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| Author: | noodles [ Tue Jul 29, 2008 6:44 pm ] |
| Post subject: | AMERICA IS FAT SELFISH PIG |
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24 ... 01,00.html US appetites 'put bite on global food supply' * US appetites under spotlight as food crisis deepens * Suggestions smaller portion sizes would ease crisis * Americans eat 3770 calories a day, says UN AFTER having dinner at Clyde's in Washington's trendy Chinatown, a young boy sluggishly gets up to follow his family to the exit. His waitress jokes, "You're stuffed, huh?" The boy lets out a grunt, saying, "Yeah, I'm full. I feel like I'm going to burst," as he ambles to the door. Such is the response of many customers who venture into the popular restaurant. One waitress said, "It depends on the dish, but I've never gotten a complaint that it's too little." But with soaring food prices sparking protests in many countries and more than 800 million people going hungry every day, US food portions are under scrutiny. A lightening of the American plate could ease pressure on worldwide demand, but not everyone is hopeful change will be coming any time soon. 'Monument to decadence' With a bombardment of food ads, many aimed at children, Americans are tempted with an array of food choices. One fast-food chain calls its massive burger a "monument to decadence" while the Wendy's chain calls its "Baconator" a "mountain of mouth-watering taste." Portion sizes in the US not only exceed those in less-developed countries, but also in the developed world. In fact, Americans have the highest per capita daily consumption in the world, eating 3770 calories a day, more than a Canadian at 3590 calories or an Indian at 2440, according to data from the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation. "We've looked at large portion sizes almost entirely in terms of whether it's healthy for us, and now we have to consider is that sort of a demand going to be sustainable," said Paul Roberts, author of The End of Food. Roberts believes smaller portions would help. "It would probably be a way to take pressure off of grain markets if we somehow convinced people to take smaller portion sizes." Food prices In the US, food prices are expected to rise 4.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent this year, which would be the highest increase since 1990. Americans are putting more thought into food buying. High food prices coupled with a slowing economy have led 71 per cent of Americans to eat out less and 48 per cent are buying fewer groceries, according to the Food Marketing Institute. Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, said consumer buying habits are changing, including in the US. "But, it's unusual to see it in the United States, where I've seen reports of low income American families doing what low income families in the third world do, which is skipping meals, particularly women skipping meals so their kids can eat," Patel said. He said there is also a boom in Spam and other low quality meats. "There's certainly a sort of downshift in the quality and sometimes, for the poorest Americans, the quantity of food they're able to afford." Eating out Restaurants are also being hit hard by the rise in food prices. Between February 2006 and February 2008, wholesale food prices have soared 15.5 per cent, according to Michael Donohue, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association. But as of January, menu prices only increased by 3.9 per cent, compared with the 5.8 per cent increase in grocery store prices. Mr Donohue said some 133 million Americans ate out every day. "The typical adult eats at a restaurant nearly six times a week, and more than half say eating out is an essential part of their lifestyle," he said. But restaurants are not making big reductions in portions, making only small moves like not automatically refilling bread baskets or introducing calorie counter options. "I've seen some anecdotal reports in the press about restaurants saying they're making the portions a little bit smaller in order to save money, but I haven't seen that as a general trend in going into restaurants," said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Centre for Science in the Public Interest. French fries Ms Wootan said large portion sizes were unlikely to fade away despite increasing food costs since the actual farm value of food was low for restaurants compared to other costs, such as labour, advertising and transportation. "So if you pay a dollar for an order of French fries only about 20 cents goes for the potatoes, the oil and the salt," she said. "When a restaurant sells a large fry instead of a small fry, the cost of the potatoes themselves adds only a little bit of cost and all their other costs of doing business stay the same. So companies make a lot more profit off of big portion sizes." President George W. Bush caused a stir earlier this year when he blamed India's growing wealth and demands for better food for raising food prices. But many worldwide pointed the finger back at Americans' tummies. But author Patel said ironically it is the poor in America that are driving consumption. Portion sizes "Yes, portion sizes are large in the US, but people who tend not to have choice about portion sizes are people who are on lower incomes who buy prepackaged food, which comes in those fixed portion sizes," he said. "Blaming the consumer for what is available on the market isn't a satisfactory explanation for why there's a food crisis." Patel points the finger at large-scale agribusiness, which he believes is profiting from the crisis. However, Ephraim Leibtag, a US Department of Agriculture economist, said: "US food consumption hasn't changed in 10 years. He contends the problem is really due to rising worldwide consumption while supplies are not keeping pace. But Mr Leibtag did agree that US food consumption is high. "Potentially, and this is up for debate, a benefit of higher prices is lower consumption, and, in this country, that actually would not be a bad thing overall." |
