Why does quality food cost so much?

You may have heard the cliche', "why s it so hard to eat right?". Well don't be fooled, cost has a lot to do with this. Part of the reason it's more difficult is because there is so much unhealthy food near us at any given time. We have to search out and be able to differentiate the healthy food from the unhealthy. Why is there so much unhealthy food around us? Partially because we are so use to it, we actually believe it tastes 'better', but largely because it's cheap for all parties concerned.

I had an interesting talk today that made me question how much cheaper it really is.  

Today I was riding passenger as my friend Greg drove us back from the farm. Across from the farm is a shop in which he regularly buys organic meats and eggs. He was telling me how much he enjoys them and that he really cannot enjoy regular eggs anymore. He asked me if I had tried any yet, to which I responded, "no". I really wasn't into paying 4 or 5 bucks for 12 eggs versus 3 dozen for like 2 dollars. He told me he understands that. He went on to say that he believes all this cheap, non-food  ,food, is part of the reason Americans are getting so fat. In places like Russia they buy local as the standard, and most other places are similar, and they're all relatively thin. I happen to thing the amount we consume out of availability may have more to do with this, but I would imagine there is some truth to his thesis as well.

What he told me next interested me even more.
He said that with higher quality food, you may, if not tend to, eat less of it. He says his eggs are so flavorful that he only needs two or three (how much he would eat otherwise, I do not know). If this is true, maybe the extra dollars are worth it. Then he made a good follow up remark.

He said that it's about the nutrition. Like before a big fight MMA fighters focus heavily on highly nutritious foods. Really, we eat to give our body nutrition, or that should be the main point over just stopping hungry. So if eating high quality makes you need to eat less and gives health benefits like making you feel better, It may be worth it to think about that versus always saving the dollar or two. Investing in oneself is said to have a big return. I may need to think about this more myself.