Tories are getting rinsed on Twitter over their ignorant comments on food poverty

Earlier this week the government launched their Better Health campaign in order to tackle obesity and encourage adults to “kick start their health” in order to reduce their risk of illness such as coronavirus.

The new campaign plans to ban “buy one get one free” meals and junk food adverts on TV before 9pm. The proposal also includes displaying calorie counts on menus.

The campaign has been heavily criticised on Twitter by many people who say these plans fail to address the main problem – the link between food poverty and obesity.

There’s such a huge link between being fat and poverty, yet the government refuses to acknowledge this.

Instead of making ‘bad’ food more expensive, why don’t you lower the cost of nutritionally healthy food?

In these grand plans, mental health isn’t mentioned at all, too.

— Stephanie (@StephanieYeboah) July 29, 2020

Many argue it is a lot harder to eat healthily when food prices in Britain make it hard to do so. “Junk food” is often cheaper to buy than fruit and vegetables and is therefore bought by people struggling to feed their families. One person on Twitter pointed out a packet of biscuits can cost 20p in comparison to a bag of apples which can cost £2.

This is fucking ridiculous, people aren’t obese because there’s junk food adverts on before 9 o’clock, people are obese because a pack of 20% fat mince is £3.95 and a pack of 5% fat is £5.79, people are obese because a pack of busicuits is 20 odd pence and a bag of apples is £2

— Georgie✨ (@geeorgee_x) July 28, 2020

And naturally a lot of the Twitter Tories and actual Conservative party members have got involved in the conversation displaying their ignorant and shaming views that it’s easy to eat healthy food on the cheap.

Annunziata Rees-Mogg, Conservative party member and sister to Jacob Rees-Mogg, replied to a tweet about food prices and said it was far cheaper to buy a kilo of plain potatoes than a bag of frozen chips. She wrote: “Tesco 1kg potatoes =83p, 950g own brand chips =£1.35”

Tesco 1kg potatoes =83p, 950g own brand chips =£1.35

— Annunziata Rees-Mogg (@zatzi) July 27, 2020

Many people retweeted her comments, calling her “condescending” and “ignorant” and explained how naive and privileged it is to be able to not think about the cost of condiments, staples, time, utensils, cooking knowledge and the cost of energy bills that are needed to make the plain bag of potatoes actually taste decent.

+ Tesco own brand oil £1.10
+ table salt at £0.35

= £2.28

You're privileged enough not to have to think about the cost of 'condiments and staples' @zatzi – please don't think others are simple, when you're the one that is oversimplifying. https://t.co/GVqDe3dQhF

— Rachelle (ra-shel) (@MissRachelle) July 29, 2020

Annunziata followed up her original tweet with an even more tone deaf response in which she said it’s important to learn how to budget and cook.

She tweeted: “The oft repeated but inaccurate belief that low quality/ unhealthy food is *always* cheaper than raw ingredients is part of the problem. It’s why learning to buy/ budget for food is important alongside learning to cook.”

And lots of people pointed out the irony of someone from an extremely privileged and wealthy position handing out budgeting advice and suggesting they could do poverty better.

I can only imagine how easy you think it is to be poor.

Unhealthy food is always cheaper, you aren't taking into consideration the time it take to make meals. Time, the thing poor people don't have the luxury of as they are often working long hours or multiple jobs.

— Tom ☭ (@Tom_Roberts_94) July 29, 2020

Conservatives will really sit there and tell you ‘well broccoli is only 50p but an oven pizza is £1 so poor people only eat unhealthily because they’re lazy’ as if it’s reasonable to expect people to eat plain vegetables and nothing else for dinner. It’s so dystopian.

— T 𓆏 (@t_sfea) July 28, 2020

It wasn’t just Annunziata handing out ignorant advice, many Tories took to Twitter to blast people struggling to pay for food by claiming they are “lazy” and “don’t look properly in the fruit and veg aisles in a supermarket”.

It’s also about laziness, they can’t be bothered to take the time to make food themselves.

— jake (@jakewgilbert) July 28, 2020

Naturally a lot of people roasted them on Twitter and have now got even more annoyed that the Conservatives are trying to change Percy Pig packaging as it is “wilfully misleading“.

Today the Tories are coming for your Percy Pigs, tomorrow it’ll be Freddos. 😡😡 pic.twitter.com/z7oidxjwpt

— 😷 Masked Angel 😷 (@CallMe_Governor) July 29, 2020

It really has been a bad PR day for the Tories.

Featured image credit before edits via Hoach Le Dinh on Unsplash.

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