I'm in a ranting mood.

Today, amidst a general discussion in the office about whole grain breads, a few co-workers and I were graced by a brief rant by another co-worker who said that the cost of buying wheat bread at $2.00 per loaf was too expensive compared to buying white bread at $0.60 per loaf. He said that for his four kids, the additional price to purchase wheat bread was just too expensive, and that we didn't know what we were talking about because nobody with four kids would buy wheat bread for their families. It is simply too expensive.

I find it amusing that, maybe 6 months ago, this same person bought a brand new Chevrolet Avalanche truck. According to fueleconomy.gov, the various Avalanche models get between 14 and 20 mpg, which means that in addition to the car payment he makes every month, he's paying more for gasoline cost than he would for something smaller, like a Honda Civic (26 to 31 mpg). Following the numbers, he could see an improvement of bewteen 6 and 17 mpg by driving a Civic.

Even though I attempted (in vain) to point out that it was simply a choice on his part to not buy healthier bread for his children, and instead pay more for other things (like more gasoline for his truck), he refused to acknowledge that he had a choice.

So what's my point? This guy is a middle- to upper-class, educated, intelligent white male who has the means to both understand and embrace a healthier lifestyle, yet he refuses to do so. If somebody like him cannot accept that he makes unhealthy choices in life, how is it possible for lower-income, less educated, less intelligent people to do any better?