Is Junk Food Cheaper

There was a great piece in the New York Times this week asking the question, "Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?"  The author, Mark Bittman, is a strong advocate of common sense nutrition.  If you read through his books, you'll see that he doesn't advocate extremely strict diets and generally takes an enormous amount of pleasure in food.  So of course, I'm a fan.

In his current piece, he argues that a family of 4 could reasonably spend $28 at McDonalds for a single meal while a much healthier meal of chicken, veggies and salad would put the family back a mere $14.  He quotes Marion Nestle (another person I admire):

“Anything that you do that’s not fast food is terrific; cooking once a week is far better than not cooking at all,” says Marion Nestle, professor of food studies at New York University and author of “What to Eat.”

In a statement that smells of "tough love", he tells us:
The real challenge is not “I’m too busy to cook.” In 2010 the average American, regardless of weekly earnings, watched no less than an hour and a half of television per day. The time is there.

It's clear that we need to spend more time in the kitchen.  That means all of us...men, women and children.  We all have busy lives.  If you have kids, then your life is even busier.  But the only way to combat epidemic levels of chronic disease in the U.S. is one bite at a time.  You always knew that eating healthy was important.  But isn't it nice to read that junk food is just as damaging to your wallet as it is to your waistline.