US food standards vs the rest of the world

[SomeRandom]

Okay. So I grew up watching a lot of US media and have even visited California once. Look at me go. But I wanted to get a perspective from real Americans
Your standards of food compared to the rest of the world
The bread I had in Cali, I could practically taste the preservatives. Lasted weeks without mould. Here maybe 3-4 days and you’d get mould just by default
Tylenol has only now been approved (with changes I assume) to be released here.
Our potion sizes are even a lot smaller. A medium here is a small in the US and I can absolutely vouch for that.
So what do you think? Do American eat exceptionally unhealthy?
Are potion sizes too big for your own good?
Does the FDA have lower standards than the rest of the developed world?
Because it sort of seems like it, ngl

 

[SalixIncendium]

Most of what I eat is imported from India. I find American food to be bland and boring for the most part, and it's too difficult to find healthy options that don't contain meat.

That said, I'm not sure portion sizes are too large. Portions per package are listed plainly on whatever one buys that's not prepared in a restaurant. Restaurant portions, however, are too large. Even in Indian restaurants, I find I take home at least half of what I'm served.

I can't speak intelligently about FDA standards compared to the rest of the world, as I'm not sure what each country's standards are.

 

[ratiocinator]

Never forget ordering a 'chicken salad' in the US, expecting/hoping for something like this:

and actually getting something like this:

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Okay. So I grew up watching a lot of US media and have even visited California once. Look at me go. But I wanted to get a perspective from real Americans
Your standards of food compared to the rest of the world
The bread I had in Cali, I could practically taste the preservatives. Lasted weeks without mould. Here maybe 3-4 days and you’d get mould just by default
Tylenol has only now been approved (with changes I assume) to be released here.
Our potion sizes are even a lot smaller. A medium here is a small in the US and I can absolutely vouch for that.
So what do you think? Do American eat exceptionally unhealthy?
Are potion sizes too big for your own good?
Does the FDA have lower standards than the rest of the developed world?
Because it sort of seems like it, ngl

All the American strangers and friends I've met across the years cook their food. A few processed like canned veggies since they last longer and things like that. Unfortunately, as a child mother worked three jobs, single, to take care of us four kids so we always ate unhealthy food (and yes, the portion sizes are huge). Now, as an adult, I dropped most process foods (the really really really processed ones), and cook. But for the most part, everyone else seemed to eat healthy in the late day or evenings. In less city areas in Virginia, south, and in the boondocks of the west as well they cook majority of the time. Where my family is, I think they probably eat process foods maybe once a month, I don't know. The south looks down at us Virginians (like other countries to the States) because they think we all like to eat fast and processed foods.

I'm sure more populated areas, people depend on processed foods more. Though, no. I don't believe Americans are less healthy. I just think if they had the time, processed-food grocery stores would go out of business.

Breads and things like that I think places like Trader Joes (not sure if they are popular abroad) and farmer's markets are good. I dropped all bread. It really depends on the household mostly. America is huge just as the food and the furniture, so maybe FDA has low standards but I don't think that's intentional. In other words, we have to fend for ourselves to eat healthy if going to the big chain stores. Many mom and pop restaurants cook real foods. When I went to red lobster years ago in Alabama I can tell the difference between their green beans and the ones up north. Really depends.

 

[darkskies]

Does the FDA have lower standards than the rest of the developed world?

I don't know about this, but I had literally the same experiences as you in California.
Not in Texas though. Breads, salads, etc. were all better except the big portions.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

American restaurant portions are frequently ridiculously large (same in Canada because we have so many of the same chains). Really good restaurants, however, serve more reasonable portions. I can feed 3 from one breakfast plate at IHOP.

 

[Secret Chief]

Never forget ordering a 'chicken salad' in the US, expecting/hoping for something like this:

and actually getting something like this:

Great, now I feel sick.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Never forget ordering a 'chicken salad' in the US, expecting/hoping for something like this:

and actually getting something like this:

I understand. Same language, different usages. Chicken salad refers to a general way of preparing chicken. Usually as sandwich material. Though I have occasionally seen it served on a bed of lettuce.

