America’s strange attitudes toward food (Fast Company)

America’s rampant rate of obesity could be more a problem of food quality than food quantity. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Americans consume a daily average of 3,770 calories. Switzerland consumes 3,420 and rounds out the list of the 20 highest consuming countries with most of Western Europe and Canada falling somewhere in between. The U.S. only spends 6.9% of income on food, which is half the average of the 20 countries between it and Switzerland. Europeans have traditional dishes for which they might be more willing to prepare with higher quality ingredients to reflect their pride. America has no traditional dish. Its culinary claim is mechanizations and processes that made food cheaper. And we show our pride in that by consuming it.