Healthy food should be subsidised by government

[ByJadeExpert]

just incase I say anything wrong, I have learning disabilities
I think it should be subsidised by the government so it can be cheaper and affordable for everyone.

I mean things like fresh fish, fresh berries, lean steak, salad leaves all full of nutrients that are beneficial for everyone and prevents inflammation and stress but too expensive for people to eat daily

Food access? It was £1 on the bus out of peak hours for a 1 hr journey. It IS actually that straightforward. Yes, I agree, people may have issues which prevent them from doing that but if that is the case, subsidising food is not the answer. Supporting those people is. And people do not always struggle with weight due to food access. It’s often food choices. Again, supporting those people to make better choices is the answer. And yes, I’ve volunteered and donated to food and cooking programmes in deprived areas. It makes a massive difference in a way that making certain foods cheaper just wouldn’t.

I assume you’re not a tax payer? Every penny the government has is a penny taken from taxpayers. And before anyone says “make corporations and billionaires pay more tax”, remember corporations don’t pay tax, they increase prices. And billionaires find loopholes or move their money overseas. So it will be down to hard-working Joe Public to not only struggle to buy their own food but pay even more tax to buy someone else’s.

So over 50% higher than the £2 she quoted even if those prices are accurate? Lidl prices would definitely come to over £2.

While I agree to a degree that eg you have to compromise - pick a normal broccoli (80p) over tenderstem (1.50 ish) - it’s a bit rubbish that people on a budget have to stick to a narrower variety of fruit/veg. That’s something I’d like to be more affordable so people don’t have to continuously have the cheapest/most boring/ lowest quality option.

I buy apples every week as they’re one of the cheapest fruits. But even they’ve gone up now - usually about 1.80 for a pack of 6. Yes you can get cheap ones but they’re tiny - and bland! It’s no wonder people won’t want to eat it if it doesn’t taste good and can’t have much variety.

Whoever said upthread they’re spending a fiver on fruit and veg must have the appetite of a tiny bird! I shop just for myself and easily spend 15-20 per week just on fruit and veg and I’m not buying fancy stuff. Fruit wise I’ll get apple and oranges most weeks and then a 3rd thing which varies depending what’s on offer. I m have all 3 each day, that’s already £4-5 gone just on some of the snacks I need for the week.

Where do you pay £1 for a bus journey?
Even a few stops here costs well over that. It's close to £10 return to our closest reasonable sized town.

Arse end of nowhere, rural route. One bus there and back per day, 4 stops.

I live rurally/remote too, but there's no £1 bus fares. Must be heavily subsidised where you are.

We get all our veg from local market and do pay £2 for exactly what I quoted- often cheaper if they have excess. We frequently end up getting extra bags of carrots or potatoes for a few p if there are some left by Sunday afternoon.

But even at Aldi prices it would be £3.50 which isn’t crazy expensive for 4 bags of veg

What types of and levels of nutrients are in the cheap fruit and veg

I think this post is a little out of touch with how many people are feeling right now.

While I usually disagree with a lot of the things the MAGA movement does, they are apparently looking to change things (MAHA)-noting that most of the country eats far worse than they did last century, and the fact people have lots of UPFs. Like Britain, they used to grow a lot of things themselves-even very poor people, like my grandparents, grew things in the allotments. Ultimately, it might save the NHS if people were healthier. Before anyone says that healthy food is more expensive-it wasn't always that way. Short-term, it might cost a lot to support farmers and make healthy, minimally processed food easily available, and maybe we would have to get rid of "food oasis" areas, where it's easy to buy junk food and expensive/difficult to get fruit and veg. Children's centres used to teach about cooking healthily and cheaply-a lot of people have never learned how to cook decent, but quick and easy to make food on a budget.
I'd also like to see exercise incorporated into everyday life-in some countries, it's normal to exercise at work-allowing everyone to exercise while they were paid, and allowing different choices for people with different abilities, would be a very positive thing. Many of us get diversity/respect training if we work for large corporations/NHS/education, councils etc, so why not some time for health, which eventually would save the NHS a lot?
Yes, this would be a big change, but watch a programme from the 80s-nearly everyone smoked and drank regularly. The government could change things if it wanted to.

@Mrsttcno1 well you’re very lucky/privileged then to be in a position where you can visit such a cheap market! that definitely wouldn’t be the case for most people in the area where I live.

In the shops by me a cauli is usually more than £1.50.

Agree with a PP that M&S stuff tastes a lot better. I shop in Aldi and Lidl and the quality of some of the stuff on offer is terrible or on its last legs

To be fair, that was 6 years ago. Don’t know what it is now. But if it is heavily subsided? It’s the only thing I’ve ever come across that is!

I mean…I chose where to live, just like everybody else chooses where they want to live. That’s not lucky or privileged, just making good choices? I could have chosen to live in London or the South East & pay the prices for that, I wouldn’t have been unlucky, I’d have made a bad choice financially.

Even in Asda cauliflower is £1.20

It already is subsidised by thd government - there's no VAT on fruit and veg, meat, fish.

But it’s not about something just becoming more affordable. Berries (if we are running with this example) are the price they are because they’re seasonal fruit. If they’re out of season then they’re sourced from hot countries which is associated with a cost. They’re also a more fiddly fruit to harvest, so the labour cost is different to that of an apple. But the government can’t just say that any produce over £1 needs to be subsidised - how does this economically even make sense? How will the country 1) afford and 2) make money to prosper?

I understand (sort of) where you are coming from but I just have to disagree.

Yes, exactly this, thank you :)

Lots of us don't have a local market.
Lots of us don't have Aldi.
I also didn't say £3 or £3.50 was expensive, more that it's considerably more than the unrealistic for many £2.

OP, “the government” which you suggest should be subsidising healthy food doesn’t actually have any money - every single penny spent by the government has come from the sweat of the taxpayers’ brows. Supermarkets do try, though, with “wonky” fruit and veg - once you’ve chopped it up, you can’t tell the difference. I really think, though, that there is far too much clamour for the government to solve every problem and provide everything that anyone thinks they might like. As a country, we are in massive debt, and according to the office for budget responsibility, “in 2024-25 we expect debt interest spending to total £104.9 billion. That would represent 8.2 per cent of total public spending and is equivalent to over 3.7 per cent of national income.”. There simply isn’t the money in the pot for the government to keep on shelling out.

So do people actually like eating cheap vegetables like soft carrots and mushy bananas? It doesn’t make you miserable?

Nothing wrong with fares being subsidised, but I expect it'll be more now - our nearly £10 fare was approx £6.50 around 2 to 3 years ago!

I can tell the difference.if the only way it can be achieved is through tax and that isn’t affordable then I don’t know what to say.

Stop buying off fruit and veg and your problem is very much solved...

You are privileged to have such cheap food though, plus some folk get less choice where they live or choice becomes limited in a location they chose to live/grew up in.

It isn't straightforward. Spend time on a research database and look up one of the many well researched academic studies on the causes of obesity.

Yes I agree making foods cheaper won't solve the problem, because obesity is a very complex social, psychological, and and biological issue.

BUT I truly believe everyone should be buy things like berries at an affordable price. Apples and berries aren't comparible in terms of nutrition and calories. If you're wanting to lose weight, you can eat a whole ton of strawberries for 30kcals. An apple is 100 easily. It mounts up. And berries are exceptionally nutrient dense. Everyone should be able to afford nutrient dense foods.