I loved reading this thread, and while I agree with a lot of what is said there is a lot said that makes me sad. The US is a very large and diverse country with people who have various impediments to being able to eat healthy. I live in rural Iowa, and while I can relate to the problems of obtaining healthy foods in NYC, I can't relate at all to the answers given tot he people who stated the problems. For the people who said, that taking the bus to to the grocery store is an option. In rural areas there is no public transportation. You either have a car or beg a ride. If you can't do either then you don't eat. The small town where my Mother lives, pop of about 1000, there are 2 convience stores, one locally ran and one chain. The nearest grocery store is about a 30 mile round trip. The nearest store you could get a mango at is about 110 mile round trip. Many of the stores that people say I should shop at don't have stores in the midwest. I have never been to a Costco, or a Whole Foods. I shop locally when I buy my groceries (25mile round trip), I have a garden, but that is seasonal, I don't have access to a huge variety of healthy foods, but I make do whth what I can get and try to educate myself as to what is healthy. Lots of people don't have that ability or aren't sure where to start. They eat what they were raised on only instead of making it from scratch like their parents and grandparents did they buy the processed instant versions. The nature of what constitutes work has also changed. Physical labor is out, computer and sedintary work is in. I would say that very few people here work as hard physically as their ancestors did, but we have an easier time obtaining our food, less effort more calories equal obesity, it's how humans were programed.
I'll get off my soap box now.
Bette K
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