Quite the contrary, people who eat the cheapest food are the strongest. Indeed you may notice that slaves are usually stronger than their masters, country men than city men, the poor than the rich, better able to do hard work, less fatigued by their labor, less frequently ill, enduring more cheerfully cold, heat, lack of sleep, and every such hardship.
Furthermore, even if expensive and cheap food strengthened the body equally well, nevertheless one ought to choose the cheaper food because it is more conducive to temperance and more fitting for a good man.
I must remember that “cheap” here does not mean something of low quality; it simply means something that is affordable and easily available to the everyman.
Please don’t tell me that times have changed so much that a good diet requires a fancy white-collar job and a luxurious suburban lifestyle. Your Volvo makes you no better, and your politically correct shopping at Whole Foods makes you no better.
It is quite possible that all of that can make you worse, because you might think that the image is more important than the content.
I have lived most of my life on a terrible cusp between high class and low class; I honestly no longer care about the difference. I do not need to be rich in order to eat well, just as I do not need to be rich in order to live well.
When I go to the grocery store, I am tempted by all sorts of cleverly packaged products, and by all sorts of enticing treats. I must walk right past them, as much as my passions are inflamed, and buy some decent fruits and vegetables.
Steak-Umm’s and Doritos call to me; a few pears or peaches are far better for me, and far cheaper for me, and actually far more pleasant for me.
I’m not just playing the health food nut role here: a slice of an orange is both healthier and tastier than a Twinkie.
Yes, the increasing prevalence of processed and packaged food makes it far too easy for us to think that it is cheaper to eat by buying industrial products, but it only takes a bit of common arithmetic to show that this is not the case.
If I buy fresh produce, I can very easily feed myself for around $50 a week. If I buy all the corporate garbage, the bill is suddenly around $150 a week.
The fact remains that the simplest foods are the best foods, and the best people are smart enough to eat the simplest foods. Most importantly, the best people, not the richest or the most influential people, will find health of body and health of mind in their convictions.
Furthermore, even if expensive and cheap food strengthened the body equally well, nevertheless one ought to choose the cheaper food because it is more conducive to temperance and more fitting for a good man.
I must remember that “cheap” here does not mean something of low quality; it simply means something that is affordable and easily available to the everyman.
Please don’t tell me that times have changed so much that a good diet requires a fancy white-collar job and a luxurious suburban lifestyle. Your Volvo makes you no better, and your politically correct shopping at Whole Foods makes you no better.
It is quite possible that all of that can make you worse, because you might think that the image is more important than the content.
I have lived most of my life on a terrible cusp between high class and low class; I honestly no longer care about the difference. I do not need to be rich in order to eat well, just as I do not need to be rich in order to live well.
When I go to the grocery store, I am tempted by all sorts of cleverly packaged products, and by all sorts of enticing treats. I must walk right past them, as much as my passions are inflamed, and buy some decent fruits and vegetables.
Steak-Umm’s and Doritos call to me; a few pears or peaches are far better for me, and far cheaper for me, and actually far more pleasant for me.
I’m not just playing the health food nut role here: a slice of an orange is both healthier and tastier than a Twinkie.
Yes, the increasing prevalence of processed and packaged food makes it far too easy for us to think that it is cheaper to eat by buying industrial products, but it only takes a bit of common arithmetic to show that this is not the case.
If I buy fresh produce, I can very easily feed myself for around $50 a week. If I buy all the corporate garbage, the bill is suddenly around $150 a week.
The fact remains that the simplest foods are the best foods, and the best people are smart enough to eat the simplest foods. Most importantly, the best people, not the richest or the most influential people, will find health of body and health of mind in their convictions.
Written in 5/2000
IMAGE: Whole Foods, saving the Earth, one Volvo diesel truck at a time . . . for Love!
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