I also think a lot of the weight problems have to do with subsidies for certain agricultural products, particularly corn. That's why sodas are typically flavored with corn syrup instead of cane sugar -- much cheaper. And why so many processed snack products are so cheap, as well as bags of rice, etc., etc.

If you read an awful cookbook from the '70s -- which, I must say, is most of them -- you'll notice a lot of recipes advising women how to make the most of "variety meats," such as tongue and brain, or how to add soybeans or wheat as "meat extenders." You don't get that anymore. I suspect, but don't know, that farm subsidies have amped up the production of meat as well.