Why salads tend of be one of the priciest options on fast-food menus
The 2014 announcement of a Tim Hortons merger with Burger King prompted much excitement. Already a mega breakfast and coffee foods franchise, the possibility of getting a mouth-watering burger for a midday meal along with the usual medium double-double at Tim Hortons didn’t just sound convenient, it sounded too good to be true! There would be no need to skip between lunch lines to get a wholesome meal. And while the duo has yet to roll out their menu of combined goodness, the following question arises: how healthy would their food options actually be?
Both companies pride themselves on their wide array of food options. Two clicks into the Tim Hortons webpage and the words, “Achieve a balanced lifestyle by choosing sensible, wholesome options [at Tim Hortons]” greet us. Burger King (BK) takes the more cautious route, refusing to commit to ‘wholesomeness’. Instead, they state on their main page, “[O]ur restaurants are known for serving high-quality, great-tasting, and affordable food.” But, is the food truly healthy?
Unlike its counterpart Tim Hortons, BK fails to take into account the expectation of wholesome and nutritious foods that an increasingly health-oriented generation has for its daily consumption. Forbes writes that while millennials prefer cheap foods, they are also “more willing to pay for fresh and healthy foods, and are willing to go to great lengths to find it.” This is a call that has not gone unheard by Tim Hortons and BK. After introducing salads and healthy wraps to their menu, The Financial Post reports, “The parent company of Tim Hortons and Burger King saw its profit soar as the company added restaurants to its global network and saw higher sales of wraps and lunch salads.” More consumers are willing to shell out that extra cash in the name of health. So, why then are salads and other healthy food options so much more expensive than their less healthy counterparts?
The answers to these questions are multifaceted. But first, with the help of BK’s calorie calculator, let’s look at what a bit of price comparison reveals about the foods we eat and the food choices we make.
A traditional Whopper, BK’s signature sandwich and the root cause of its fame, packs a calorie punch of 620 calories and can cost anywhere upward of $4.20. Customizing it pushes the price up even higher. A chicken salad, however (because BK doesn’t sell the bare garden salad by itself, but only as a meal side), has 230 calories and is the cheapest salad at $5.59. Interestingly, although a chicken salad sounds reasonably filling and is worth a little over a third in calories compared to a Whopper, it is starkly expensive. And it’s clear that people are milling towards the cheaper option, as is evidenced by the wide variety of burger options compared to the few salad options.
And this phenomenon isn’t limited to Burger King alone. When calculating and comparing calories and pricings between Subway’s and McDonald’s cheapest sandwiches and salads, the results were the same: healthier options cost more than their relatively calorie-laden counterparts. So what gives? Why don’t fast-food chains sell cheaper and healthier food options, especially when there’s a market for it? It boils down to one crucial issue: governments and food subsidies.
When taking into account the amount of advertising and educational programming the government spends on encouraging its citizens to eat healthy, one would hope that the government would also be willing to take action by increasing subsidies on agricultural products. American students probably remember the ‘Got Milk?’ campaign that swept through public schools to encourage students to drink more milk. The United States government spent millions on it; clearly, they have the means to spend money on the promotion of healthy foods, and they aren’t afraid to use it. They do, however, balk at indirectly helping provide the public with vegetables and nutritious foods through food subsidies.
Food subsidies are monetary contributions to farmers from the government. Subsidies inevitably push farmers to invest in and grow crops that the government will pay good money for. And right now, the government is not interested in subsidizing crops that are staples of healthy meals, like lettuce. The New York Times reports, “Thanks to lobbying, Congress chooses to subsidize foods that we’re supposed to eat less of. While production costs may also factor into the equation, […] it’s clear that government involvement must also be included [in order for healthy foods to become commonplace]. Meat and dairy products make over 73% of food subsidies, while fruits and vegetables only 0.37%.”
The differences in investments are staggering. Even if food producers are interested in growing healthy food crops, not much will change without the government’s financial support. Hence, we have expensive options for healthy meals.
So, salads cost a lot. And governments are partially to blame. What else is new? But there may be hope yet for a flourishing salad industry. A new start-up in Arizona, aptly named ‘Salad-&Go’, combines the quick service of fast-food chains with an affordable and healthy menu by providing salads on the go. Their service even extends to their drive-thru, putting mega fast food chains to shame. While the future of such a company, and by extension, such a franchise, is uncertain, there is promise to it. Until then, line-skipping during the midday rush to look for healthier food options will just have to cut it.
By Aishah Cader and Hagr Saad
Please note that opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.
