Why is health food more expensive than fast food?

I think it's pretty sickening that you have to pay a wholeeee bunch of money for soy products, but you can go to McDonalds and get a cheeseburger for $1.00.

Does anyone know why this is?

Because right now I'm pretty stumped.

Simple. Health food is higher quality food, fast food is lower quality food. Since higher quality products cost more to make than lower quality products, they cost more to the consumer. Thus, health food costs more than fast food.

Well, if you eat at restaurants, yes, you'll pay more for food that is actually food. But if you buy groceries at the store, you will spend less money shopping the perimeter of the store (and, by the way, less money on doctors and hospitals down the road) than you will in the canned food and the 'aisle of death' (this is the aisle that contains all of the macaroni and cheese, and pre-fab food. You'll be healthier, you'll feel better, and your food will actually taste good - not to mention it will actually be food.
Furthermore, because non-food food, like mcDs doesn't provide your body with what it really needs, you'll be hungrier, eat more (with less nutrition), and be less healthy.

because mcdonalds isnt real food

Its called the law of supply & demand.

The more demand there is for a product that is in short supply the higher the price of that product. The more supply there is of a product the lower the price.

So, if more farmers planted soy & other healthy crops & there was a distribution system in place to provide it to health food stores & rfestaurants & more people ate more healthy the prices of healthy food would fall.

Its part of economic theory & what the capitalist market system that is used in the USA is based on.

Smaller demand. Not as easy (as in prudent) to produce in mass quantities. And demographically speaking, health conscious people are better educated and better educated people typically earn more money. So, they can AFFORD to pay more money for their tofu burgers!

Because it is not massed produced or mixed/made with inexpensive chemicals. It also costs more to raise organic products than other products.

It's a fundamental of economics called 'economies of scale'. Look it up. In a nutshell, the more of something you make, the cheaper it is per unit to produce and you can sell it cheaper and still make a profit.

Because McDonalds buys the cheapest products and buys in bulk.

Health food is cheaper to make thus cheaper to sell, health food isn't and contains ingredients that cost, also if you add taxation to it as well, then it becomes a chore, thats why most businesses that specialize in health food have to sell it at a higher rate, maybe if the government gives health food special taxation rates then maybe we can eat a healthier lifestyle for cheap

Because crap is cheap.

because poor people are also stupid, and they like bad food and can only afford cheap food. Smart people are usually educated, and well-off. COmpanies can sell the healthy food at a high price and still know it will be bought. So why not?

I am actually a Food Service Director for a prominent Organic/Natural Food Store in the Southeast. Organics require extra TLC because of the lack of additives and chemicals. When potato bugs attack a crop, instead of spraying them the farmers hand pick them from the plants and relocate them to another area of the farm. This requires more field hands, thus increasing overhead. Other natural foods, such as free range chickens, are more expensive because of the care they receive. Conventionally, chickens are stacked in cages and when slaughtered, the most primitive methods are used. Natural chickens require extra room, fenced in yards to wander in, and more humane slaughter methods. This is what interests people most. Plus, their store bought chicken is injected with saline, water, and artificial fillers. This causes your cheap chicken to seem huge for the money. Actually, you're eating the residues of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and the chlorine they use to bathe the carcass. What this boils down to is that "healthy food" does not adhere to the quick service methods of conventional farming or ranching. Thus, a more natural product, again requiring more TLC, is better for you and does cost a little more...all things considered, it's quite a value.

unfortunately all healthy products cost more because most are organically grown and natural without all the chemicals and mass production of additives with damage your body over time

All natural products are cooking in vegetable and olive oils and stuff like that. This is much more expensive than...
Fast food restraunts in most states where it's legal, cook their foods in lards and trans fats. Much cheaper, less healthy.

Because the marketing thieves have you snookered. Preservatives and processing are not free. It adds cost to foods. Organic foods should in theory be cheaper. They are not. Organic foods cost more to handle because they spoil faster and the farms have lower yields to begin with due to insects. Still, local grown organics should be cheaper than mass produced false foods but again they are not. The sellers know customers are used to paying higher prices for real food and pad the pocket at your expense. Grow your own if you can and stifle the profiteers.

It isn't if you aren't too lazy to plan and prepare ahead of time. You have to put in your time cooking the food at home, which tastes much better. Those cheeseburgers are cheap "gut bombs" and I wouldn't feed one to my dog.

People feed them to their children and wonder why they have a four year-old that weighs 90 pounds and looks like a pot bellied pig.

I think the reason is that unfortunately, the demand is for fast foods. That what the suppliers provide for. There is less demand for health foods and therefore, the prices have to be higher. If tomorrow, all beef were banned, the industry would have to gear up to more healthy fare, and eventually, the prices would come down due to the high demand, and many suppliers trying to fill the demand of the consumers.

Healthy foods are usually highly perishable goods. This means they are more expensive to ship and store.

On the contrary, unhealty food are usually heavily processed which means they can be made from cheaper raw goods. They last longer so they can be made thousands at a time, making them cheaper.

Simple really, first off fast food chains buy MASSIVE quantities of food to make their bugers/fries/what have you. Basic economics says the higher the quantity you buy of something the lower the price it will be.

Also, there are so many additives within processed food that if you took a buger that you made at home, the meat you used could make 5x (Just a quick guesstimation) that in McDonald's hamburgers... They are also mixed with other things, for example chicken nuggets were not always 100% chicken..

Another thing that makes fast food cheaper is all those additives raise the shelf life of these foods, that way they don't waste as much money on having to throw out food that has gone bad.