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| Author: | Azrael [ Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:21 pm ] |
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it's not opening :/ |
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| Author: | cry of the banshee [ Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:45 pm ] |
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http://www.fao.org/es/ESS/chartroom/gfap.asp# Check map #3. Looks to me like Europe is as bad as The U.S. and Canada, Australia are right behind. Nice try. Idiot. |
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| Author: | noodles [ Tue Jul 29, 2008 11:05 pm ] |
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"Portion sizes in the US not only exceed those in less-developed countries, but also in the developed world. In fact, Americans have the highest per capita daily consumption in the world, eating 3770 calories a day, more than a Canadian at 3590 calories or an Indian at 2440, according to data from the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation. " hey thanks for the new facts that weren't in the article they were very useful and informative i'm glad you posted |
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| Author: | Legacy Of The Night [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 12:06 am ] |
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Americans are fat? What else is new? |
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| Author: | Caligula_K [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 12:39 am ] |
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I do agree that the portion sizes in America (and to a lesser extent Canada) are a big problem. Portion sizes in Canada can be big, depending on the restaurant, but whenever I cross the border every restaurant seems to serve ridiculous amounts of food, of which I can eat about half. Food consumption needs to be cut down in general in the west, especially during this food crisis. |
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| Author: | cry of the banshee [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:32 am ] |
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noodles wrote: "Portion sizes in the US not only exceed those in less-developed countries, but also in the developed world. In fact, Americans have the highest per capita daily consumption in the world, eating 3770 calories a day, more than a Canadian at 3590 calories or an Indian at 2440, according to data from the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation. "
hey thanks for the new facts that weren't in the article they were very useful and informative i'm glad you posted 3770 - 3590 = 180 or less than two slices of bread, an insignificant difference. Do you ever have a point? Face it, Canada and the West in general are as gluttonous as we are. Next time why not be a little more honest in your bullshit pseudo-news story headers, eh? |
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| Author: | noodles [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 3:28 am ] |
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why do you assume i cant do simple math? (perhaps it's only a rarity in america...?) please stop being so condescending ps. the thread title is what is known as "irony" pps. 3000+ calories a day is insane! i eat like 2000 and am never really hungry |
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| Author: | Mike [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 3:52 am ] |
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The article is true. We live in a capitalistic society here in the US which does not give a damn about the consequences of the crap that they market to us every day. Whether it's shit food, terrible unnecessary drugs, or 15,000 pound 10 mpg vehicles, they just don't care as long as you buy. There is absolutely no reason why food portions are so incredibly large here. It's due time that we hold ourselves accountable and change our habits. It's all about making you addicted and sick here in the US. Therefore, the pharmaceutical companies can then market their shit drugs that only treat the symptoms of the illness instead of really offering a path to truly becoming well and healthy. We're worth more to private health care companies when we're fat and sick. They don't promote true health here. They only promote gimmicks to separate you from your money. We live in the information age. We need to take the time to research what is good for us, take control of our lives, make healthy choices every day, and ignore the marketing propaganda that inundates us all the time. I've taught my 8 year old son that McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Hardees, etc.. makes you sick. He won't eat there because of what we've told him. I don't let him watch television extensively because of all the marketing shit they throw at kids. We make sure he eats well, reads books, imagines and creates, and engages in life. My wife's company pays for a family plan to an enormous fitness club to promote company wide health and to cut their health care expenses. My wife has lost 70 pounds in the past year, she's totally changed her dietary habits, she exercises daily, and is a great example for our son. The US can no longer remain the land of excess. We need to change. |
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| Author: | traptunderice [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 4:39 am ] |
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Raven wrote: \ I've taught my 8 year old son that McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Hardees, etc.. makes you sick. He won't eat there because of what we've told him. You lied to your son to control him? Just kidding but I assume by "makes you sick" you mean you told him it lacks any nutritional value and is high in fat.
