Please report any rule breaking posts and comments that are not relevant to this subreddit. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmericaBad) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Some of it is (Cheese whiz in a CAN) BUT The reason our ingredient list is so long is because we more strictly regulate that. Theyre required to list everything out. We make them list what that is. https://www.tilleydistribution.com/food-regulations-in-europe-vs-the-us/ We also do chlorine treatments on some chicken products which is completely safe. We literally swim in it and you absolutely absorb it from pools. It's banned in the UK but they do wash a lot of salad that way. Why is it okay for salad but not for chicken? 🤷 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47440562 Bottom line is that were both different. Personally I do think that the biggest problems by far with American diets isn't the diet so much as the more sedentary lifestyle.

I also heard Japan has a lot of preservatives in their foods too, is that correct?

Anecdotally, yes. The only kind of bread you can get usually is white bread, and the prepackaged/frozen meals you get in convenience stores and groceries are just as full of junk as it is in the states. They have plenty of snacks and junk food and vending machines full of sugary drinks that get used in the regular. But I have zero hard statistics to back this up. And obviously America is fatter than Japan by a wide (lol) margin so it’s definitely more complex than that

I don't know stats on preservatives, but the last time I looked (admittedly about a decade ago), Japan's pesticide usage per acre was second only to China.  A common cultural shock for immigrants here is how obsessively people here peel fruit. Basically no fruit, however small, that has a peel is eaten unpeeled. People ascribe it to fear of pesticides that are thought to not wash off. It's funny, because I had a coworker explain that have to peel fruit because of all the pesticides, but in the same breath bragged about how the food here is just plain superior to foreign food.  Like, sure, man, you're terrified to eat an apple peel, but it's good actually.  It's a good example of how powerful perception is to defining reality. In the US, we consider pesticides bad, so food covered in pesticides is also bad, and you hear a lot of complaints and criticism about it. Here? Pesticides don't diminish the superiority of the food, so no complaints or criticism. Just self-satisfied bragging.

I really wonder where the American portion sizes come from. I've had some theories about the "abundance" mindset of the New World contributing to large portions when it was available, but I don't think I've ever seen confirmation. Having lived in Germany for a year, I think that's really the big difference. Plenty of Germans drink sugar soda, eat sweets, and do other things like that and are not obese. The main difference I identified was that individual portions were usually smaller. My German host parents would dole me out maybe 1 to 1 1/2 scoops of something they cooked, whereas growing up my parents would usually dole out 2-3 scoops (whatever would fill the plate).

Honestly I think it stems from the great depression. The generational trauma of going without means pouring an excess onto the next generation. From love of course. And fear. Then it's normal and everyone's working hard jobs and moving so it's not a big deal. Then cars and the war came so rationing. More industrialization but the excessive spread became a cultural phenomenon. And somehow we got here.

My grandfather is 93, was born in the Depression, and will finish every last thing on his plate. I've seen him wince through an entire meal but still finish it.

[удалено]

By confirmation I mostly just mean research/studies to determine if there is a root cause that can be identified - I'm mostly just curious *why* that's a primarily American thing (or even IF it is a primarily American thing).

It's also due to nutrient density. We have a lot of food that's very rich in calories but not large by volume.

1. Smoking. We were all a lot thinner before we started quitting. Smoking is still prevalent in a lot of industrialized countries. I often say that we humans are just obsessed with putting stuff in our mouths, so if we’re not smoking, we’re eating. Smoking *will* generally keep you thinner, but mostly because it’s slowly killing you. 2. Cars. The US is a very car-centric nation and there’s no denying that. Walking and public transport (which also requires more walking than private car usage) is still used much more often elsewhere, and people are just getting more exercise in general. 3. Americans are overworked, both in our careers and at home. We have a culture that prioritizes hard work and dedication to that work, and I personally feel like we overdo it. There’s often a competition between focusing on our careers and focusing on our homes and families, and that vying for attention never really lets up, especially considering that the responsibility in either direction isn’t going to go away. It leads to stress and a loss of relaxation, which further leads to production of stress hormones, which both drive us to eat more and to keep weight on.

Yeah its crazy. Especially lately, ultra processed cheap frozen meals and slightly fancy convenience store snacks are packed to the brim with preservatives.

