US Healthcare: Sickness Pays, Wellness Stalls
The article posits that chronic diseases, preventable by diet, are the '$1.7 trillion drag' on the US economy. What it conveniently omits is the active lobbying by pharmaceutical companies and the processed food industry, which ensure that 'food as medicine' remains a boutique concept rather than a national policy. For instance, pharmaceutical lobbyists spent a staggering $379 million in 2023
alone, according to OpenSecrets, far outspending any advocacy for preventative health. While advocating for 'food prescriptions' and 'medical nutrition,' the piece frames this as a revolutionary intervention, rather than a direct threat to the established order. One might wonder if the authors truly believe Big Pharma (who regularly contribute to politicians on both sides of the aisle) will
willingly dismantle a system where maintaining sickness is far more profitable than promoting widespread wellness.