Why don't American's eat more vegetables?

[TalkingDog]

Probably because meat is cheap by comparison.

[ThomWV]

1. Because there is a lot more energy available per bite from meat.

All creatures strive to be efficient.

[wolfgangmo]

22. WTF does that have to do with it PRICE!

Jeez dude, get your head in the game.

The cost is lower for McCrap because they are massively subsidized, not because meat is more energy dense (as opposed to nutrient dense or just, IYC, dense).

[ThomWV]

107. Oh, you mean price in terms of dollars - that's pretty narrow. Jeeze Dude ....

Jeez dude, get your head in the game. There are far greater prices to pay than dollars for the things we eat. But that's not the point. What you asked was "Why don't American's eat more vegitables." Jeeze dude, if you ask that question then what on earth has Subsidized "McCrap" have to do with it? People do not eat because Government subsidizes things - people eat because its is required to sustain life - and when you are doing that it is more economical (not in terms of dollars, in terms of Energy) to eat meat than it is vegetables.

Jeeze Dude --

[DailyGrind51]

127. Energy comes from complex carbs, not from fats and proteins!

However, meat feeds muscles, skin, and connective tissue.

[Th1onein]

2. I eat what I crave. And I crave tomatoes.

Don't ask me why, but I will eat an entire box (about ten) of campari tomatoes at a time. Every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. And a bottle of olives twice a week.

[robdogbucky]

45. Tomatoes

are a citrus fruit

No wonder you crave them for breakfast

[DailyGrind51]

136. Lycopene = healthy prostate too!

[FormerDittoHead]

3. A double cheeseburger costs $1, and I don't even have to get out of my car!

Compare that to having to get out of my car and wait in line to buy 4 oranges for $3.00. (that's on SALE, this week, I just checked)

[TalkingDog]

7. DingDingDing!!! We have a WINNAH!!!!

And due to the cold snap in FL and the earthquake in Chile, I'm guessing things aren't going to get better.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Leftist Agitator]

30. Do a month of nothing but celery and see if you almost die.

Because you will, I assure you.

Hell, I'll even let you eat up to 1kg a day, more than enough to fill you up, I'm sure.

You'll still almost die.

[FormerDittoHead]

47. Yeah. I'm a pile of crap. Thanks. n/t

That's what I get for trying to make a point about bad food being easy to get and cheap.

[Maru Kitteh]

125. If it's any consolation - I understood what you were saying and I think most people did too.

There's passion......

And then there's whatever that was.

I appreciated your post.

[FormerDittoHead]

137. After ~3,000 msgs here, people still don't get past the username.

I was only half sarcastic.

The fact is that the reason we're fat is because of price and distribution (ie: availability) of food that's high in fat and sugar, low in fiber.

The implications of beef and corn subsidies are well made.

My McDonald's example was just the most ubiquitous, egregious example. ANYONE can drive up to McDonald's and buy bad food.

I would ask anyone to go to a "normal" restaurant (not "Tofu's and Sprout's") and, look at 90% of what on the menu.

Look at fiber. I have shredded wheat for breakfast every day. According to the label, it has LESS THAN A THIRD of the recommended daily fiber.

In other words, your other meals should have AS MUCH FIBER AS SHREDDED WHEAT (6 grams).

I DARE anyone to look at a restaurant menu and find more than 2 "normal" diner (not the "weight watcher's special") entrees with that much fiber.

You could extend that challenge to the prepared and frozen food sections of your local supermarket, not to mention full isles of soda, low fiber cereal, candy, etc. In my supermarket, I have to HUNT for BROWN rice.

On the food network, they have two shows, the Iron Chef and "Chopped", both of which challenge chefs to make great meals using specific ingredients.

FOR SOME REASON, when Takeshi Kaga whips away the sheet, they NEVER reveal - THE FOOD PYRAMID.

[readmoreoften]

77. Yeah, especially when you make $7 an hour and work two shifts standing on your feet as a cashier!

Lazy Americans! :sarcasm:

[trotsky]

85. You, sir, understand reality.

No wonder you are a Former DittoHead. :thumbsup:

[we can do it]

87. You Couldn't Force Fast Food Shit Down My Throat If It Were Free

and gawd forbid you get off your ass for a minute and actually walk someplace.