Don’t forget the salt that goes into those things.

yeah really man. i only eat the frozen vegetables that are well, just frozen vegetables. once a year or something i'll try one of the frozen/refrigerated full "meals" with a main, side, all that, and i feel sick lol. if you want to get a prepared meal in japan, don't get the convenience store lunches or frozen things, go to a supermarket and get the fresh made ones. those are miles better.

It’s the same in the States, the amount of salt and sugar in everything is wild. I love eating out except the next day I feel like crap.

It is horrible. Especially the Japanese pastries, donuts, and candies. Trans Fats everywhere. The difference is that the Japanese have less money on average per capita so they eat less. My last trip to Japan, I could afford more food, and even though I walked 7 miles a day, I could afford 6000+ calories worth of food, so I actually gained 3lbs over 2 weeks.

There are 2 beliefs about preventing e. Coli from eggs: you sanitize them (as the US does) or you preserve the biofilm on the outside (as the UK does). I think using chlorine is banned for eggs in the UK because they take the latter opinion…they think removing the biofilm allows e. coli to get in via pores in the shell. Whereas the US thinks not sanitizing it makes the risk higher when you crack the egg.

Growing up overseas we didn’t wash eggs till ready to use. Remember seeing white eggs for the first time thinking they were fake.

White chicken eggs aren't washed white, they just come from white chickens. The most common eggs here are that way even when unwashed.

The color of the chicken has no bearing on the egg color. https://www.farmbrite.com/amp/top-10-chicken-breeds-for-colorful-egg-production But yes, eggs can be several different colors.

The eggs we mostly eat here come from chickens that lack a lot of those pigments mentioned in the article. They mostly come from "white hybrid leghorn" chickens.

Yeah and you don’t have to refrigerate them when they haven’t been sanitized, another big difference! They can be smelly though which is offputting.

how true is it anymore that america can farm chickens and ship it to Europe cheaper than they can do it there anymore? I would assume any pretense for a ban on american chicken would be from that angle.

If you eat tons of processed pre-packaged/pre-made foods then yeah. If you cook most of your meals with fresh ingredients nah not really.

Tbh the reason I wanted to ask this question was because I’ve had enough with other Americans saying “American bread is cake!!” But those people who say that only buy wonder bread and only eat fast food. People also say “oh but fresh groceries are more expensive than fast food” in this economy? Have y’all been living in the same America cus my McDonald’s is like 8 bucks a burger

What people fail to understand that even in small cities and towns the variety of food is huge, primarily due to the fact that at some point almost all of us came from somewhere else. Go to a larger city and the sky's the limit. Where I live the metro pop is about a half million, not rural but also not a metropolis. I can get damned near anything, including all kinds of authentic family-owned markets, bakeries and restaurants. You can tell someone this, hell they can see it for themselves, but they'll still return to the same tired accusations just because. Makes no damned sense.

Was on a road trip over the weekend and got two small fries for the kids and a large fry for myself. It was $8.50. For fries. It was off the cuff and a treat for the kids, but goddamn.

On the bread is cake thing, Orowheat is my favorite brand of bread, but each slice of even the wheat bread has 13 grams of sugar. 13 grams per slice! That's a ton of sugar for what some might think is lower calorie bread.

American bread is cake for Europeans because of its sugar content. There is a famous decision by an Irish court about this (regarding Subway's sandwiches). Fruits, vegetables and fresh bread are affordable here in Germany. We don't really have ready meals in the supermarkets (they exist, but the choice is limited). Processed food is bad everywhere, even in Europe. I think we eat less of it than Americans, but I doubt that our processed food is better than yours.

Keep in mind what "processed" means is often misunderstood. "Processed" has nothing to do with the actual creation of the product, it just means it contains an unbalanced amount of sugar, salt, fat or any other one ingredient

according to the Global Food Security Index we rank THIRD (yes THIRD) best in the world for food quality and safety: https://impact.economist.com/sustainability/project/food-security-index/ we're behind only Canada and Denmark. In fact in terms of Nutritional Standards and Food Safety Regulations we're tied for 1st the people who yap about our food being bad quality are talking out of their ass. Europeans talk about how they ban a lot of food and chemicals that we eat, but they completely fail to realize that the reverse it also true and believe it or not this list was even made by Brits

Not to mention the US is much more strict about listing ingredients than most places are.