There is no lettuce in a potato salad either. I have had a chicken Caesar's salad that would be similar to your dish. But that would never be called a chicken salad here since people would be expecting the sandwich filling that you ordered.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I thought everyone in the US ate like this guy, every day...

Was disappointed to discover you don’t tbh

 

[Secret Chief]

Taken from
World Population Review:

"The United States has the 12th highest obesity rate in the world of 36.2% and is the most obese OECD country."


- 2021 World Population by Country

 

[Secret Chief]

Yet another reason why I wanted the UK to remain in the EU:

13 Ways the EU Beats the U.S. on Food Safety

 

[ratiocinator]

Great, now I feel sick.

Pretty much how I felt, as it happens - can't stand mayo.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Pretty much how I felt, as it happens - can't stand mayo.

That image looked like too much mayo. Properly used it is a perfectly fine ingredient. Overused and you can turn anyone into a hater. I cannot imagine a BLT without mayo.

 

[ratiocinator]

That image looked like too much mayo. Properly used it is a perfectly fine ingredient. Overused and you can turn anyone into a hater. I cannot imagine a BLT without mayo.

Obviously it's a matter of taste, but I just dislike it. I can just about tolerate it in very small amounts and if there's not much alternative, but there's nothing I think wouldn't be better without it. It's a problem for me even in the UK where it's very often used in shop sandwiches, even if they have real salad in them.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Reminds me of the Debaters.

 

[Stevicus]

So what do you think? Do American eat exceptionally unhealthy?
Are potion sizes too big for your own good?
Does the FDA have lower standards than the rest of the developed world?
Because it sort of seems like it, ngl

I think it goes up and down the spectrum. There are many Americans who are junk-food junkies, and then there are those who are total health food fanatics, along with quite a few in between.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Okay. So I grew up watching a lot of US media and have even visited California once. Look at me go. But I wanted to get a perspective from real Americans
Your standards of food compared to the rest of the world
The bread I had in Cali, I could practically taste the preservatives. Lasted weeks without mould. Here maybe 3-4 days and you’d get mould just by default
Tylenol has only now been approved (with changes I assume) to be released here.
Our potion sizes are even a lot smaller. A medium here is a small in the US and I can absolutely vouch for that.
So what do you think? Do American eat exceptionally unhealthy?
Are potion sizes too big for your own good?
Does the FDA have lower standards than the rest of the developed world?
Because it sort of seems like it, ngl

We can buy bread that doesn't have preservatives, but bread with preservatives is for sale. It does last a very long time, and its possible that it interferes with gut bacteria. I'm not qualified to say whether it interferes with gut bacteria, but some claim it does.

Corn syrup is the main problem here. Its in everything. When I was a child the wisdom put forward by the Food and Drug Administration said that we should limit our fat intake and err on the side of too much sugar. Food got increasingly sugary, and the cheepest sugar was corn syrup. Corn syrup, unfortunately confuses the liver which is not able to deal with it like it deals with fruit sugar. This results in rapid fat increase, lethargy, addiction, other symptoms. Now FDA advise has changed, and we should limit our sugar and err on the side of fat, but a lot of common foods here have heavy corn syrup (or if not corn syrup some other sugar). Breakfast cereals are to be avoided, but many parents feed their kids with them and add milk to soften. The least offensive breakfast cereals which claim to be good for your health such as 'Raisin Bran' taste like a sugar feast. Imagine feeding your child candy for breakfast and thinking its a health food! You can buy sugary instant oatmeal in apple, cinnamon, peach and strawberry flavors. It is deliciously sweet but not the kind of breakfast a person should live on.