[rfranklin]

4. I like to eat salads and vegetables but....

when I go to the supermarket and look at the "fresh" fruits and vegetables they don't look like what I see in the garden in the summer and are not very appetizing. However, I do try to conform to the pyramind on the right as much as possible. (It ain't easy if you are away from home.)

[KittyWampus]

13. some veggies I buy in store in winter fresh but I've begun to use frozen veggies in the winter.

[PATRICK]

18. A little off the point

but I had to share the horror of going to a Dollar Store and finding a bag of frozen strawberries for a measly dollar. The catch?

From China, with a caveat or too about refreezing and food poisoning. To get strawberries all the way from China to upstate NY and charge a buck. Just wow, that's my speechless reaction.

[GoCubsGo]

108. A fat chunk of our frozen and canned food comes from China

Have you tried to buy frozen fish lately? Wild Alaska salmon--packed in China. WTF? Yeah, I understand they're packing and freezing it on factory ships in or just outside of Alaskan waters. But, still...WTF???

Most of what one finds in dollar stores is Chinese shit. I avoid those products as much as I can. I am also speechless that you can get their stuff so cheaply, especially considering the distances that crap has to travel.

[DrDan]

5. and when vegetables are eaten, how many times is that canned corn

canned cream corn, canned green beans.

sodium-ladened

My wife got me to eat more vegetables - fresh ones. The local market is the only place we shop for our vegetables - never at a supermarket.

[cali]

6. yesterday at my little local market they had Shurfine frozen vegetables

for 69 cents a 1 lb bag. I bought 2 bags of green beans, 2 of peas, 2 of squash- all for under 5 bucks

[Mist]

8. I think that culturally, we tend to think of vegs as "sides," something that goes

*along* with meat or fish. Plus, a lot of people don't know how to cook and season vegs to get the most from their flavor.

Edited to add: Plus, many people grow up with vegs being overcooked to mush. Then nagged to "eat their vegetables." Overcooked vegs have no flavor, no texture, and very little nutrients. Keeping an eye on cooking time is crucial with vegs.

[zipplewrath]

10. Absolutely

Didn't even know I liked spinach until my wife introduced me to fresh spinach, not that boiled mush in a can my mother used to serve. The vast majority of people (including Campbells) presume that all the vegetables have to be boiled to mush. Carrots are best cooked "lightly". In a stew, many veggies don't have to be boiled for hours, but can be added well towards the end. It's okay if some of them are warm AND crisp.

And as I've tried to explain to many a people, one can have a whole different attitude towards meat without being a vegetarian. Merely start thinking of meat as a "flavoring" to a meal or dish, instead of the bulk of the calories. In a sense, think of meat in the same way that most folks think of vegetables.

[wolfgangmo]

27. Ding, ding, ding - we have a winner.

For all the (grunt) "meat good, veggies bad! Me wanna McCrap burger. Me not even have to get our of car." (grunt) crowd here are a few of my favorite vegetarian foods.

Beer
Wine
Hot sauce
BBQ sauce
Any spices or flavorings
Carmelized (ie.e grilled) onions.
Pecan pie
Pastry


Feel free to add to this list.

[Echo In Light]

9. Our visit to the produce dept drives our weekly grocery bill waaaaay up

[AsahinaKimi]

11. Here we have a Farmers Market

The one near City Hall in San Francisco is there every Wednesday rain or shine. Its all fresh grown vegetables, fruits and even fresh Fish. I don't understand why Fruits are more expensive then Veggies but, the prices there are really, really cheap. Cheaper then any Safeway, Vons, or Ralph's market could ever be.

I used to get two pounds of cherry tomatoes for a dollar. Thats an example.

[Captain Hilts]

34. Washington DC has lousy farmer's markets. In Moscow they operate 365 days a year,

but here in DC it's one or two days a week in various parts of town.

The one they have in Bethesda now is INSANELY expensive.

[Ratty]

48. Not so here

At the Berkeley farmers markets expect prices for locally-grown, organic produce to be double what you find in the supermarket. Can't seem to find me a good, cheap, grown-far-away, chemically laden farmers market for the life of me.