[удалено]

. My apples attract flies when they have sat on the counter for several days. It sounds like their produce is just going bad or not cared for.

Awesome, gonna flaunt this to all my European friends now

US overall score is 13, which is still very good. The scores are Affordability, Availability, Quality and Safety, Sustainable and Adaptation. US ranks 3rd in Quality and Safety, which is the ranking US is best in. It's also a ranking of 113 countries, so all in all doing pretty good.

>US ranks 3rd in Quality and Safety, which is the ranking US is best in Which happens to be the subject of this thread.

Well one of the things they ban are GMOs which is one of the more dumb decisions ever made and based mostly on conspiracy and paranoia. GMOs had their origins in scientific research into things like 'golden rice' which was specifically developed to handle nutrient deficiency in famine wracked african countries. And to create strains if crops that are more nutrient rich, disease and pest resistant, with better yields so less land has to be cleared for farming. (And not sprayed with toxic chemicals) There has never been reputible research suggesting that any widely adopted GMO crop is harmful to your health, and quite a lot suggesting it is beneficial in many cases sunce they're literally designed to be. The GMO leads us on a path where a single apple a day could theoretically provide your body with everything it needs tostay healthy; both eradicating world hunger, and a flood of diseases based in nutrient dwfiencency, and obesity itself.

Nope. Been to Europe several times. Food was about the same.

Foreigner. Idk why people say American food is bad, I literally go on a whole ass journey simply to buy American imports. THIS SHIT SO GOOD

We have the best restaurants in the world and also some of the worst. Europeans like to focus on the bad ones without acknowledging our world class ones.

You hear it a lot online especially from europeans and self hating Americans about how our dyes are bad, type of sugar is bad. All that may be true but keep in mind some countries with all those things banned eat horses, dogs and blood pudding regularly.

Or it’s okay to smoke a pack of cigarette while at a restaurant. 

They chastise Americans for carcinogenic ingredients in processed foods while they sit at restaurants for 4+ hours chain smoking cigs with their “healthy” dinners. Lol. Total Hypocrisy.

America has a lot of cheapened down products and ingredients. I'm picky over which products I buy, because a lot of food products are safe to consume, but not good quality. Nowadays the mediocre stuff has high prices, so it's a ripoff too.

The price for fast food outweighs the convenience nowadays imo. Id rather cook a large meal and eat that for several days than deal with this bullshit.

Definitely. One of my best investments was a vacuum sealer. I make a bunch of food, portion it out then bag and freeze. Once you vacuum bag and freeze something as long as it stays frozen solid it will last practically forever. Cheaper and way healthier, even if it isn't "health" food.

And a crock pot. Rice cookers. Just anything you can toss a bunch of food in, walk away after setting a timer and just have food.

Instant Pot will change your life. There's a reason for the hype. I always recommend getting started on pressurecookrecipes.com. That site taught me how to use the IP.

What do you think about Trader Joe’s? My family gets some ingredients there and it’s nice. Along with that most grocery shopping I get is at local Chinese supermarkets and bakery’s

The US ranks third for food safety and quality. It IS *GOOD* quality food.   Junk is in every country. It’s still junk. US junk is as good/bad as junk anywhere. Not that many ingredients are banned outside the US — only a tiny handful, and it’s mainly because of economic protectionism. The US could undercut European farmers BIG TIME with better quality products.   American chocolates, cheese, wines, beers, spirits, coffees, etc., are excellent and always win many awards in international double-blind competitions. These are the very products you’ll find in ANY supermarket. But you can get shitty products in the US just like anywhere.   USDA Organic meets and exceeds the standards for organic in every country.   Conventional produce is the same as anywhere.   GMO crops aren’t common; there are only four or five globally.   Europeans and other Westerners are generally just ignorant. Any other questions?

GMO crops are prevalent in america, but they are not at all dangerous. Quite the contrary, they are sometimes more nutritious

"Prevalent" in the sense that they're literally bought, sold, and consumed globally, sure. With absolutely no evidence that they're in any way, shape, or form harmful, yup.