If any American doesn't think we eat to much as a country well you're lying to yourself or you were raised, ie: brainwashed, to think that super-sizing is necessary. The common argument that obesity is a sign of economic affluence doesn't matter because eating too much is a lack of self control. |
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| Author: | Mike [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:21 pm ] |
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traptunderice wrote: Raven wrote: \ I've taught my 8 year old son that McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Hardees, etc.. makes you sick. He won't eat there because of what we've told him. You lied to your son to control him? Just kidding but I assume by "makes you sick" you mean you told him it lacks any nutritional value and is high in fat.I should have explained it a bit better. When he was younger (3 and 4 years old) that's how we explained it to him. It has just kind of stuck every since. Plus, the point we were making is that it would make him feel bad/sick if he ate it. Now that he's getting older I explain to him that Mc D's and the other fast food culprits have little to no nutritional value at all. |
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| Author: | Thomas [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:16 pm ] |
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When I came to the US, the first thing that struck me was: Holy shit there is a lot of fat people here. And my first restaurant visit explained pretty much why. Everything is so big in the US, food portions too. I ordered som cake for dessert. And what do I get? A huge piece of cake that was at least 15-17 cm high, and just as long. I was like, do they actually expect me to eat that? I think I took 3-4 bites before I was stuffed. No wonder American's get fat if it's actually normal to eat that much. And what is the deal with no normal bread in the stores. Everything we ate for breakfeast was bagels. Sweet and sugary, and I bet there wasn't a gram of nescesarry nutrition. |
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| Author: | The Evil Dead [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:58 pm ] |
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We try our best here in America. |
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| Author: | noodles [ Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:09 pm ] |
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australia now words fattest nation! o/ |
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| Author: | Goat [ Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:58 am ] |
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noodles wrote:
Unsurprising. I'd have actually thought Aussies were tubbier than Yanks anyhow. Let's keep the OMFG AMERCIA hysteria going, despite this revelation. http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/ http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/ That's a lot of dead people. Let's think about them for a moment, rather than the disgusting fat shitblobs that slobber their way across town eating cake all day. |
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| Author: | traptunderice [ Thu Jul 31, 2008 4:49 pm ] |
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Zad wrote: Let's keep the OMFG AMERCIA hysteria going, despite this revelation. That was a little below the belt. Let's derail the OMFG AMERICA hysteria and talk about Britain and France carved up the middle east with complete disregard to tribal territory lines, ie: putting Shia, Sunni and Kurds all in one state. Criticism of countries is pretty lame considering the population doesn't voice its opinion on every single issue.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/ http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/ That's a lot of dead people. Let's think about them for a moment, rather than the disgusting fat shitblobs that slobber their way across town eating cake all day. |
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| Author: | Goat [ Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:08 pm ] |
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traptunderice wrote: Zad wrote: Let's keep the OMFG AMERCIA hysteria going, despite this revelation. That was a little below the belt. Let's derail the OMFG AMERICA hysteria and talk about Britain and France carved up the middle east with complete disregard to tribal territory lines, ie: putting Shia, Sunni and Kurds all in one state. Criticism of countries is pretty lame considering the population doesn't voice its opinion on every single issue.http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/ http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/ That's a lot of dead people. Let's think about them for a moment, rather than the disgusting fat shitblobs that slobber their way across town eating cake all day. Yes, hence my implicit irony. But dead peoples are dead peoples - note links are for both civilians and troops. I hope you're not disrespecting the troops. |
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| Author: | Cú Chulainn [ Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:22 pm ] |
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I'm in New Haven right now, and it's astonishing to me how cheap and how big everything is. Fucking burgers cost 5 bucks, half of what the price would be in Switzerland. |
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| Author: | The Evil Dead [ Sat Aug 02, 2008 5:43 am ] |
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Zad wrote: Let's think about them for a moment, rather than the disgusting fat shitblobs that slobber their way across town eating cake all day.
What sucks is I can't slobber around town all day eating cake anymore because of our economy. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS NATION ABOUT ANYMORE? |
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| Author: | TheOctavarius [ Sat Aug 02, 2008 5:10 pm ] |
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Quote: WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS NATION ABOUT ANYMORE?
Mindcrimes, of course. |
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