TOW #19 – “Why Fast Food Isn’t Cheaper Than Healthy Food” by Tim Harlan

Founder of DrGourmet.com, Tim Harlan, shares with general family audience, perhaps those in lower social classes, that the choice to eat healthy is not necessarily more expensive than fast food. Through various examples, he proves just how much better eating healthy can be despite getting less calories, and he debunks the pre-existing myth for his audience who most likely believes fast food to be a quicker and cheaper option.

With many comparisons of varying meals and options that people may buy or prefer, Harlan attacks the argument for fast food through the prices first. He uses an imaginary family of four, the average family size in America, and first offers the fast food option. For example, he states that, for the usual meal a family might order at McDonald’s, he would rack up the price to about $14.00. “For that money,” he states, “you get almost nothing of nutritive value, but bland white bread, greasy burgers and fries with a sugary soda.” He then compares the amount of healthier food choices that could be bought with that same amount of money, and he asserts the idea that it will actually produce more food for the family than the fast food choice, with leftovers to save for later. His comparisons also go after the difference in nutrients provided to sustain the body, with the fast food choices severely lacking in their contents aside from “refined carbohydrates”. By tackling both of these ideas, he proves to his audience the benefits of eating healthy rather than buying junk food under the pretense of it being cheaper.

Harlan also debunks the rebuttal of there simply being no time to cook. Cooking a chicken, through adding up all the estimated preparation times, would take altogether 15 minutes to cook. Harlan does not miss the opportunity to compare this to the fast food option with the statement: “You might stand in line that long at a fast food joint”. By addressing these common counterpoints and comparing the reality of it to the healthier food choices, Harlan successfully establishes and conveys this idea of healthy eating actually being much more beneficial than fast food. The only remaining problem would be whether the audience, the busy American families, actually follow through with the push to transition.