Every now and then it comes up again, in slums people live shorter and are less healthy.
It is known that there is a lot of smoking there and one of the reasons. Research is published regularly which also shows that healthy food is expensive and unhealthy food is cheap. Then, talk shows are filled with experts who assert this, and this is uncritically accepted by the general public.
Just drop in your Mac
But is it true that healthy food is expensive and unhealthy food is cheap? I would very much doubt this. Our family sometimes comes to the door with a pizza bike, or if we need something easy to eat quickly, we stop by the Mac. I know how to find it with my eyes closed, not because I go there often, but because it is located on the site of our old company. But what strikes me most is that this unhealthy food is very expensive, for 4 people at McDonald's you quickly pay more than 40 euros. And you're hungry again two hours later, so you can open a bag of chips and a bottle of coke. once again.
Whereas, even though it takes a little more effort, you can still put a healthy meal on the table for around 15 euros, consisting of vegetables, potatoes and some chicken or fish. Zucchini from our stand or light cucumbers from our neighbor's vending machine are perfectly cheap, but that's beside the point.
It is time for a counter-narrative
It is unfortunate that when this topic is brought up on talk shows, the same tone is always played, which is that healthy food is not within the reach of some people and therefore they are forced to rely on unhealthy food. It's time, when another study like this is discussed on television, that we hear a counternarrative. I won't do that, because that's preaching to my diocese. But it may be a great task for our new president, Geir Koopmans, to debunk this myth.
