As I type this, I am sitting in a local burger franchise; having recently consumed what can only be described as a tender, juicy bag of trans fatty goodness.

Having eaten this bag o’fat, I began to think about the cost associated with healthy eating, and further, how that cost is directly associated to the obesity epidemic in ‘Merica.

I paid just under $6 for my entire meal; double cheeseburger, fries and drink. What could I eat for $6 that’s “healthy”? Yes, I could have gotten the chicken wrap, which has far fewer calories and trans fats. Yes, I could have gone down the road and had a salad for close to the same amount. But in reality, we are a nation and a people of convenience, first and foremost. We do not like to wait. We have been trained by the almighty microwave that things can be done faster than our parents had. So we venture out to the Red Roof Restaurant and eat until we cannot walk straight. But the meal was in our hands relatively quickly, and it was relatively inexpensive.

We obviously do not consider the consequences of our choices with regard to food. And we DO LOVE FOOD in this country. Comfort food to be more precise. Biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, fired anything really…..

The very chemical processes in our brains have begun to change; science has shown us this much. The damage that we continue to do to our bodies, for the sake of saving a dollar, and rather than preparing home-cooked meals is staggering. At the same time, it’s usually cheaper to eat at a fast food joint rather go to the grocery store and then prepare a meal at home. I’m not certain what the cost issue is here, but it would seem that “fake” food would cost more than something that comes out of the ground or off of a tree naturally. Hmmmmm

I’m certainly not smart enough to know what the imminent answer is, but there’s got to be a better way to take care of ourselves. I suppose it’s parallel to the car industry. An automobile that costs $5000 to make sells for $35,000. Why? Because WE continue to pay that price. If we were to stop paying that price, the price would come down. Supply and demand people. Same thing with groceries. Not that we can simply stop buying from the local food store, but maybe if we began to grow our own gardens like our grandparents did, then the overall cost of things would come down.

Oh wait; that would require work. Never mind…..