[robdogbucky]

51. And on Tuesdays it's at

the Embarcadero near the Ferry Bldg.

And on Thursdays it is at the Crocker Galleria between Bush/Post

Nothing like fresh and even further nothing like fresh and raw.

I do eat as much raw, fresh, pesticide-free (organic can't always deliver on the fertilizer part)veggies and fruit as I can.

The food price stabilizations systems that massive wholesale growers, distributors and retailers in USA are a part of cause most of the food bought in your average supermarket to have originated an average of 1200 miles away from point of sale. All of the produce I buy at these local markets is locally grown by either completely organic farmers or at least pesticide-free farming. All seasonal, all fresh, all the time.

I have many fresh farmers' markets available to me here in the Bay Area year round. I do frequently compare prices and only once in a while is there a great disparity. I have also come to know some of these growers that sell at the markets and I have learned a lot about the process, why the seasonal foods are always best. Just last Saturday I learned from a grower that was selling raw sugar canes, that I could stick a 6-inch section of a cane into the ground and in 9 months I would have this giant sugar cane. Here in California you can grow almost anything almost year round.

Gotta go now and check how my early tomato plants are doing as we have had lots of rain recently. Yesterday I spotted the first sprouts of an early planting of carrot seeds.



Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

I do sympathize with those not blessed with this luxury of temperate climate, and having grown up in Wisconsin, I had to be re-introduced to fresh fruits and veggies myself.

[AsahinaKimi]

I also forgot to mention Asian Markets ..

San Francisco is blessed to have its own Chinatown, where their prices are very very low. For example if I went to Safeway to buy a 5 lb bag of Japanese Nishiki rice, it would cost me $8.75. In Chinatown, the price was about 4.50. I can nearly buy twice the rice in Chinatown. Meats and fish are also fresh and are inexpensive too.

I used to love to go to Nijiya Market, near Japantown, but their prices for food from Japan is quite expensive, however, they have fresh cuts of raw Sashimi which you can bring home either to make your own Sashimi plates, or sushi plates or your own Onigiri. They also have frozen Natto at a great price, and I stocked up on that..(www.nijiya.com)

Near by Japantown is a Korean Market. Their prices are fairly low as well. Asian Markets maybe hard to find, because that means having a substantial Asian community there, but the prices are always going to be great. We have a few Vietnamese local markets as well.

[NuttyFluffers]

103. the SF Bay Area is blessedly awash in ethnic markets

pretty much any major cuisine has its own supermarket somewhere around here.

but, honestly, only 5 lb. bags of rice at a time? :evilgrin: we buy them by the 20 lb. sacks -- and we're not like other people who go for the 50 lb. sacks of rice. rice is dirt cheap here, and it gets cheaper the larger you go!

i still say, give me your food budget for a month, i'll make it stretch real far (especially here). but first people have to have the basic staples, otherwise it really is cheaper to buy fast food. 20 lb sack of rice, flour, sugar, potatoes, beans, lentils, and onions should last you months. have a stash of ground garlic, ginger, pepper, and other spices and you're set for a good long while. after that it's about throwing on some in-season veggies and the occasional luxury of good meats/cheeses. that said, there's a real difference between where we are and the outskirts of Reno, NV or Topeka, KS; we have a lot of variety of food where we are.

what i need now is to find a Korean mom to supply me a 100 lb. vat of kimchi for the year... mmm, kimchi.

[AsahinaKimi]

104. You can buy Kimchi

At the Korean Market on Fillmore and Geary street, right near Japantown. Their prices are good. I did mention a 5lb bag of rice, but I used to bring four of them home. I don't have a car, and I am on foot (or use Muni) so I would pack two bags in my backpack and carry two bags home in a cloth sack. Thats not really all I would buy...

Many times I would buy my own nori (seaweed wrap)ten sheets for a dollar. Plus Chinese curry, low salt soy sauce, and peanut oil, which is also cheap. They even carried Japanese curry, which I absolutely love over rice. The Chinese store where I buy this is on Stockton street, about three blocks after you come out of the tunnel, on the right hand side. I don't know the name of it, but its a little shop on the corner. I love shopping there when I am downtown and stocking up on rice and things.

