You Can Lead a Horse to Water

From an article entitled New Study Says "Food Deserts" Only Part of the Problem:

A new study confirms that being able to buy healthier food is only one part of a larger issue. According to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, improving access to fruits and vegetables does not necessarily result in better diets.

It is very difficult for healthier foods and methods of food preparation to compete with the variety, convenience, mass-marketing and ubiquity of processed foods. In a world of sound bites, immediate gratification and 15 minutes of fame, the comparatively understated simplicity of unprocessed natural foods faces a difficult uphill battle when it comes to winning over tongues and stomachs if not hearts and minds. And processed foods are, from a certain perspective, simply more palatable.

Real widespread change in people's eating habits can only come, like everything else in life, through inner change. The value of a healthy diet cannot be either imposed or instilled through fear, will, exposure or accessibility. Its appeal and its strength rest primarily in an appreciation for the sense of goodness evoked when we take care of ourselves. In other words, it's how it makes us feel on the inside, not how delicious or appealing it looks on the outside, that matters. As such, it is our relationship to how we nurture ourselves that must change if we are to be healthier.