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Comment by somewhereoutth | Hacker News Reader

The one issue I could not see a workaround for while living in the US was the food (short of getting *everything" flown in from the EU). That is why there is an obesity epidemic, the food is poison - and it is the entire chain, from confectionery in the grocery store to a meal at a high-end restaurant.

Back in the EU, everyday I am grateful for the simple, good, food that I can get even without making much effort - whether that be street food from a kiosk, or something I put together at home from basic supermarket ingredients.

I am lucky in that my body tells me what is good/bad food and what/how much it needs. It remains a mystery to me how others lose control of their weight.

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Are you saying that there are not supermarkets with basic wholesome ingredients from which to make healthy meals in the United States? That you were unable to buy grass-fed organic beef, pasture raised chicken, and organic vegetables and fruits? Where did you find this wasteland in the US? I have yet to see one that cannot provide these basic ingredients.

For a substantial amount of Americans that is exactly what is happening.

https://moveforhunger.org/harsh-reality-food-deserts-america

“[I]n urban areas, the U.S Department of Agriculture considers a food desert an area with no ready access to a store with fresh and nutritious food options within one mile.”

One mile? With such a definition of the term “food desert”, no wonder so many people are defined as being in one. Living more than one mile from a grocery store is hardly a “desert”. Most grocery stores deliver food now too, so even lack of ambulatory faculties is a poor reason to not cook wholesome meals for one’s family.

This study appears to have been created to create alarm about a possibly nonexistent or virtually nonexistent issue.

Certainly you can have it in a metropolis downtown, or within reach of a well-off suburban neighborhood. (Not very cheaply though.)

But https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert is a thing, especially in poorer, less densely populated areas. The problem is not just the absence of nicer options to normally nutritional food like rice or beans; it's also the prevalence of high-carb foods with very intense taste that pander to cravings and actively form them, while providing a wrong caloric balance (plentiful but very fast carbohydrates).

Something like 6% of Americans actually live in a food desert. A worthy problem to solve, but a total strawman when it comes to addressing obesity and food choice behavior.

For sure - but when I cooked these 'basic wholesome ingredients' the results were not as expected, for example 'lean' steak mince that filled the pan with so much fat? water? I had to drain it off as I fried. To be fair the veg wasn't too bad I think, but anything that requires rearing or processing is going to be filled with corn byproducts and goodness knows what else.

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