[NuttyFluffers]

132. but often the kimchi is sold in such small portions...

i need kilos! tens of kilos, preferably~! :7 a good 5 kilo box is sorta decent for stocking a regular fridge. but anything like what we often get sold here then you'll have to go back for more kimchi too soon...
:evilgrin:

what about grocery delivery in the city? now that's a service that should be revitalized.

[AsahinaKimi]

133. I think some supermarkets do it ..

But for those who are disabled or elderly. I have seen some pretty huge jars of Kimchee at that Korean store. I would bet they have a bunch because they probably cater to quite a few Korean restaurants in area. It doesn't hurt to go by and check.

[Retrograde]

138. Try the Santa Clara/Sunnyvale area

There's a large Korean market - I'm talking Safeway-sized megamart - on El Camino near the Sunnyvale/Santa Clara line. They have several different types of kim chee, including stuff made locally. You can get it in quantities from a pint upwards.

[NuttyFluffers]

139. yay! buckets o' kimchi!

thanks, i'll scan that area for Korean markets.

[AsahinaKimi]

95. dupe

eom

[Art_from_Ark]

102. Fruits are generally more expensive to produce than veggies

Fruit trees, for example, require a lot of care and labor to keep away bugs, birds, and disease. A late frost can easily kill a peach crop, strawberries in the field have to be picked with precision timing because they are susceptible to cold and water, the shelf life for many fruits is relatively short, and so on.

In contrast, here in Japan it takes much less effort to grow Chinese cabbage (hakusai), daikon giant radishes, etc., and their shelf life is longer, so there is an abundance of those vegetables and the price is accordingly lower.

[customerserviceguy]

12. There's also the convienience factor

It's easier to eat a burger while driving than it is an ear of corn or a salad. Many people have never learned the cooking skills their Grandma's honed to an art form.

[TalkingDog]

14. The only thing I can't eat while driving is soup.

But then I don't live in a very congested area either

[wolfgangmo]

28. I ate soup and drove yesterday.

Put it in a thermos and drink it like coffee.

Lunch on the go.

[eilen]

15. I worked with a young woman who was amazed

at casseroles. She would ask me "How do you know how to make that?" Seriously. Her family lived mostly on take out. It was kind of sad because her son was very overweight.

[customerserviceguy]

16. Yeah, I do the cooking

and my lady (and her friends, who eat takeout) think I'm some sort of wizard!

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. I can tell you're highly influenced by greengrocers

because of your use of the Greengrocer's apostrophe. :evilgrin:

[TalkingDog]

20. Hey, no coffee = no grammar... besides, they'll cut my thumbs off

If I don't give you enough. So to be on the safe side, I add extra's.

[pipi_k]

19. Given the choice between

a hamburger/steak or boiled butternut squash with butter, I'll take the squash every time.


The choice is a little harder, though, when it comes to veggies vs., for example, macaroni and cheese.

;)

[tabbycat31]

43. do the best of both worlds

when I make mac and cheese (homemade) I always throw veggies (usually broccoli) into it

[pipi_k]

50. Aughhhhhhhhh!!!!! NOOOOoooooooooooo

Macaroni and cheese is sacred...

I can't even imagine defiling it with other things!


:cry:

[robdogbucky]

53. Try bacon

in your mac/cheese. I know, I know, bacon is meat and pork to boot.

But it is good protein when taken in small amounts and you don't need much to transform drab (even if homemade) mac/cheese into something splendid.


Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

[pipi_k]

56. Actually, I do like bacon in a salad...

Salad being one of those things that you can almost never ruin the taste of no matter what you put into it...


:)

[WinkyDink]

21. What are the statistics of consumption? Anyway, there are never coupons for fresh fruits/vegetables.

[wolfgangmo]

29. That's because they are food and not some trademarked frankenfood

It takes work, and surviving infrastructure and honest to god farmers to produce.

Corporations don't like farmers. Corporations like lobbyists. So they get their lobbyists to make sure that farmers don't get money to grow anything but what the corps want to buy.

