those are some great perspectives you show. You should consider posting some of them as actual arguments on the discussion rather than a comment. You can do that via https://debato.org . You say that prices are not a barrier to consumption, but why do you say that? Is it only from your perspective? Because there are plenty of studies showing the link between income and food quality ( one example: http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/18/4/598.pdf ). I completely agree with you when you say that price is not the only factor, at a certain level you will just buy the foods you like and prefer, if that is deemed unhealthy, that's their choice. And if you want to tackle this, raising awareness would indeed be the best option, But why do students, or other people with lower income go for a bag of chips, soda during dinner, or a drive-through on the way home? I believe because it is available, cheap and satisfies their immediate needs. removing one of these pillars, being cheap, I believe will influence the consumption already. A tax on unhealthy food is not ment to outlaw unhealthy eating, but to make alternatives more attractive for people who look to their wallet to determine what to eat.
But it is indeed valuable that you mention education and lifestyles as important factors as well.
I also like the argument of the cooking culture, that we are moving towards a culture that cooks less and eats less together. But I don't think the only other way for those lifestyles is with cheap microwave meals. There are plenty of alternatives with meal boxes you just have to throw together in a pan or food delivery services that are more diverse and accessible than ever. So also here I believe that increasing the price of unhealthy alternatives can steer this new lifestyle trend into one with healthy eating habits.
But consider posting your arguments on https://debato.org if you want to use the debating structure of the platform :D
made the con argument on debato. Sorry, was lazy the first time.
Thank you for taking your time to pay attention to my long comment.
I work as a social counsellor and come into contact mainly with people who live on social assistance, i.e. who are at the lowest end of their incomes. One might think that they save on food because they cannot afford to eat good and healthy food. However, it has little to do with income, because reasonably nutritious food can also be bought for little money, if you know how to properly house with money.
As I see it, it is not primarily about the small income, but rather about what you can do with the small amount of money you have. It is a question of the attitude to consumption and what one desires to weigh up against what one really needs. The fact is, a poor person is obliged to spend most of his money on food and the roof over his head. As a second mobility, as a third access to modern communication: the Internet.
This may favour a rather meat-poor diet, which one must catch by means of replacement proteins, but this is also possible. You only have to want to know the necessary information and train yourself in it. In modern rich societies, financial poverty is not a sufficient reason for an unhealthy diet. Everywhere one is reached by the health trend and one does not need to be a brainiac to understand this.
The whole thing is rather a mental matter, people with less income may feel shabby and poor, they may have a tendency to neglect themselves due to lack of self-esteem or other events in life, but this also applies to people with money. This indifference to food may also be due to the fact that modern civilizations tend to portray everything as fixable. Bad teeth are simply replaced or repaired, pain or other ailments are compensated by pills. All this is easy to have. Even people who can't afford it are urged by dentists to have expensive dentures made and people prefer to buy furniture on installments rather than to be interested in a simple but nutritious kitchen. Basically, the poor want to look less poor and more like the wealthy. The money would also rather be spent on the latest mobile phone - again in installments. And so on. I cannot confirm from my consulting experience that food and income show such a direct causal relationship as you suggest here, only an indirect but connected to so many other things. I didn't read the study, so I can't say much about it.
To put it somewhat mercilessly: you can sleep great on an old mattress, do without a decent couch and set up a few simple chairs and a table than save on food. Besides: if you look at how expensive a Mc-Donalds visit is and compare it to a cleverly bought shopping basket, where you buy the ingredients fresh and have to cook them yourself, I wouldn't put my hand on the fire that it makes a big difference in price.
Supply and demand is never the real problem. The real problem, if you want to call it that, is the inner attitude and attitude towards consumption and really "being" or just "appearing".
Your work as a social counselor definitely gives your arguments more strength. Since I have no experience with this in real life I can only base my opinions on articles. You have some solid arguments and they made me rethink my opinion, so thanks for that.