Sales at this store outnumber Walmart’s and McDonald’s’ combined, and it’s only just the beginning. Perhaps part of the deadliest health trend of the 21st century, research shows it can have a devastating effect on your waistline.
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Dollar stores such as Dollar General and Dollar Tree (which also owns Family Dollar) feed more Americans than Whole Foods.
- Across the United States, there are now 30,000 Dollar General and Dollar Tree stores—outnumbering Walmart and McDonald’s’ combined—and the chains claim to have their sights on another 20,000 locations.
- Dollar stores target urban neighborhoods and small towns where economic struggles are commonplace, turning these areas into food deserts as they push out smaller, already struggling grocers.
- Driving this trend is the U.S. government’s subsidy of processed food, both through the Farm Bill and through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- Research shows people who consume the most subsidized foods have a 37 percent greater risk of obesity than those who consume the least.
Joseph Mercola
Author
Dr. Joseph Mercola is the founder of Mercola.com. An osteopathic physician, best-selling author, and recipient of multiple awards in the field of natural health, his primary vision is to change the modern health paradigm by providing people with a valuable resource to help them take control of their health.
