Why don’t Americans give a f*** about what they eat?
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Anonymous
I agree. When my European relatives visit the US they are always shocked by how much sugar is in our food. Even the desserts are much, much sweeter than what they have back home. We in the US have become desensitized to sugar and we are in denial about it. |
it's everywhere you look 
Anonymous
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Because you’ve never had real food in your life you have no concept of how quality food keeps you full longer, eliminates cravings, gives you energy and doesn’t result in extra pounds.
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Anonymous
Point is - it should not be there. Any of it. As as long as you keep ignoring that simple fact, food industry will keep doing that - modify your food to cut costs, make it addictive so you buy more, and get richer. The general population meanwhile will get fatter and sicker. But who cares? Generation of slowly boiling frogs (it's only 3 g! JFC) |
Anonymous
Stop ordering the DQ large Snickers Blizzard and you don’t have to worry about the 2 grams of sugar in your wheat bread. |
Anonymous
I don't even know what DQ is, but thank you for proving my point. You don't really care about obesity, just want to feel morally superior. |
Anonymous
Yep, it’s 2-3 grams here, a few grams if crap over there and it all adds up. |
Anonymous
It sounds rough, but it’s shouldn’t be. Having time always comes down priorities. Europeans didn’t always have shorter work weeks etc. The difference is that most of them enjoy cooking, socialising and family bonding in the kitchen, most days of the week; which is so different than eating whatever and rushing to a gym. |
Anonymous
What adds up is the 4th slice of pizza, the multiple sodas, beers, handfuls of fries, snacking. |
Anonymous
Yes, obviously culture plays into it. That's the point. You have to go against the grain to make time for healthy food preparation, including shopping. If you prioritize cooking meals and eating as a family, your children must forgo sports and other activities in which most kids participate. |
Anonymous
Yep. The Lardaccino from Starbucks every afternoon. If you eat healthy the vast majority of the time (vegetables, lean meats or other protein source, some fruit, water or black coffee), you don't have to be the person who claims to be on a diet and can't enjoy a meal when out with friends or a work dinner a couple times a month. All of those items can be purchased for cheap prices and can be prepared quickly or with more time/attention depending on your schedule. Feel free to make excuses for other people about food desserts but I can't believe anyone posting here doesn't have access to a grocery store or Walmart. |
Anonymous
But it's all started from 3 g here 5 grams there sugar everywhere is not a big deal approach. Added sugar is a big deal in fighting obesity, the sooner society agrees on that the better for the health of that society. |
Anonymous
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I've lived in Europe and the US and the number one thing wrt groceries I noticed is that the food in the EU country I lived in (Ireland) *does* taste better and does go bad faster. Even stuff you would buy at Tesco. For the staples (bread, etc) the culture was far more centered around more frequent trips to the store because the stores were smaller and people typically wouldn't do one big "mega shop" like you do in the US. In the US, particularly the suburbs, people tend to do one major grocery trip every week or two weeks, so, yeah, you'd want the food to be better preserved with sugar and salt since you might not be eating it for a few days. Like, it was common to buy bread from a bakery in Ireland, but that's a habit that most US folks don't do anymore. (Yes, simplifying here).
Otherwise, I absolutely do NOT think that the Irish generally had better eating habits than US folks in the same SES bracket. Nor were they likely to be making their own brown bread or raising their own chickens. In fact, particularly among UMC Americans, I see more of an emphasis on vegetables and healthy options whereas "vegetables" in Ireland were limited to green leafy salads or potatoes. AND, increasingly in Ireland and the UK stores sell "meal kits" -- like, prepared eggplant parm -- in the cooler. These, of course, are loaded with sodium/sugar/etc. But, this is different from the US, where the prepared meals are frozen (more preservatives) or intended to be eaten later (e.g. hamburger helper)-- the UK kits were marketed to people buying something for that evening's dinner. And, the portion sizes are a huge thing here -- they were definitely more reasonable then most of what you see here. Again, it speaks to buying a lot of food in advance and expecting it to stay edible vs. buying food for the next day or two. TL,DR: US's societal norms, including long commutes, a car-centric culture, mega stores instead of mini marts, and long work weeks contribute to an emphasis on things that can keep for a while in the fridge/cupboard, and those foods need preservatives like sugar/salt to stay that way. |
Anonymous
Ah, no sorry. It didn’t “all start” with a couple grams of sugar in wheat bread or ketsup. It started with chocolate milk, Cocoa Puffs, kool-aid, white bread bologna sandwiches, cheeseburgers, totino’a pizza rolls, Little Debbie. The excuses here are bananas. Speaking of bananas, maybe it is their fault because they are high in sugar too |
Anonymous
Not quite sure where did you found excuses. I don't do excuses, I have nothing to be apologetic or ashamed of. You, on the other hand, keep insisting on protecting food industry. Are you on payroll or something? |
Anonymous
Except that PP is correct. Let’s take yogurt, for example. Out of 50+ options in the case, which one has a reasonable amount of sugar? Plain. That’s it. And at my Giant, at least, there are maybe 4 options to choose from, only one or two of which are not fat free, which is vile and come with other things you don’t want to consume. Personally, I’d rather skip the sugar in yogurt, and bread, and ketchup, so my kids can enjoy it in a damn cookie. But it’s not easy to avoid, unless I quit my full time job so I can prepare everything from scratch. |