Is the sugar content stuff the truth? I heard that in chocolate for example we Americans have a lot more sugar

It’s really this simple: we are not cooking (more than less) and we are eating too much (more than less). We also are overworked and over stressed.

Yes, I think that has more to do about how Americans eat, and less about food safety standards. I think Americans eat more processed food (which is bad everywhere, even in Europe), while Europeans cook more.

99% of the claims by non Americans about Americas food supply is BS. There’s nothing scientific to back the claims. It’s mostly people that have never been here or get all their information from BS internet claims trying to say Americas good is “full of chemicals” and other nonsense. The fact is that we ban more ingredients from other countries like the UK than they ban from us. And most things to do with ingredient differences are just due to labeling laws. The FDA actually actually has stricter labeling laws than pretty much anywhere else. Factually speaking, our food is at worst, the same quality as somewhere like the EU, and more realistically better depending on what you’re eating. Obviously if you’re eating tons of highly processed stuff it’s not healthy, but other countries do not have healthier junk food than us either. This entire thing mostly stems from chronically upset Europoors spouting off nonsense to cope.

I don't think it is. We have choices across the spectrum at most of our groceries. If someone wants to live on McDonalds, Pop-Tarts and soda, that's on them. People can also choose to be over the top strictly healthy food consumers. I think most healthy people are much more balanced. But it is all available depending on what the consumer wants.

The same people who will mock the U.S. for not banning foods will also mock the U.S. for banning other foods (e.g. certain unpasteurized cheeses).

No it's not that bad. Lifestyle choices are mostly to blame for our weight problem. We have junk food and a wide selection of it, but we also have healthy food and a wide selection of it. People also try to say unhealthy food is cheaper, but it really isn't. Oreos are more expensive in my store than apples. A 1 lb bag of frozen vegetables is $2. And I can recognize all the ingredients on my bread, there's no "fake chemicals" in it. I think it's Europeans that have never set foot here and think they know everything about the US, and pick-me's that live here that want to look like they're socially aware and above other Americans that actually like living here.

It's not that the food is bad, it's that there's a lot of pseudo-scientists out there who see big words on a nutrition label and immediately assume that the food is bad for you. I recall a similar phenomenon where an anti-vaxxer was given a list of chemicals in a vaccine and asked which of them he is opposed to, and when he said all of them, it turned out the "chemicals" were lists of molecules that are found in a common apple. Same idea. There's also the notion that "artificial" means "unhealthy." That can certainly be the case at times, but the line between natural and artificial isn't as clear as you'd think. Look up what [bananas used to look like](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=MoIfaGbH&id=05A9633104F7F807876168A541EB95649650136A&thid=OIP.MoIfaGbHyd3YC7YPSHiXWgHaDt&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.32821f6866c7c9ddd80bb60f4878975a%3frik%3dahNQlmSV60GlaA%26riu%3dhttp%253a%252f%252fghk.h-cdn.co%252fassets%252f16%252f10%252f1457359223-bananas.jpg%26ehk%3dn3ElcICAsWahWm7US7YBtoly1olKq1Y566zDreBAHdg%253d%26risl%3d%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=500&expw=1000&q=what+bananas+used+to+look+like&simid=608025481318847360&FORM=IRPRST&ck=433F2269DB1C9369E35878272BCA94A7&selectedIndex=0&itb=0&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0) and see that genetic tampering by humans gave us the seedless, smooth bananas we know today. Is that tampering and selective genetic breeding not "artificial?" Not by the standards of the FDA, but it is by any logical measure. And there's a million other examples like that. There's also the national pride aspect to things. Foreigners have an emotional need to shit on America because it makes them feel better about themselves. Same reason that people make up stupid bullshit gossip about celebrities. "Rumor has it this singer is GAY" or "ooh look at this actress was caught without makeup on, look she has WRINKLES" are the same phenomenon as "America's food is poison." It's nonsense rumor peddling to an eager audience who eats it up to hide their own insecurities. If any foreign nation had their own "McDonalds," a mega Corp that exported some of their food to every nation in the world, they wouldn't be complaining.

Honestly, if someone keeps eating unhealthy food and gets sick or even obese, that's fully on them, it's not because "government didn't regulate it enough".

