People have been left shocked after seeing what prisoners in the US eat.

When you think of prison food, ‘quality’ is probably not a word likely to spring to mind.

Nonetheless, people have still been left shocked after seeing what prisoners in the US are given.

The US has one of the highest per capita rates of imprisonment in the world, with 531 prisoners per 100,000 people, according to Statista.

While fifth in terms of per capita prison population, in absolute terms the US has the most prisoners of any country, with nearly 1.8 million people in prison.

And of course, those people need feeding, and at $3 a plate the US isn’t exactly splashing the cash.

This has been made very clear in a recent Reddit post, which shed some light on what prison meals actually look like – and they don’t consist of an awful lot.

With the majority being served on plastic trays, the meals are frequently high in carbs but low in key nutrients such as proteins.

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In fact, the food has such a low nutritional value that many prisoners have been found to suffer from long term health problems after being released.

While prisoners are able to supplement their diet by buying things from the store in the prison, many don’t have the resources to be able to do this.

People released from prison can go on to suffer from a number of health issues.

This can also include things like mental health problems, heightened aggression, brain fog, and depression.

People took to the comments to share their thoughts on the diet, with one saying: “These are some of the better trays. Trust me most trays are terrible and almost inedible with all the meat containing soy.”

Another wrote: “This is much nicer than most jail food tbh.”

Other people said they thought that seeing as the people involved were prisoners, it didn’t matter what food was given to them, with one saying: “If you don’t want that meal then don’t do the crime.”

Reddit / retrogradefoco

But another person pointed out that feeding people so poorly only creates the conditions for further crime.

They wrote: “These comments clearly show the issue. Americans think prison is about punishing the individuals for doing the crime, when it should be about rehabilitating them and making them able to return to society to be a contributing member after.

“No sh*t, they shouldn’t be eating steaks, but they also shouldn’t suffer health consequences of being imprisoned.”

Advocates for prison reform in the US argue that the wording of the 13th Amendment allows for prisoners to be worked as slaves, with the amendment abolishing ‘slavery’ and ‘involuntary servitude’, but adding ‘except as a punishment for crime’.

In 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union estimated that prisoners in the US produce around $11 billion worth of goods a year.