Luckily many farmers are getting away from that. To find on try this website. www.localharvest.org

[dustbunnie]

42. Yes there are. At my grocers anyway. Every week there's mark downs on veggie items. n/t

[lonestarlib]

23. They spoil so quickly

we end up throwng away half our purchase of fresh vegtables. All that cash going in the compost pile.

[pipi_k]

26. They do spoil quickly, but...

you can get those "green" bags for keeping produce fresh.

They really do work.


:)

[wolfgangmo]

35. you can learn how to store your produce so it will last.

I have no problems keeping produce fresh for at least a week.

Try the plastic green bags but you could also try BYObags, which I love because the are easy, simple and they work - http://www.coolhats.biz/byobags/BYObags.html

And you could try this site to get more tips on when to throw out food but also how to keep it longer. http://www.stilltasty.com/

[Ratty]

49. Great link to stilltasty. Thanks!

I find myself suddenly very poor but I'm still trying to eat well. I love to collect tips like these.

[dixiegrrrrl]

54. ty for the cool sites.

[dana_b]

129. thanks for the stilltasty link!

that's a good one.

[Mari333]

24. meat and dairy corporation lobbyists own a lot of the politicians

no doubt.

Im a vegan and will continue to stay a vegan.

[liberal_at_heart]

33. +1, Remember when Oprah said what she said about beef?

Even the all powerful Oprah Winfrey is not more powerful than the meat and dairy lobby.

[Mari333]

40. on a happy note, my republican brother just became a vegan

he had quadruple bypass surgery at the age of 44. he could not figure out why i was the only one in the family who was thin. everyone else is huge.
i told him, meat and dairy.
his heart surgery cinched it.
he called me a month ago and asked me what I ate.
I told him, and he is now a vegan.
he lost 9 pounds in a week.
he said 'I cannot believe how good I feel. I will never eat meat again.'

and he was at a GOP tea party! so you just never know.

[Captain Hilts]

31. Yes. I don't eat meat all that much, but I've noticed that also. nt

[unblock]

32. i've had actual vegetables in france. the crap they sell here as vegetables is, well, crap.

i've never cared for vegetables, but everything i ate in france was amazing.

here in the states, i loathe brussels sprouts. tough, bitter, blecch.
but in france, i would just go into the market and get a bag of them and eat them raw. soft, tasty, not at all bitter, yummy!


why? i'm not an expert, but incredibly rich soil and less massive-scale agribusiness no doubt has much to do with it.

i'm sure even us americans would eat more vegetables if they tasted more like actual food.

[Ilsa]

37. ITA about the "massive-scale agribusiness". While I also agree it is

necessary, I know that the vegeables I grow at home are much tastier than the bulk veggies and fruit I buy at the grocery store. Farmers Markets are also a good alternative, if you can get to one.

[eppur_se_muova]

82. Agribusiness wants big, fast-growing veggies that ship well, not nutrition.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x685205

[jtuck004]

36. Meat is not cheap, just prepaid

Our taxes pay very large subsidies for corn, (which is raised using a lot of petroleum imported from other countries, but that is another subject, kind of) which is then fed to cattle and chicken, (none of whom in their natural state eat corn as their first choice), in pens full of excrement and waste, then driven up a ramp, slaughtered, processed frozen and sold.

As if that wasn't enough, they then found it cheaper to grow cattle in Mexico and South America, (gets rid of a lot of that troublesome, expensive, and humane regulation), lowering the price even further.

Same goes for processed foods with sugar, foods which we eat a much larger proportion of than in any generation before. We supported slavery and sometimes out and out slashed and burned existing local economies to supporting the enslavement of native people to grow and harvest sugar cane - paying nearly nothing for the white stuff and bringing misery to a lot of people. (Some great history in the Google).

On the other hand vegetables are troublesome creatures, and the broccoli lobby has simply not been as effective. So while a salad looks like it costs more than a hamburger, we need to understand that you have already paid a price in jobs lost in the U.S., nutrition from the beef that is no longer grass-fed, and maybe even a spiritual cost in the way the animals are raised and treated.