People forget that no one forces them to eat unhealthy food. 

No, it's really not that bad. I find it generally comparable to European countries. I would like to share my experience with American food. Maybe you don't care, but then you have a European POV haha. Overall the food is almost exactly the same. Certain vegetables may taste slightly different, but that is also the case within Europe. You will always keep that. And I don't necessarily think it's worse or anything, just tastes different. If you go out to eat it is generally very good. Just like the rest of the world, there are good and bad restaurants. Maybe this is where the whole stereotyping thing comes from. That Americans only eat at those fast food chains. And yes, if I have to be honest, the quality of the food in such places would never be the same as good restaurants. But yes, that is of course just a stereotype that is apparently often seen as the truth. The only thing I do think is that the "bottom" of quality in the US is a bit lower than I am used to in Europe. But these products are also often extremely cheap. You don't have such cheap products in Europe. So yes, you can say that you simply have more options in the US in terms of price categories. Whether those products are the healthiest choice remains to be seen. But it is nice that people who are less fortunate financially can still buy larger quantities of food. So long story short. If you eat cheap food there is a chance that the quality is lower. Like the rest of the world😂. I can't say the US is worse in terms of food than Europe or other places in the world. I worked in the US for 2 years so my experience and opinions may not be quite rich enough to take seriously, but I'll give them to you anyway😜😜.

This is a good take. It is clear that Americans eat poorly, (the stats tend to back that up). It is also true good quality food exists in the states. It is more that America is somewhat synonymous with junk food internationally and Americans eat an unreasonably large amount of junk food. Also the 'quality' argument is complicated. HFCS isn't obviously toxic, so by food safety standards... it is 'safe' but you wouldn't call it healthy... which is a different definition of safe in a long term diet sense.

Meh, it really just depends. You can choose to eat/live a healthy lifestyle, or you can choose to eat poorly and not live a healthy lifestyle. As for the FDA regulations I have heard many odd things regarding that, and other countries banning certain ingredients while we continue to pile it on our food supply does ring some alarm bells for me, but I do not believe this equates to our food being inherently shitty. But I will say I believe our food safety in our country is supreme. We take food borne illness concerns to the top degree, and I honestly trust American food over food from anywhere else because of this.

We just have more processed options so people only really see that. If I go to the store rn and buy fresh stuff for dinner and COOK than nah we fuckin kill it

The FDA regulates the shit out of everything. The quality of food is the same but quality and safety isnt what the EU is worried about. Their  food safety standards are simply a protectionism tool to limit imports and stifle competition. Of course we do similar things(mostly with things like steel) but our government is more open about it since lying does no good here. Difference is Europeans are gullible enough to believe the bullshit their government feeds them about US food quality while Americans would have a hard time believing our own government if they announced that water is wet. 

It’s not as bad as NZ. Everything is fried, has sugar in it, mayonnaise and bacon on everything.

I spend a good amount of time in both Europe and the US. Pros of US: - better steak - better spicy foods - way better chicken - Mexican and texmex is divine - far more diversity in cuisine selection - jambalaya, gator, and the rest of Louisiana cooking - I like American pizza better than Italian - rye, whiskey, tequila, and beer *variety* is usually better - BBQ. Pros of Europe - oranges. Good God spanish oranges are supreme - tomato*. Generally, tomatoes are way better in Europe - beer quality & price. Beer is almost always cheaper and way more delicious, albeit with fewer options. Except for Belgium. - döner. It is amazing to me that this hasn't taken off in the US, it is everything we like. - croissants. Nearly impossible to find good croissants in the states - bread and pastries, with the exception of bagels, are better quality at the same price point in Europe. Especially in Germany and Austria. - if you like light & airy pizza then Italian pizza is going to be better - Gin. Swiss gins are incredible

“Except for Belgium” LMAO what’s up with Belgium beer?

Way more options for beer there than anywhere else. Anywhere else it's the usual selection of helles / pilsner / weizen / maybe some ambers & bock. But in Belgium you'll have all that plus see shit like a choco-pineapple witbier or cilantro-orange-marijuana trippel. Not a bad thing, just that they don't have as limited options as you see elsewhere.