The reason why healthy food is more expensive is because it isn't nearly as processed as much as fast food. And the reason why organic fruits/vegies are expensive is because they take more loss in their crops than non-organic farmers because they don't use pesticides or anything to keep bugs from eating their crops or to promote irregular growth.

Because people value their health...And are willing to pay for it...
And idiots just want their food to be cheap...

What's worse is soy food products aren't any healthier than Mikey-d's... The only time a soybean is healthier than any other processed food is if its raw or only lightly cooked.

There are a lot of food superstitions, such as fat being unhealthy. Eating all fat free foods is VERY unhealthy. Eating a vegan diet may be healthier than McDonalds food, but that really isn't saying much at all.

The best things for you are raw and unprocessed foods, if you eat a thick rare porterhouse steak and some steamed broccoli drenched in butter with a couple bannanas or oranges for dessert, you are eating much healthier than if you eat a boca burger and a diet soda... Because you'll be satisfied and your nutritional needs will be met. You will be less likely to pig out on Ben and Jerry's (your body NEEDS fat to function, and will try very hard to get it.) Plus, you'll be missing out on fun stuff like polypropeline glycol, aspartamine, and TVP... Not to mention the road to pseudo-burger is long and hard, your soy bean meat has been being prepared for WEEKS, and has lost most of the delicate nutrients to oxidization and decay...

Health food costs more to grow organically. The junk food is cheaper because it is what they call it...junk. The best things in life aren't free, but it's worth the price if you believe what they say "you are what you eat"

Sure, most people who want alternative foods from what is generally proffered to the masses, will unusually pay more to get it. Industries are out to make money and will price it to make the widest possible profit margin. Also,since most people eat the typical fast food and the companies buy that in bulk with quick turnover, it is cheaper for them. The other stuff doesn't move as fast and so smaller quantities are purchased by the merchant and that drives their cost up and that is passed on to the consumer.

because the food and drug administration makes money off of a sickly people so the hospitals and pharmaceutical industries are on board with the fda,..i understand there is a man currently incarcerated for telling people to eat apricot seeds (which the fda has no control over) to beat cancer, i believe there is a people in north pakistan that lived up to 160 years old, until they met up with people from the outside,..vitamin b-17,..i am looking for the garden of eden diet book,..the bible says we should eat our fruits and vegetables,..i am not a vegan or a vegetarian but i would try some of their recipes,..if we had a healthier people the pharmaceutical industry and hospitals would be out of business,..let us eat healthy,..

i e a e,..

avatar of the unification,..

most fast food and the meat industry in general graze their cattle in what used to be the rainforest because its way cheaper.the actual meat that you get at a typical fast food restaraunt is very bottom of the barrel,whereas most veggie products are high quality.

You can also get a salad for a dollar.

The good stuff always costs more. Because sellers are allowed to charge whatever. It`s called Free Enterprise!

Most expensive products available are *usually* the ones that have more advantages than the products that are cheap.

Say for example, a laptop is more expensive than a computer.
Why? It is handy and convenient. It has lots of features. It is modern technology.

A computer isn't handy and it's heavy and you can't even bring it back overseas with the keyboard and CPU, etc.

The same thing goes to differentiate the good and the bad. ;)

They sell junk food cheaper because when you sick (because of the food), they would be able to sell health food more expensive... Just kidding LOL

It is something to do with supply and demand ;)

As far as fast food, its a simple case of the market tolerating a higher price for good health, and the extreme competition in the fast food industry. For healthier fast food, you might pay a little more now, but consider it an investment in a longer, healthier life. You'll save a lot in the long run than the people who have to take cholesterol drugs, get heart surgery, etc.

In general, it is CHEAPER to cook from whole foods than it is to buy packaged or processed foods. If there is no inexpensive fast food in your part of the world, make your own. Learn to cook, buy in season fruits and vegetables and make large quantities, then freeze some for when you are too busy or tired to cook. Learning to cook isn't a fast answer, but take this for an example. Do you like hummus? Don't pay $3.49 for an 8 ounce plastic tub of it. Buy a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) for 80 cents, add a few cloves of garlic, some lemon juice and olive oil, some spices, and you have a pound of it for a little over a buck, and it doesn't have unnecessary preservatives. No cooking required, just pulverize it in a food processor for about 10 seconds, put it in little reusable plastic containers in the fridge, and you have about 8 servings of high quality protein for less than 25 cents each. Like a good vegetable soup? Go to a farmers market, buy whats cheap, local and in season, and you can make over a gallon of soup for about $10. Add some beans or barley, and you will have at least 10 servings for about a buck a piece. You can make a huge batch of potato soup for about three dollars right now. I used to have a budget of $10 a week for food (in the 1980's). I learned how to make homemade pasta (eggs, flour, salt) and soup and grew veggies and herbs, and lived very well. Now, there are two of us, we eat 3 meals a day, gourmet cooking, and our food bill runs about $50 a week including organic milk, eggs, veggies and meat. That is about $2.50 a meal per person. A couple times a year we have big purchases like the 22 amish chickens I bought for the freezer last week (164 pounds at $1.25 a pound). Thanksgiving rarely costs me more for 16 people than it does for the two of us for the week because of all the deals in the grocery store.

Just learn to cook, and enjoy life. Leave the cheap rainforest destroying hamburgers to someone else.

Same in the food stores. I've been eating healthy at Wendy's it costs $2 or $3 dollars more. I think it's because the healthier food costs more to grow and process, much more labor intensive to fix (salads).
It's truly a sham.

because the people that cant afford to buy healthy food will eat it and develop health problems and die at a younger age . this world is crazy.