Work.

Not work.

I’m not exactly some kind of cheese expert, but I’ve eaten a lot different cheeses in my day

I’d agree that on average, unpasteurized cheeses taste better

But some of the best cheeses I’ve had have also been pasteurized.

I think it’s mostly the size of the difference kinds of operations and how much care they put into their products.

There’s a lot of mediocre manufactures making pasteurized cheese and they’re making industrial quantities of it.

Whereas the companies making raw milk cheeses tend to be smaller operations where they’re putting more care into their product. They can be choosier about where their milk comes from, and are more hands-on with the process.

But if you can find a brand that puts that kind of care into it but pasteurizes their products, I haven’t found there to be a dramatic difference.

1,2,5, & 6 - yes, I’m saying that these are issues that need to be addressed. What do you think you’re adding to the conversation here?

3&4- yes, because after working, often in excess of 40 hours a week, commuting, running errands, and with little money left over to show for it at the end (ties into point 6) what else is there for them to do? People do not have unlimited energy or money. People are tired and need time to relax and enjoy themselves as well, if they spent hours reading or knitting, or tinkering with electronics instead would you still begrudge them that? As far as physical health goes, that’s about the same. Planning and preparing a proper, balanced meal takes some time and energy, and a lot of people are running on empty, and if they want to have any time to enjoy their lives that may mean microwaving a frozen dinner or ordering takeout.

My wife has lost a lot of weight over the last year, getting up at the ass crack of dawn to hit the gym, and sometimes again after work, she’s often leaving the house before 5am, and doesn’t return home until 5 or even 7pm if she hits the gym twice. That leaves her with about 2-4 hours to herself when she gets in to have dinner, prep her breakfast and lunch for the next day because she won’t have time for it in the morning, and do whatever other chores she needs to do.

Imagine trying to squeeze that in if you also have kids or other obligations you need to take care of after work, or if you work more than the 40 hours a week she does.

And sure, if you stick to a diet of beans and kale or something, it can be an affordable diet, but most people aren’t going to last long eating such a limited diet, and a lot of the more diet-friendly foods can get pricey fast.

And food deserts are absolutely a thing, I live in one. It’s a solid 15 minute drive to a grocery store, there is no public transit in my area, it would be the better part of an hour one way to bike there, and close to 2 hours if I needed to walk, and those roads are absolutely not friendly to pedestrians and bikes. If we didn’t have cars, it would be pretty hard for us to get groceries, especially if I didn’t have friends I could get a ride from, and borderline impossible if we were elderly or disabled (especially since I work night shift which further limits when I can get to a grocery store while I’m awake.) I can get a couple things from a convenience store and CVS that are in a somewhat more reasonable walking distance (though those roads aren’t exactly pedestrian friendly either) but that’s mostly going to be prepackaged junk food, if I’m lucky maybe I can get a couple fresh apples and bananas or an overpriced premade salad.

There’s not a single, one-size-fits-all solution, there’s a lot of factors going into this

In no particular order, off the top of my head, a couple things that would need to change

1. Better nutrition/health education- a lot of people have almost no idea what eating healthy means
2. Better labeling requirements, there’s a few weird loopholes in how food and such can be labeled, and companies get away with using some pretty misleading labeling, and we need to be tightening that down so that people can actually make better informed decisions about what they’re eating.
3. Better pay and work/life balance- Planning and preparing a healthy diet takes time and money. Same with going to the gym. We need to free people up to be able to make those better, healthier choices for themselves
4. Addressing food deserts- In some places people just may not have easier access to healthy food. If you don’t drive and public transit is spotty around you, and the only stores within walking distance of your home are gas stations and convenience stores, it’s going to be hard to eat a healthy diet.
5. Pedestrian and bike friendly infrastructure- In a lot of cases, people don’t walk or bike places because it’s just not safe for them to do so. If you provide that opportunity for them, a lot of people will actually use it, they’ll get more exercise, and save money on gas that can in turn be used for other healthier choices.
6. Healthcare- In some cases it may mean getting things like glp-1 drugs or surgeries to aid in weight loss, in other cases it might just be checking in with a doctor or nutritionist to come up with a weight loss plan to make sure you’re going about it safely and effectively. Maybe you need blood work or other tests to identify other underlying health problems, maybe you have depression or anxiety that are making it difficult for you to be motivated to go to the gym or some sort of trauma you need to work through to address an eating disorder. Whatever the person’s specific needs are, they need to be able to access them.

I registered Republican to vote in their primaries

It’s gonna be a cold day in hell before I vote for one in the generals

But I’m hopeful that I can try to head off the worst of the crazies in the primaries before it gets to the general