more, but on the other hand, it’s the only way to go.

You can be much healthier by eating more natural foods than you can find in your supermarket. Restaurants can cover their costs by getting their produce directly from suppliers. You can also establish direct relationships with small local farmers on a stand-alone basis or join a food co-op in your area to find real food grown by real farmers who are committed to serving the community.

Simple principles to eat well without spending a lot of money

There are many strategies available to ensure that your food budget can feed your family healthy foods. Instead of wasting money on expensive cereal boxes and bags of chips, spend your money on foods that will serve your health well, such as raw dairy, organic eggs, fresh vegetables, and fermented foods you make at home (fermented foods are incredibly economical).

The following principles will also help you eat well on a budget:

Get someone to cook your meals. Someone has to spend time in the kitchen or you will succumb to unhealthy fast food and processed foods. Therefore, it is necessary for you or your spouse, another family member, or someone else you pay to cook your family's meals from locally grown, healthy ingredients.

Become resourceful: Your grandmother may have some tips on how to use up and stretch every morsel of food, as these are the secrets that older generations who survived the war and post-war years have more of. Aim to get back to the basics of using bone marrow to make a pot of soup, learn how to make stews from inexpensive meats, using up all the scraps, and so on.

Plan your meals: You simply must plan ahead, decide in advance what you will eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is important because you must be prepared for all meals in advance. The best way to do this is to scout out seasonal products at local farms and plan what and where you will buy. Of course, you can do the same in the supermarket or, even better, use vegetables from your own garden.

In general, you can make a menu once for the whole week and make sure that you have all the necessary products for preparing the dishes and then quickly cook them from the products that you have on hand.

These simple rules will help you become healthier and save you money, especially if you take food from home to work.

Avoid Food Waste: According to a study conducted and published in the journal PloS One, Americans waste approximately 1,400 calories per person every day. The two methods mentioned above will help you use food waste in your home.

Buy organic animal products. The most important organic products to buy are animal products (meat, eggs, butter, etc.) because animal products tend to accumulate pesticides in large quantities. If you cannot afford to buy all the organic food you need, you should choose and buy organic animal products first.