As someone who is currently almost that poor, having the luxury to plan ahead can costs money and time. It is really hard to justify any of the more nutritious foods when you're trying to spend no more than $10/day, total, on all meals. (less than $5/day is very common - or less - for many people). If you want to blame someone, I suggest pointing the finger at those that have kept the minimum wage from rising to sane levels instead of pre-judging those that have to live off those wages.
It is easy to suggest that this is merely a matter of proper planning if you haven't been in this kind of a situation. How much nutritious food would you be able to acquire with a budget of $6.47/day[1] ($5.41/day/person for a family of four)? This gets worse when you consider the long hours (and cost in both cash and time[2]) of blue-collar jobs (sometimes below minimum wage).
It can get even more complicated when you factor in stuff like the gas or buss fare it takes to get to a decent store that sells food that is better than fast food or 7/11-style junk; investors usually don't open new grocery stores near the residential areas with most poverty.
The point that this article is trying (badly) to express is not that the McDouble is a shining example of great nutrition, (it also makes no claims about the taste...); they are (correctly) pointing out that it is a shockingly good value compared to what else would be available to someone that only has $2 to spend on a meal. Rice may be cheap, but it doesn't provide the protein, and almost everything else at the $2 limit is also going to lack the fiber and vitamins. The McDouble may not have a lot, but it probably has a much wider variety than you will find in rice[3] due to the bugger including a bit of dairy, both meat and starch, and almost-but-not-quite vegetables in the ketchup and pickle. While the fat content is on the high side, it's not terrible. The worst part of the cheeseburger is really the sodium.
The McDouble is certainly a better choice, nutritionally speaking, than the traditional cheap food: $0.20 fried ramen noodles with shocking amounts of salt.
From a pure engineering perspective, this is an impressive achievement a lot of supply chain tricks and product optimization went into making a prepared food cheap enough to be profitably sold for only $1-$2.
Rice may be cheap, but it doesn't provide the protein, and almost everything else at the $2 limit is also going to lack the fiber and vitamins.
How about Feijoada? Mostly black beans and rice, which are both ridiculously cheap when bought in bulk. Years ago (don't know about currently) it was good enough to be the basic staple of Brazilian army conscripts. And one thing we know for sure is that soldiers burn a lot of calories.
Wikipedia claims[1]:
Rice is rich in starch, an excellent source of
energy. Rice also has iron, vitamin B and protein.
Beans also contain a good amount of iron and an
even greater amount of protein than rice. Together
they make up a complete protein, which provides
each of the amino acids the body cannot make for
itself.
To supplement that, wouldn't cheap vitamin pills be good enough to keep you alive?
I know it doesn't sound appetizing, but "beggars can't be choosers". It sounds a lot more appealing to me than trying to live on ramen. And it sounds a lot healthier to me than most of what McDonald's sells.
Comments
As someone who is currently almost that poor, having the luxury to plan ahead can costs money and time. It is really hard to justify any of the more nutritious foods when you're trying to spend no more than $10/day, total, on all meals. (less than $5/day is very common - or less - for many people). If you want to blame someone, I suggest pointing the finger at those that have kept the minimum wage from rising to sane levels instead of pre-judging those that have to live off those wages.
It is easy to suggest that this is merely a matter of proper planning if you haven't been in this kind of a situation. How much nutritious food would you be able to acquire with a budget of $6.47/day[1] ($5.41/day/person for a family of four)? This gets worse when you consider the long hours (and cost in both cash and time[2]) of blue-collar jobs (sometimes below minimum wage).
It can get even more complicated when you factor in stuff like the gas or buss fare it takes to get to a decent store that sells food that is better than fast food or 7/11-style junk; investors usually don't open new grocery stores near the residential areas with most poverty.
The point that this article is trying (badly) to express is not that the McDouble is a shining example of great nutrition, (it also makes no claims about the taste...); they are (correctly) pointing out that it is a shockingly good value compared to what else would be available to someone that only has $2 to spend on a meal. Rice may be cheap, but it doesn't provide the protein, and almost everything else at the $2 limit is also going to lack the fiber and vitamins. The McDouble may not have a lot, but it probably has a much wider variety than you will find in rice[3] due to the bugger including a bit of dairy, both meat and starch, and almost-but-not-quite vegetables in the ketchup and pickle. While the fat content is on the high side, it's not terrible. The worst part of the cheeseburger is really the sodium.
The McDouble is certainly a better choice, nutritionally speaking, than the traditional cheap food: $0.20 fried ramen noodles with shocking amounts of salt.
From a pure engineering perspective, this is an impressive achievement a lot of supply chain tricks and product optimization went into making a prepared food cheap enough to be profitably sold for only $1-$2.
[1] http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/how-much-could-i-receive
[2] (I highly recommend this article, which contains far more detail) https://medium.com/@sarahkendzior/the-minimum-wage-worker-st...
[3] cheap white rice, not "golden rice", which might be a better choice when available.
How about Feijoada? Mostly black beans and rice, which are both ridiculously cheap when bought in bulk. Years ago (don't know about currently) it was good enough to be the basic staple of Brazilian army conscripts. And one thing we know for sure is that soldiers burn a lot of calories.
Wikipedia claims[1]:
To supplement that, wouldn't cheap vitamin pills be good enough to keep you alive?I know it doesn't sound appetizing, but "beggars can't be choosers". It sounds a lot more appealing to me than trying to live on ramen. And it sounds a lot healthier to me than most of what McDonald's sells.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_and_beans