Whole Plant Food Economics
Many people assume that eating a WPF diet costs more than the Standard American Diet (SAD). This might be true if you eat a lot of prepared foods and convenience meals. Grocery stores are full of packaged foods claiming to be plant-based and healthy, and these often come with a healthy price tag, too. Sadly, you don't always get what you think you're paying for. (Label Reading)
A great example of the cost of prepared foods is the baked potato. You can go to a fast food restaurant and buy a baked potato with all the fixings, hot and ready to eat with all its unhealthy toppings, and you'll pay $6.00 or more for it. Or you can have a bag of russet potatoes in your pantry, bake one and add your own healthy toppings for under $2.00. The cost difference in one potato might not seem like that much, but when the meal costs start accumulating, it can easily save or break most any budget.
But what about the "convenience" factor, you ask? You do need to consider prep, cook, and clean-up time and effort, but these can be enjoyable family activities and important learning experiences. Avoiding the extra costs and calories of "convenience" foods are well worth the effort.
When you buy whole plant foods and cook them yourself, your food bill will decrease significantly. One study in the Lancet looked at food prices in several high-income countries like the US and the UK. Their findings showed that by converting to a healthier and more sustainable diet, like a whole plant food diet, you could reduce your food bill by as much as 22% to 34%.
There are other financial benefits of adopting a WPF lifestyle: you will reduce not only your food bill but also your medical expenses and lost wages from time spent recovering from illness or premature disability. The phrase “food as medicine” means just that. The food we eat will bring us good health and reduce the time, money, and frustration we spend at the doctor's office or in the hospital.
The cost of adopting a Whole Plant Food diet and getting healthier is a lot less than the cost of allowing chronic disease to progress and relying on the current healthcare system.
The Personal Cost of Bad Health
When we talk about the personal cost of bad health, we are talking about more than just the financial expenditures. Every minute we spend managing illness is a minute we don’t get to spend enjoying our lives. When we are sick, we focus much of our energy on getting treatment for the disease, getting through the often lengthy recovery and rehabilitation, and eventually having to deal with a disability.
The Social Cost of Bad Health
Family and friends may give their time to help you manage your illness, instead of enjoying the time you spend together. Relationships become strained, friends may not understand what you are experiencing, and everyone is more susceptible to isolation, frustration, and helplessness. Adopting a WPF lifestyle allows you to live a healthy, productive life in which you are able to enjoy your family, friends, and community to the fullest.
A great example of the cost of prepared foods is the baked potato. You can go to a fast food restaurant and buy a baked potato with all the fixings, hot and ready to eat with all its unhealthy toppings, and you'll pay $6.00 or more for it. Or you can have a bag of russet potatoes in your pantry, bake one and add your own healthy toppings for under $2.00. The cost difference in one potato might not seem like that much, but when the meal costs start accumulating, it can easily save or break most any budget.
But what about the "convenience" factor, you ask? You do need to consider prep, cook, and clean-up time and effort, but these can be enjoyable family activities and important learning experiences. Avoiding the extra costs and calories of "convenience" foods are well worth the effort.
When you buy whole plant foods and cook them yourself, your food bill will decrease significantly. One study in the Lancet looked at food prices in several high-income countries like the US and the UK. Their findings showed that by converting to a healthier and more sustainable diet, like a whole plant food diet, you could reduce your food bill by as much as 22% to 34%.
There are other financial benefits of adopting a WPF lifestyle: you will reduce not only your food bill but also your medical expenses and lost wages from time spent recovering from illness or premature disability. The phrase “food as medicine” means just that. The food we eat will bring us good health and reduce the time, money, and frustration we spend at the doctor's office or in the hospital.
The cost of adopting a Whole Plant Food diet and getting healthier is a lot less than the cost of allowing chronic disease to progress and relying on the current healthcare system.
The Personal Cost of Bad Health
When we talk about the personal cost of bad health, we are talking about more than just the financial expenditures. Every minute we spend managing illness is a minute we don’t get to spend enjoying our lives. When we are sick, we focus much of our energy on getting treatment for the disease, getting through the often lengthy recovery and rehabilitation, and eventually having to deal with a disability.
The Social Cost of Bad Health
Family and friends may give their time to help you manage your illness, instead of enjoying the time you spend together. Relationships become strained, friends may not understand what you are experiencing, and everyone is more susceptible to isolation, frustration, and helplessness. Adopting a WPF lifestyle allows you to live a healthy, productive life in which you are able to enjoy your family, friends, and community to the fullest.
The National Cost of Bad Health
The financial healthcare cost of obesity and related chronic diseases to our nation is staggering, especially when you contrast the limited benefit of medical treatment for lifestyle diseases to the obviously better alternative: a lifestyle that promotes optimal health and prevents chronic disease.
The financial healthcare cost of obesity and related chronic diseases to our nation is staggering, especially when you contrast the limited benefit of medical treatment for lifestyle diseases to the obviously better alternative: a lifestyle that promotes optimal health and prevents chronic disease.
Our Nation's Healthcare Dollars
$4.5 Trillion (2022)
Where our healthcare dollars went:
1 Includes Noncommercial Research and Structures and Equipment.
2 Includes expenditures for residential care facilities, ambulance providers, medical care delivered in non-traditional settings (such as community centers, senior citizens centers, schools, and military field stations), and expenditures for Home and Community Waiver programs under Medicaid. Note: Sum of pieces may not equal 100% due to rounding.
2 Includes expenditures for residential care facilities, ambulance providers, medical care delivered in non-traditional settings (such as community centers, senior citizens centers, schools, and military field stations), and expenditures for Home and Community Waiver programs under Medicaid. Note: Sum of pieces may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Where our healthcare dollars came from:
1 Includes worksite health care, other private revenues, Indian Health Service, workers’ compensation, general assistance, maternal and child health, vocational rehabilitation, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, school health, and other federal and state and local programs.
2 Includes co-payments, deductibles, and any amounts not covered by health insurance.
Note: Sum of pieces may not equal 100% due to rounding.
2 Includes co-payments, deductibles, and any amounts not covered by health insurance.
Note: Sum of pieces may not equal 100% due to rounding.
SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group.