I understand the time-honored focus on value. And I appreciate that during a recession, the demand for value is accentuated. But we are measuring the value of food ... wrong.
Throughout most of human history, calories were scarce and hard to get, and physical activity was unavoidable. Minimizing the cost (in dollars and effort) of maximizing calories was, then, a good measure of value.
But we have now devised a world in which physical activity is scarce and hard to get, and calories are unavoidable. In THIS world, maximizing calories per dollar merely lowers the cost of getting fat, and sick. Getting what you don't want is never a bargain, even if it's cheap!
In contrast, good nutrition fosters vitality -- something most of us DO want. Thus, maximizing nutrition per dollar would be a far more rational, new age measure of the value of food. By this metric, The Whopper Jr. and most everything else I see advertised on TV, would be very expensive at any price.
We all want value for our food dollar. Getting it begins by measuring value in a way that makes sense in today's world.
Guilt-Free Food Ideas
