Waitangi day & Luxon...

[Oh_hunnihunni]

The worst bit of poverty is how it affects the kids.

For instance, a seven year old boy, develpmental age around five, never seen a GP, never seen a dentist till now, never been to school, mother walked out when he was a baby, father is a gambling addict, living in his car because they've just been evicted for non payment of rent for the fifth time...

Poverty is a terrible burden to expect a child to survive.

[harm_less]

problem with this I would almost guarantee is you will suddenly have a price rise from suppliers and the price will be back up towards where it was

a subsidy lowers the price, which in turn increases consumer demand - if suppliers can't easily supply more to meet the demand (logically this is the case otherwise prices would already be cheaper), then price goes up

The other factor that will greatly exacerbate price rises due to supply and demand is climate change. As extreme weather events occur assets are destroyed, as are crops. Both situations will create shortages of supply which will drive price increases.

Auckland's recent flooding crisis will cause a huge spike in demand for building supplies (and of course tradesmen) both of which were already in short supply. The stocks of household goods to replace those destroyed by the floods which will be fueled by insurance payouts will struggle to meet demand so expect delays in being able to source these goods. Destruction of vegetable crops will result in a shortage over the coming months which will probably be addressed at least in part by way of imported produce, obviously at higher prices. The consumer society that we live in is highly exposed to disturbance from external factors and as the climate becomes ever more volatile those who are highly reliant on what comes from a shop should expect an increasingly rough ride.

[Lilith7]

Then the most sensible option is to remove GST from fresh fruit & veg, surely.

I don't think it's that simple, alas.  For people who are really poor, with little in the way of kitchen equipment and/or cooking knowledge, frozen veges are healthy and more accessible than fresh veges.  And so on. 

I'm a supporter of The Aunties charity, and it has been chastening to learn how desperately needy some families can be,  where frozen or tinned veges are verging on luxury.

Then we need to bring back teaching kids basic cooking, & add basic gardening & budgeting skills in schools, as well as the basics of parenting. And make the same available to all of those who've not had the benefit of learning them while at school - preferably free or at the lowest possible cost.

I think we really have to start as soon as possible & make these skills as widely available as possible before things get far worse.

[Olive]

I think that part of the problem is the wide availability (and huge promotion) of fast food, both in junk food outlets and in supermarkets. So many households take the quick options like frozen pizza and McDonalds, and they forget that it is possible to buy basic ingredients like fruit, veges, meat and eggs and make their own food. I know families locally with plenty of money and well educated parents where the staple diet is frozen or delivered pizza, almost every night. Nobody in the household knows how to cook or has any interest in learning.

[Lilith7]

I think that part of the problem is the wide availability (and huge promotion) of fast food, both in junk food outlets and in supermarkets.  So many households take the quick options like frozen pizza and McDonalds, and they forget that it is possible to buy basic ingredients like fruit, veges, meat and eggs and make their own food.  I know families locally with plenty of money and well educated parents where the staple diet is frozen or delivered pizza, almost every night.  Nobody in the household knows how to cook or has any interest in learning.

Yep - its amazing that that's happened so very quickly too & people accept that eating that awful muck is perfectly acceptable. I think we need wider education on good nutrition.

[zqwerty]

Instant gratification is the appeal of fast foods.

[harm_less]

Instant gratification is the appeal of fast foods.

Plus most fast foods have high fat and sugar content. Our physiology is hardwired to seek out such food qualities as they are high energy (calorific value) and of great value if food is scarce, except in today's Western societies scarcity seldom exists so their over-consumption leads to bodily storage of that excess energy as fat in very harmful ways.

[Lilith7]

There's some evidence that sugar fat salt can be addictive to humans. And those producers of fast food are very well aware of that. Because those foods are so cheap, its often the case that poorer people can be overweight, since that's what they can afford & as Olive said in these days not everyone has the skills to cook other food.

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/01/healt...ch%20lower.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4059590/

[harm_less]

There's some evidence that sugar fat salt can be addictive to humans. And those producers of fast food are very well aware of that. Because those foods are so cheap, its often the case that poorer people can be overweight, since that's what they can afford & as Olive said in these days not everyone has the skills to cook other food.

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/01/healt...ch%20lower.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4059590/

There's certainly evidence of addiction in relation to certain proteins such as gluten and dairy components. The blood sugar component that results from highly refined carb consumption just adds to the potential harm.

https://thefnc.com/research/gluten-and-d...the-brain/

[Olive]

Yes, and also the harm from the inflammatory effects of ultra-processed foods, highly refined vegetable oils and all of the sweeteners.

[Lilith7]

There's some evidence that sugar fat salt can be addictive to humans. And those producers of fast food are very well aware of that. Because those foods are so cheap, its often the case that poorer people can be overweight, since that's what they can afford & as Olive said in these days not everyone has the skills to cook other food.

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/01/healt...ch%20lower.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4059590/

There's certainly evidence of addiction in relation to certain proteins such as gluten and dairy components. The blood sugar component that results from highly refined carb consumption just adds to the potential harm.

https://thefnc.com/research/gluten-and-d...the-brain/

It all makes for scary reading - what with one thing & another it can be very difficult to avoid addiction to various things. 

However, I haven't the slightest intention of ever giving up Whittakers dark block...

[Olive]

However, I haven't the slightest intention of ever giving up Whittakers dark block...

Neither have I. We could form a support group...

[Lilith7]

However, I haven't the slightest intention of ever giving up Whittakers dark block...

Neither have I.  We could form a support group...

Absolutely - on the understanding that sharing does not exist.   Its Whittakers....