Reply #36: One of the problems I see

[lumberjack_jeff]

is the absorption of the idea "you get what you pay for" into our fundamental nature. A potato is only worth so much. If you call it carbon-neutral fair -trade and organic, it can be worth much more.

- but it's still a potato.

Analogy mode: We also know that a really good car is a lot more expensive than a crappy 'ol Dodge, too. Since the BMW is soooo expensive, we despair of ever finding a transportation solution. It's a pity because the Dodge will get the job done if it were not dismissed as being beneath consideration.

Rice, beans, $2.50 hamburger, cheese, oatmeal and canned fruits and vegetables can form the foundation of perfectly adequate (if not exciting) nutrition.

The fact that off-season fresh argentine strawberries are $5.00/lb should not be used as evidence that it's impossible to buy "healthy" food on a normal budget.

There are numerous other barriers to adequate nutrition for the poor. For me, solving problems is a process of elimination. The use of organic almond butter as proof that healthy food is unobtainable for people of normal (or less than normal) means suggests to me that the magnitude of this barrier is overstated, and allows us to concentrate efforts on things that stand some chance of helping.