Think about it while you chew...I do, and it has changed my diet.

[Gormy Cuss]

80. +1

That is the point of the graphic in the OP -- the way our food supply is subsidized leads to cheaper meat, corn, and soy products, which is why the latter two are used in many processed foods. We aren't using sugar from cane so much these days because HFCS is much cheaper.

[jtuck004]

126. You are quite correct

I have been reading about the abuses of sugar production for so long I forget we now abuse something else. And sometimes my fingers overrun my thinking ;)

Thank you

[Tailormyst]

38. I love veggies !

I've had to cut back a lot on the onions/potatoes/carrots/squash type veggies for now because I am doing atkins. Other folks doing it complain about having to eat to MANY veggies, but not me. I cry over only being able to have a small servings! My boys are big veggie fans too.

[Scout]

39. they taste bad n/t

[Hubert Flottz]

41. I hope Sarah Palin don't see this thread!

[freeplessinseattle]

44. I could swear side salad was on the dollar menu

but it's been awhile, maybe I'm thinking of Wendy's. It is a pretty small salad, though, and anything bigger is crazy expensive for sure.

I remember when Wendy's used to have a salad bar, my mom and I loved that! I guess it just wasn't price effective. Was a good deal, though, at the time.

The cheapest place in Seattle I know of for produce is the stand on 15th and 65th, just down from Whole Foods.

[yewberry]

131. Cheaper in Seattle:

Macpherson's down on Columbia (maybe 15th?) on Beacon Hill. Also Rising Produce on South King.

Seriously, you will be amazed at the cheap produce. It's about 1/3 of the prices at Safeway.

[pitohui]

46. oh yah absolutely

i don't know if you're old enough to remember the olden times when veggies were actually cheap but, gawd, those days have been gone a long time

if i wasn't able to grow some of my own fruit and veggies, i'd really have to cut back, they're just too costly calorie for calorie

[Igel]

52. "Meat is cheap by comparison" isn't a valid statement.

You have to find pretty cheap ground meat to rival the per-pound cost of some vegetables.

I think what you mean to say is that the cost per calorie derived from meat is lower than the cost per calorie derived from vegetables. Veggies aren't nearly as calorie-dense as meat, and the cheaper cuts of meat tend to be even higher in calories than the more expensive ones because they have more fat.

Then again, oil calories are cheaper yet.

On the other hand, there's more. I notice that most of the postive fruit/veggie references are to high-sugar or high-starch plants. Oranges, strawberries are cited as high-price alternatives to meat (when there are cheaper, but less sugary, alternatives); we also see winter squash cited (with added fat). Starch is readily converted to sugar, even beginning in the mouth, so it tends to taste a bit sweet after a few bites or a bit of chewing.

And one person says that veggies taste bad.

So, let's see: We have taste receptors for sweet and umami, and tend to regard excitation of those as "good." Many veggies have a bitter taste for many (esp. for "supertasters" and such), but tend not to have basic tastes that are sweet or meat. Fruit and meat, flavorful; veggies insipid. We fix veggies' insipidness by making them sour or salty or fatty, if you like sour and salty things (most people like salty, and it's an open question among many physiologists, although not among most dieticians, as to whether that's really bad for most people).

As to fat, that tends to make us feel sated. Eat a pile of fat-free leaf vegetables and you're likely to feel stuffed but not full. Add a cup of butter and it's fine.

Now, our brains mostly tell us to consume salt, sugar, fat, umami. Because in the wild those are a lot harder to come by than leafy things--which are, in any event, likely to be bitter as a warning to many animals. We've faced a lot more starvation and near-starvation as a species than we have obesity.

That meat and grain and sugar production are subsidized makes sense: It's what people want. This makes it cheaper, and in many cases a lot cheaper. Subsidizing broccoli makes a lot less sense, politically.

As for the actual price of veggies, when I have a chunk of land that I'd otherwise cover with grass I find that they're really cheap. $1 in seeds and $2 in water nets me a lot of spinach. That $3 tomato plant and $1 in water gives me absurdly cheap tomatoes. A lot of neighborhoods poorer in diet have houses with yards but with crabgrass. Crabgrass, even with kielbasa, tastes yucky (I suspect).

