Short persuasive essay about why prices should be raised on processed foods and lowered on healthy foods

1. Autumn Paige Booton
Change the Mood About Food
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 34.9% of Americans are obese;
about 78.6 million people. Obesity can lead to heart disease, stroke, diabetes,
breathing problems, sleep apnea, problems in basically every body organ, and
ultimately death. Although there are many contributing factors to this including
genetics and exercise, diet has proven to be on of the most guilty culprits. Diets
higher in over processed, artificially sweetened, preservative injected junk foods are
clearly unhealthier than diets filled with fresh fruits and vegetables that do not have
a million ingredients that sound like nonsense words.
We already know that this is true, yet we continue to eat these bad foods.
Why? Partially because most of us like the taste, but even more so because its easier
and cheaper. The monopoly that the fast food and processed food industries is a
serious problem. For example, at Wal-Mart, the price of a box of Oreos equal to one
pound is $2.98 while the price of one pound of strawberries is $3.22. At the same
Wal-Mart a Hungry Man Salisbury Steak Dinner includes a steak smothered in
mushrooms and gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, and fried apples cost $2.47.
This contains tasty ingredients like “sodium hydroxide” and “riboflavin.” At the
same Wal-Mart, the price of one single steak from grass fed beef is $5.50. Just the
meat to home-make this dish costs $3.03 more than the entire Hungry-Man meal.
Cheaper food is more convenient; therefore, if “bad” foods cost less, more
people are buying it instead of the more expensive, healthy food. If people buy more
“bad food,” vendors will be more likely to purchase this food because they sell more

2. of it, which makes “bad” food more available (Hoffman). In an article for Harvard
School of Public Health, Marge Dwyer explains, “Unhealthy diets may cost less
because food policies have focused on the production of “inexpensive, high volume”
commodities, which has led to “a complex network of farming, storage,
transportation, processing, manufacturing, and marketing capabilities that favor
sales of highly processed food products for maximal industry profit. (Dwyer).”
However, given this reality, there is a solution. We need to create a similar
trend, but for healthy foods. Regulating prices on unhealthy foods would make
healthy foods more attractive and accessible; therefore, improving public health. In
an article for Forbes Magazine, Beth Hoffman says, “Education regarding the
unhealthfulness of fast food may not influence fast food consumption. Interventions
targeting the issue of convenience and quick or efficient preparation of nutritious
alternatives to fast food could be more promising.” The public has been educated
about the negative side effects of “bad” food. It has is not enough. Further steps, like
raising prices on “bad” food and making healthy food more available and affordable
would be a more successful way to reverse the trend, so that more people will want
pursue healthier choices.
Additionally, making these changes would not only save us who are eating
healthy money now, but also well into our future. Although these “junk” foods are
cheaper at a glance, they have a negative impact on our health. An unhealthy diet
leads to numerous health problems, which can land you in the hospital,
accumulating medical bills that cost far more than a bag of pizza rolls or a fresh
pineapple. Having said that, we can conclude that if we are eating healthier, our

3. bodies will be healthier. If our bodies are healthier, we will be less likely to be
spending time in the hospital. This would lower national health care costs because
there would be less people in the hospital for problems associated with obesity and
an unhealthy diet (Hyman).
The solution I have proposed would make healthy foods more affordable and
discourage consumption of bad food. This action would combat obesity and
improve our national health. A similar plan was implemented regarding tobacco
products. According to Dennis Cauchon’s article in the USA Today, “In 2009, a 22%
increase on tobacco prices led to the number of smokers in the United States to
decrease by 3 million and the teen smoking rate fell 3%.” The increased tax on
tobacco products significantly reduced tobacco consumption. Increasing prices on
unhealthy foods would have the same effect. Yes, people still bought cigarettes after
the price increase on tobacco. Yes, if there was a tax increase on unhealthy foods
people would still buy soda. The increased prices on tobacco did not change why
people liked the product, but made it less attractive because, let’s face it, none of us
like to spend more money than we have to. The public would react similarly if
prices increased for unhealthy foods.
An increase in the price on unhealthy foods, by way of a junk food tax, would
discourage the purchase of unhealthy food and promote the purchase or motivate
people to purchase healthier foods. This would improve each of our lives by making
us healthier, saving us money when we made healthy choices, and would even
improve the health of our nation.

4. Works Cited
Bittman, Mark. “Bad food? Tax it, and subsidize vegetables.” The New York
Times. (2011). Retrieved October 30, 2014.
Cauchon, Dennis. “Tax hike cuts tobacco consumption.” USA Today. (2012).
Retrieved October 30, 2014.
Dwyer, Marge. “Eating healthy vs. unhealthy diet costs about $1.50 more per
day.” Harvard School of Public Health. (2014). Retrieved November 3,
2014.
“Health Effects of Over Weight and Obesity.” (2013, December 6). Centers for
Disease Control. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
Hoffman, Beth. “It’s convenience that makes us fat.” Forbes Magazine. (
2012). Retrieved November 3, 2014.
Hyman, Mark. Why eating quick cheap food is actually more expensive.”
(2013). Retrieved October 30, 2014.