Restaurant food is often packed with corn syrup and sugary bread. The portion sizes are not the real problem, though they are large. The reason they are large is possibly that we are sugar addicted and caffeine addicted, which makes us crave larger portions. Craving also is stirred by spicy food, but all of the food is not necessarily spicy. Anyways a person who eats lots of corn syrup and drinks coffee will resent a smaller portion.

All of this is changing. It is changing as more people realize that corn syrup is not part of a healthy meal. For example you can now buy ketchup without corn syrup in it -- from Hunts. Its delicious.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Does the FDA have lower standards than the rest of the developed world?
Because it sort of seems like it, ngl

It certainly does when it comes to milk and milk products.

This is becoming an issue in Canada, where our regulations don't allow the hormones and antibiotics that US farms are allowed to use, but American milk companies are demanding to be allowed into the Canadian market through our free trade treaty with the US.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Obviously it's a matter of taste, but I just dislike it. I can just about tolerate it in very small amounts and if there's not much alternative, but there's nothing I think wouldn't be better without it. It's a problem for me even in the UK where it's very often used in shop sandwiches, even if they have real salad in them.

Oh, British cooking. No wonder you hate it

Seriously there are some things that British do better than Americans. I tend to get better recipes for Indian food, though I have to put some ingredients through a translator. For example a tsp. of chili powder here would seem to be rather pointless in a meal. Chili powder is a mixture of various seasonings here. It is not very hot. A minor ingredient is Cayenne pepper. I do believe that your chili powder is lure cayenne. A pot of chili will often have three or four tablespoons of chili powder. Do that with cayenne pepper and you would need a gallon of milk to finish a bowl. And then there is the ingredient "one green chili pepper". At my grocery store there are going to be at least six different green colored chili peppers. Heck, I have one recipe that uses three different ones. Anaheim, Bell, and Jalapeno.

 

[Subduction Zone]

We can buy bread that doesn't have preservatives, but bread with preservatives is for sale. It does last a very long time, and its possible that it interferes with gut bacteria. I'm not qualified to say whether it interferes with gut bacteria, but some claim it does.

Corn syrup is the main problem here. Its in everything. When I was a child the wisdom put forward by the Food and Drug Administration said that we should limit our fat intake and err on the side of too much sugar. Food got increasingly sugary, and the cheepest sugar was corn syrup. Corn syrup, unfortunately confuses the liver which is not able to deal with it like it deals with fruit sugar. This results in rapid fat increase, lethargy, addiction, other symptoms. Now FDA advise has changed, and we should limit our sugar and err on the side of fat, but a lot of common foods here have heavy corn syrup (or if not corn syrup some other sugar). Breakfast cereals are to be avoided, but many parents feed their kids with them and add milk to soften. The least offensive breakfast cereals which claim to be good for your health such as 'Raisin Bran' taste like a sugar feast. Imagine feeding your child candy for breakfast and thinking its a health food! You can buy sugary instant oatmeal in apple, cinnamon, peach and strawberry flavors. It is deliciously sweet but not the kind of breakfast a person should live on.

Restaurant food is often packed with corn syrup and sugary bread. The portion sizes are not the real problem, though they are large. The reason they are large is possibly that we are sugar addicted and caffeine addicted, which makes us crave larger portions. Craving also is stirred by spicy food, but all of the food is not necessarily spicy. Anyways a person who eats lots of corn syrup and drinks coffee will resent a smaller portion.

All of this is changing. It is changing as more people realize that corn syrup is not part of a healthy meal. For example you can now buy ketchup without corn syrup in it -- from Hunts. Its delicious.

I am not a fan of sweetness in my food. I do not buy much in the way of processed food. As you pointed out it is too sweet. Nor do I drink soda very often. Though I do make a few exceptions. I have a recipe for work carnitas that calls for real coke. I mean Coca Cola with sugar, not corn syrup. Convenience stores tend to sell Mexican Coke here. A twelve ounce bottle costs more than what I could get a two liter bottle of soda for at the supermarket. I buy one bottle for the carnitas and one for me. I am good for a few months with that.