[Arugula Latte]

55. I absolutely I love vegetables.

Meat grosses me out.

Once again, I am not a true "American" (let me count the ways). I don't really fit in with this country, only certain urban coastal parts of it and maybe a scattered college town or two or three in the interior.

[pipi_k]

60. I can't even look at raw meat anymore

And I always feel out of place at cookouts and barbeques when stuff like big platters of ribs are being cooked and people are salivating and going crazy waiting for the stuff to get done (often wanting the meat to be cooked to a disgusting charred state) and I'm about ready to upchuck...

:puke:

[CTyankee]

88. I feel the same way. I am in New Haven, CT and have the "veggie culture" all around me.

I am miserable when I have to go to the midwest with hubby for a couple of weeks every summer. I can't get a decent meal there! No, or very few, vegetables! Iceberg salad with only bottled salad dressings in restaurants (I ask for a simple wine and vinegar dressing, but no deal)!

And I go to Europe once a year, usually in the fall. That is where I love to eat. Everything is so fresh and wonderful. It is a different world. I can't believe we don't understand that...

[Arugula Latte]

90. I grew up mostly in the Bay Area, so after the food revolution there,

I was exposed to what it meant to eat seriously good food (after enduring the 70s eating my mother's cooking ... lots of Campbell's soup creations ...). We used to go back to Ohio to visit relatives and there was never a fresh veggie to be had the entire time we were there (well, maybe my grandma would slice up a tomato in the summer). I know what you mean about salads in the Midwest -- and they DRENCH the lettuce in the dressing. Yes, I'm a left coast liberal food snob.

[robdogbucky]

57. Why don't American's eat more vegetables?

I was going to say the reason for this is because they don't know how to spell, punctuate or frame grammatically correct sentences.

Then I realized what has happened to sentences. And then I further realized that maybe I am putting the cart before the horse?

Maybe I should be asking "Which came first, lack of veggies eaten or diminution of literacy?"

Finally a thread I can sink my teeth into:



"Why don't American's eat more vegetables?"

"...with a caveat or too about refreezing and food poisoning..."

"...we tend to think of vegs as "sides,"...

"...i'm sure even us americans would eat more..."

"I hope Sarah Palin don't see this thread!"



Sarah Palin would feel right at home on this thread





More centavos


robdogbucky

[Toasterlad]

58. Actually, It's Because Vegetables Suck.

[Lorien]

62. Only those with a death wish or zero information believe that

meat is laden with hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals and bacteria that can, over time, easily shorten your life span. Every doctor that I've seen in the past 20 years says "eat more organic vegetables. Limit meat and dairy. Better yet, go vegan."

Of course, if you work for Big Pharma you'll push meat, dairy, and junk food as much as possible. A sick population is a PROFITABLE population!

[Mari333]

66. you betcha. big pharma likes its customers sick and unhealthy

god forbid john doe eat a vegan diet. he might discover he doesnt need that high blood pressure medicine or the diabetic medicine or any other medicine to offset that crap he is getting from meat and dairy products.

yes, an unhealthy diet is very very profitable to mega corporations.

[Scout]

74. who wants to live 10 more years if i have to be a vegan to do it? n/t

[Ignis]

79. Truly, that would be a fate worse than death!

Also, google "false dichotomy." :hi:

[Scout]

111. i'd like to enjoy my life, including my food. i would NOT enjoy eating a vegan diet.

i'm not going to spend my life choking down food i don't like, just so i can spend more years choking down food i don't like.

[Ignis]

113. So the only options are go vegan or eat no veggies at all?

:shrug:

[Scout]

115. the poster i was replying to was recommending a specifically vegan diet n/t

[Ignis]

116. Oh, I didn't read it that way.

I think Lorien's quote about doctors' advising their patients to eat more veggies and less meat was a statement of fact/experience, not an attempt at proselyting.

Edit: Prepositions help. :)

[Toasterlad]

117. I Don't Work For Big Pharma, and I Don't Have a Death Wish.

I just hate vegetables.

