Healthy Foods as a Natural Right

            Why is it that in order to eat healthfully, we have to have money?  That isn’t to say that every other kind of food is free, but often times fruits and vegetables are way more expensive than any other type of food.  The reason makes sense: farmers cultivate these foods from the time that they are seedlings, providing them with almost non-stop care. Processed foods are mass-produced in factories with synthetic ingredients by machines, making them much easier to come by, to sell, and to sell cheaply.  However, the root of so many health problems begins in our daily diet. Our inability to indulge on fruits and vegetables can lead to major vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  People who struggle to put food on their tables are going to find it even harder to incorporate healthy foods into their meals, leading to health issues that only cause more money hardships.  It should be our right as humans to have the ability and the opportunity to eat healthfully and have adequate access to fruits and vegetables so that we, no matter what our monetary status, can take control of our health, our weight, and our intake.

            The fear that accompanies this proposal is the complete disappearance of farmers and organic agriculture.  Prices are high because the labor is all encompassing and intense.  Farming is already a dying industry as factories churn out more and more cheaper and accessible food options and lowering prices on fruits and vegetables may threaten to completely extinguish organic agriculture.  However, our government is in charge of protecting our basic human rights, so if we incorporate healthful fruits and vegetables as one of these, the government should therefore take over the funding of these foods.  Initially this may seem irrational and unlikely.  However, governments fund things like public education, national parks, and city maintenance, paying the workers with a portion of our taxes.  If the government began ensuring that farmers are paid and receive the tools they needs to maintain their farms, the prices of fruits and vegetables could be significantly lowered in stores so that people of any monetary income can make these purchases.

            Adjusting where our tax dollars go is usually a stressful and a controversial conversation, but the incorporation of healthy foods into our lives is worth it.  There would be a significant decrease in health complications, which would end up saving the population more money.  Being easily able to access fruits and vegetables would improve our wellness, but also our moods and productivity levels. It may seem risky and initially expensive to add these foods to the list of where our tax dollars go, but in the end, we would have healthier, longer, and more productive lives.  In the end, this would drastically help the economy as well as our own personal earnings and life quality, which in turn would drive fruits and vegetable prices even lower.  We have to right to the pursuit happiness, but so many people forget that our happiness starts with our health, which starts with our diet.  Fruits and vegetables for all.