Are we becoming picky eaters?

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The final post in a recent thread about gay & polygamous marriage that Drew posted got me thinking about food production. I quickly found the link that he got his numbers from:
U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat

It got me thinking: We are using a lot of fossil fuel for getting our biofuel into our mouths. I imagine a lot is involved in transport and automation, as well as a scala of related administrative, legislatory and other tasks.

Comparing this with the way people eat in other countries, I'm wondering if there might be something we can scale back a bit, to cut costs. I just get this impression that people have gone hyperbolic with food safety issues. We're such hypochondriacs, that we can't enjoy food anymore.

Meat often becomes a safer alternative for companies, because it is easier to process and clean than a lot of vegetables. Perhaps I'm alone on this, but I've always felt that if there were cheaper and tastier vegetarian alternatives available for us all, that I'd make the switch effortlessly. Not vegan, though: I like my milk!

This thread isn't only about vegetarianism, though. It's about the rampant waste that now encompasses food production. Western nations don't have good selections of veggies in the supermarkets. I've tasted fruits, vegetables, and even meat that I'd never even heard of now that I live in China. I'm wondering: Why is it, that with all our skill, knowlegde and expertise, that we can't even eat as well as people in developing regions do?

Chinese are exceptionally fussy about hygiene, although a lot of it is based on superstition (gullibly following rumours) than on science. But WE are no better off, as I've seen western discussions about genetic engineering and food contaminants become completely sidetracked by uninformed misconceptions. There are concerns about such things, but most people don't even know how to properly address them. I know enough to see when people are talking nonsense, though I'm no expert either.

We have lost our way (to the vegetable market), and have forgotten all the good recipes that our ancestors could enjoy. Well, maybe not *my* ancestors, but other cultures have more spices than mine. We're stuck in a rut choking on packaged and processed food. Why aren't we eating good food made from ingredients all over the world?

Granted, a large part of the wasted fossil fuel is in transporting foods from other countries. But if we handled it more efficiently, like just importing the spices that don't grow in other regions, we can all still eat deliciously.

 

As a person who lived in the East for several years, I think it's at least partly a culture thing. Many Westerners are partial to beef, for example, and prefer it over fish. Fish, on the other hand, is preferred by many Easterners over beef, especially in the archipelagos. Everyone thinks their meat is better. As for veggies vs meat, I think it's simply because meat has always been seen as the "better" food especially once we include the idea of social classes. Families who are better off eat meat while those who are struggling eat veggies. We know that meat isn't always better health-wise, but the fact remains that in all the "best" restaurants the main course is almost always meat and not a salad, regardless of just how important that salad could have contributed towards preventing a potential heart attack. Why this is is anyone's guess, and the best genetics can tell us is that this was somehow our prehistoric ancestors' fault.

Objectively speaking, yes we should really be eating healthier, better, tastier food. It's just that many of us we prefer to cling to food that has more or less become traditional to us and so we ultimately prefer not to, I think.
Anyway spices-wise the East has always had the advantage thanks to the millions of acres of land with tropical climate and all.

 

I also noticed that eating outside, in restaurants, is more normal in Asia. There are pricy and cheap restaurants. But compared to Asia, the west doesn't really have much cheap alternatives. This must be due to health and safety regulations. I know that it sounds ridiculous when someone advocates loosening health & safety of food, but it appears to me that a lot of it is unnecessary, and just makes food more expensive than it has to be.

 

Picky eaters ... BAH! I'll drink anything in front of me.

 

I like all foods. You can keep Split-Pea soup, I never had a bowl I liked. Though I am certain there is a bowl ourt there somewhere with me name written all over it... Everything else is game. Oysters, Beef, Emu, Bison, Quinoa, Veggies, etc.... Anything can taste good if prepared properly.

 

I'm on the fence here -- I like what I like, but I'm willing to try most new things. Some days, anyways. Some things I'm just not eating, though. My share is up for grabs for whoever wants it. I talk here of things like prairie oysters, fish eyeballs, tripe, and snake. I'm also not interested in eating food so spicy it'll give me a coronary.

 

I love all kinds of food from all over the world. Especially Surinam or Indonesian. I'm perfectly fine with importing the ingredients, but take little effort in figuring out on how it's distributed except for package. Usually, the ingredients in the toko's are not packed. I can buy my sereh strands, adyuma peppers etc by piece and there's no wrapper or anything.

For vegs that grow here in the Netherlands too, I try to buy the Dutch ones. I don't see why we have to import French cauliflowers while we grow our own. I understand that Germany is making some nice progress in "regional sustainability". I'd like to see that in more places.

I'm definitely more lenient with the "best before" dates that a year ago and a bit more with the "use by" dates. Cutting away the iffy parts in stead of throwing it all away. I'm also smelling food more often, to get an idea what it should smell like, in case I don't trust things. I smelled on something edible a while ago and realized I had no idea what it should smell like. How can I judge it when I don't know what it should be like?
I miles away from nature, grown apart. I still am, but I'm making some progress.

And to Blades :

Spoiler

What? WHAT!? You'd never hear a Dutchman say that. But then, American pea soup is for pu$$ies It's too thin, too bland and except for some ham, there's no real meat in it. Here, we put so many veggies in our "snert" (celeriac, leeks, carrots, onions, potatoes, celery leaves) and quite a lot of meat (pork, bacon and smoked sausage) that if your spoon can't stand up in it, it's no good.