Americans spend less than 10% of their income on food and are always looking for bargains. In fact, we are the only nation who spends so little upfront on food. Huge costs go into the way our food is produced, but these costs are hidden in the dollar amount charged at the supermarkets. However, we end up paying for the cost of our food in taxes. There are also costs to the environment (pollution, loss of wildlife habitat, wastage, fuel) and public health (cancer, obesity, allergies, diseases, food poisoning).
This is a short animation that does a great job on showing the true cost of our food. It’s worth a viewing and sharing with your friends and families. Kids will even enjoy it.
The True Cost of Food from Sierra Club National on Vimeo.
Club Dine In! 
Yes that is true-how do we end up paying for cost of food in our taxes?
as an individual without my familyI spend about $60 minimum per week on feeding myself. I eat a lot of Chipotle and Whole Foods salad bar since it sits well in my stomach. .but if I were to feed my family and myself the cost would double.some families have a larger appetite than others and some families are big.
Farmers are given subsidies- extra money for their crops. Unfortunately, subsidies are mostly given to the large farms and they are given regardless of economic need. In 2012, the USDA spent $22 billion on subsidy programs. Corn, wheat, and soy are the top subsidized crops. Therefore, nearly every product has these ingredients in them and that is one of the major reasons why these products are cheap. Even laundry detergent and make-up have wheat in them, because of overproduction. The subsidies create artificially low prices for subsidized food. For example, tortilla chips made from subsidized corn will be much cheaper than tortilla chips made from non-subsidized corn. Taxpayers pay for these subsidies and the damage and cleanup caused from these subsidies.
$60 a week is way below the average a person spends per week on their food. Americans are the only people who pay so little for their food. Food is a necessity for nourishing our bodies and it’s worth shelling out a few extra bucks for good quality food. Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to paying for so little food (because of these subsidies), but the cheap food is bad for our health, ecosystem, and economy. Americans also spend a lot of time and money eating out. Cooking saves a lot of money, is healthier, and more sustainable.
Try cooking and see how much money and time you will save. Cooking isn’t hard, you just need to start. 🙂