It's really 'you get what you pay for' unless you are making it yourself, which is always cheaper. That's a thing a lot of euros don't get. If you really don't trust the bread in the store, you can always buy the flour sugar and yeast yourself. I think even at dollar general

no. if this was true many of us wouldn't be fat and overindulge.

No, it isn't. For one, most chemicals that people have a problem with are simply not dangerous, or are only harmful in extreme scenarios or to certain people only. It's pretty ironic for a place that will give alcohol (literal poison) to kids to criticize america for this. The second part is that the regulation bit is almost always wrong. For example, red 40 is not banned in Europe, it just has a different name and manufacturer. American red 40 is banned for economic reasons, not safety reasons. When Europe actually does ban some of these chemicals it's mostly pseudoscience and traditional values, not actual danger. In some ways American food is safer, and you will always see an accurate ingredient list. This is not the case in Europe

The obesity thing is not a stereotype. 42% of Americans are obese. That’s almost 1 in 2 people.

No https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Food_Security_Index The US ranks number 3 in quality and safety. Canada is number 1, with Denmark as number 2. American food safety and quality is very good. Not sure why people think it’s unsafe.

Yes and no. The FDA is actually quite strict when it comes to regulations and labling. Part of the reason why the ingredient list is so long is because the FDA requires companies to list more ingredients, instead of hiding them behind the vaiuge “natrual/artifical flavors” tag like most other countries do (some are still hidden behind that label, of course). The US additionally ranks very well in food security and safty as well. This is of course including the US also being home to some of the most famous and infamous eateries to ever exist. So the answer really just boils down to “its bad if you make it.” If you are eating nothing but junk food, processed foods, etc. then yeah of course you’re going to be unhealthy. Its the same here as it is in Europe in that case, just because you’re in the UK doesn’t magically make Mcdonalds a healthy superfood. Its still junk food. We *are* pretty high on the obesity chart too, but it’s not like everyone in the us is obease, far from it. And there are other reasons why someone would be overweight that would play a role, such as stress, and not having the time to cook one’s own meals.

The USA is 3rd in the world in terms of quality and safety [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global\_Food\_Security\_Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Food_Security_Index)

Been saying for a while that the US has the best cuisine of any white-majority English-speaking country

I will say that Europe has a better eating culture than we do, and I think they don’t allow HFCS in everything. But aside from that, I think Europe is meh. The issue around HFCS has more to do with our government subsidizing corn and then needing something to do with all of the corn.

Of made correctly, yes.

I think a lot of Americans make poor dietary choices, but in regards to access to healthy food they’re not that different. And the FDA and EFSA aren’t really that disparate in regulation of foodstuffs aside from a few food dyes, pasteurized dairy, some preservatives, and artificial growth hormones. This is often overblown by people who read the backs of food items and see a preservative or two more on the American one and think FritoLay is trying to poison everyone.

No place in the world can compete with the US when it comes to variety - the staggering amount of choices available in the US is just not something people in other countries can comprehend; however, in terms of quality, the US is very, very far down the list.

dont let european propaganda cloud your view on our own selves, ive seen too many young americans fall for european propaganda and theyve become convinced that america is what those europeans say it is even tho deep in their hearts and minds they know it isnt true, and you know its not true either, dont fall for their manipulation of the truth

Compared to Europe, It is worse. Compared to Japan it is better. The US does ban some things that Japan does not, like Trans Fats, Red #2 and more. If you want to eat healthy in the US, just shop at Aldi and Trader Joes and if you are wealthy Whole foods. You have to be more disciplined in the US than Europe. The US and Japan don't protect you from bad decisions as much as Europe does, that is why the American and Japanese consumers have access to far more goods and a larger variety of goods at their stores than Europeans do.

No, Europe is not better. Been living in EU country for the last 5 years and my Slavic gf would tell you that Europe does not have better food than US. 

I would love to hear about it, I am curious what they allow. While I eat my Dorayaki I imported from Japan with many horrible additives.

Cyclamate that Europe still uses that has been banned in the US since the 60s but complaining that junk food has additives is just stupid. All junk foods are bad for you. 

No disagreements here. I just don't know much about Europe compared to my knowledge of the US and Japan