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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Can someone give some examples of how the food in America is supposedly so much worse?  I have travelled and lived abroad and overall I just don’t see that.  We have a lot of choice in the US that in many ways makes it easier to have good food.  I don’t choose to eat at places like McDonald’s.  Certainly some countries have better options for certain things — eg Irish butter versus American butter, Chilean mollusks versus American.  But for instance Chile is so meat/fish focused it’s hard to find nice salads and vegetables.  That’s true in many countries in Europe as well.  In many countries it’s hard to find nice fresh dairy.  I’ve been to some countries where the restaurant food was even more salty than American restaurant food, which amazed me as I find American restaurant food way too salty.    
I do think that because other countries have fewer choices for food they tend to serve more stuff that is local and in season.  But it’s  pretty easy to eat that way here too, if you give up variety.

Different issue but I’m also not impressed with OP being impressed by Singapore and Thailand.  That’s like trump raving about the airports in Dubai.  That efficiency is built in the back of a lot of misery.  No thank you.

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At least in Europe, it definitely seemed fresh fruit and veggies were far more abundant. Small fridges as folks buy fresh more frequently. Read box ingredients and there are fewer fillers in foods. The amount of crap fillers in food in the US makes me angry. Yes you can get cheap products but look at what happened recently with children getting lead poisoning from cinnamon applesauce sold at dollar stores in the US (through brands that used a factory in Equador).

Driving through France, rest stops had fresh prepared foods that included a carving station. It was jarringly different.[/quote]

A lot of what you experience is about where you live in the US vs living in the US.  I grew up in a small town in flyover country, and despite being poor, I had incredible food. I didn't even realize that most of the US was eating mealy, starchy tomatoes and carrots that were basically shelf stable.

If you live far away from the places where food is produced, they alter the veggies etc so that they can endure the trip to your grocery stores and the lont wait til they are consumed.

In the DMV, you can sign up for CSAs or shop at farmers markets.

I used to question whether I was meant to live in the US. Then I realized that a lot of things I disliked about my life were choices I had made or failed to make. So I created a different lifestyle and stayed in the US and have a much better life here than the one I likely would have had in Europe. [/quote]

CSAs and farmers markets are very expensive though. I live in a city and grew up in the burbs and have access to produce, grew up in an Italian family where delicious food is worshipped. But still the food in Europe like cheeses had fewer preservatives for a lower price point. Sure, you can eat fantastic food in the US if you are well off or perhaps live in flyover country near some decent farms for a *handful* of items. But in Europe, you can eat fantastic food even if you're not well off AND even the more "processed" food has fewer fillers. Hello shredded Kraft Parmesan cheese made from wood fiber because you cant buy blocks of parm like the UMC can. Did you see the comment re: lead in children's cinnamon pouches? That is a current CDC alert happening right now, identified because of a sudden rise in children having high lead levels.

I've traveled by car through a lot of the US, but tell me where a carving station with fresh prepped food in is a routine thing at rest stops? [/quote]

I have a bit of a different perspective on Europe because most of my family lives in Europe and is not well off. I can say with total confidence that the food I eat in the US is of higher quality than the food they eat in their well-off European country, because I'm UMC and they are working class. Unfortunately, cheap, processed food is prevalent in the world. If anything, Americans are more critical of their food choices and other nations accept their choices as good.  Take Japan's view of Ramen noodle soup as an example. It's accepted as good, in part because it staved off famine at a time when survival was the main goal.  But it's objectively not that nutritious. Americans tend to be very critical of America when compared to how other countries discuss their own nations.

Re pop up stands at rest stops, I imagine most state workers would chase them off.  That has more to do with bureaucracy than availability. I often find road side stands and buy fresh produce, honey, bbq. It's prevalent in places where the economics make sense for the vendors. The more expensive the area, the less the economics make sense.

Personally, I get my meat from a butcher that only stocks high quality meat. I get my veggies from a local farm that has a market. Sometimes I use meal kits and the food isn't as high quality but is generally good.

My relatives in Europe buy veggies from places like Lidl, and they are comparable to what you'd get from Giant. They buy every day because their fridges are tiny, and as a result they engage in a lot more impulse buying of cakes and pastries. Obesity and weight problems are rising in Europe. Meanwhile, I've never struggled with my weight here in the US. Yes, a lot if this is due to class and income. But like I said, my family in Europe is working class.

You can buy meat and cheese from local or artisan dairy places. There is a large market for this kind of stuff and you can absolutely find it. But I think what you're really saying is that you wish that the dominant culture in the US was one that prioritized high quality food, and you perceive that this is the case in Europe. I think that isn't true at the working class level, the same as the US. But it is true that a European UMC might be more likely than an American UMC to prioritize quality food.

Our current food policies were made immediately after the depression and were intended to make it so that people in the US never experience hunger again. The goal is noble, even if there are unintended side effects. I think when you look at the US through the eyes of the people who tried to make it better, you might end up with more empathy and understanding of how we got to our current state. And I'd gently recommend that you can either leave or stay, but if you stay, start living the life you want to have. You might have more common ground with flyover people, traditionalists, etc than you think, because what you're saying is that you want a greater connection to nature and the earth.  [/quote]

As someone who shops cheap, European quality for cheap food goods is vastly better than US quality for cheap food goods specifically because of better regulation in Europe on fillers and additives. I don't care that people in the US who have $$ can eat high quality, the point is what quality of cheap goods people without money can get. And yes, it's better there.[/quote]

The greater the demand for high quality food, the cheaper it will become. So if you want it, then be part of the demand. Everyone on this forum can easily afford it. [/quote]

You are glaringly out of touch. I live in a city where people barely have access to a grocery store near their house when they also can't afford a car, let alone the ability to pay for high quality foods on a meager income. You are sticking your head in the sand or under your fancy CSA crate. You are also willfully ignorant of basic, well documented and described differences in regulation of food additives and farming requirements in the US vs Europe. [/quote]

Maybe if they stopped shoplifting, then they could have a grocery store nearby.[/quote]

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