[Scout]

73. yup. vegetables taste bad, and some of them smell so bad i can't even get

them into my mouth to taste them (brussels sprouts, asparagus).

ETA: and some of them are slimy and nasty feeling in your mouth.

[pipi_k]

84. OK, that's because they haven't been cooked properly

actually, they've been overcooked.

If they're cooked properly, you should hardly even smell them.


I love vegies, but even I hate mushy overcooked slimy nasty ones...

[Scout]

110. they still taste bad n/t

[smirkymonkey]

78. Heh, heh

:rofl:

Actually, I like vegetables, but I also like meat and cheese and other things that aren't so healthy. But your response just cracked me up.

[Touchdown]

59. Because if we did, we would know when apostrophes are needed.

;)

[Toasterlad]

81. SNARKY!

I love it.

:patriot:

[TalkingDog]

92. My understanding: Apostrophe's are optional pre-caffeine. n/t

[Touchdown]

94. ...

:rofl:

[WillieW]

61. Don't like veggies and. have to force myself to eat it.

[HeresyLives]

64. Agreed, I avoid them whenever possible.

Read about a 101 year old woman awhile back, who said she didn't like vegetables and never ate them. Obviously it didn't do her any harm. :)

[Lance_Boyle]

63. Because religious wackjobs want to keep them on life support forever. n/t

[Hello_Kitty]

65. I'm trying to view meat as more of a garnish than a main course nowadays.

I'm considering going vegetarian but I'm just not ready to give up bacon yet!

[SoCalDem]

67. Probably because Americans shop weekly or twice a month

Perhaps they get pangs of guilt, buy a lot of veggies, and then end up throwing most of them away..

Our culture promotes big-ass refrigerators, buying in bulk and then storing stuff until it's time to toss it into the trash.

Many Europeans still shop the old way... daily..and at fruit/veggie stands & actual bakeries & meat markets.. They buy what they plan to consume right away, so they probably waste very little..

If you spend $4lb for tomatoes and then throw 1/2 of them away, it's easy to see why people try to avoid fresh produce..and at our stores, the best bargains are in "pre-grouped" bundles..not loose, so you are steered toward buying too much..

Add to that , the fact that many families have odd schedules, and don't even eat "family meals", so "convenience" foods are the food of choice:(..their veggie content is usually minimal:(

[dustbunnie]

68. Americans love vegetables. They eat fries by the carload. n/t

[Arugula Latte]

70. With lots of tomatoes! (in the catsup)

[dustbunnie]

75. Hee! I forgot about that! That's a virtual veggie medley... :-)

[Lorien]

69. Big Pharma probably has a hand in those subsidies

I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroid, low adrenal function, low progesterone and mercury poisoning. My doctors-several of them- have told me that to avoid getting even sicker I need to cut out meat, dairy, and processed foods. The artificial hormones present in meat and dairy are causing an epidemic of these diseases. Chemicals in processed foods work to further block iodine absorption and alter hormones levels. Once these systems are out of whack, every OTHER system in the body is affected. Diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease, obesity, depression, osteoporosis, arthritis, insomnia, skin rashes and much more can result. A BONANZA for Big Pharma. No wonder so little is done by the FDA to make our food supplies safer!

[HeresyLives]

71. 'a life-long aversion to vegetables.'

The secret to her success, she said, was a life-long aversion to vegetables.

"Don't eat vegetables, because I never eat vegetables. I know people that like diets that will scream at me, (but) don't eat vegetables. I never have," she said.

http://arbroath.blogspot.com/2009/10/100-year-old-woman-wins-shot-put-gold.html

[Stuckinthebush]

72. Because they aren't as tasty as bacon?

I kid!

I was a vegetarian for six years. Vegan for 2 of those.

Then BAM! I was undone by a single slim jim. I fell off the wagon and haven't been back. :)

In my head I'm a vegetarian!

[upi402]

76. I was shocked to see my head of broccoli was more expensive than our steaks

Used to be - veggies were pocket change and a steak was a splurge.

[heli]

83. It might boil down to calories per dollar spent

and many people still think meat is "easier" to cook (a fallacy for the most part, of course).

[Overseas]

109. I agree. So it was amazing to see Veg subsidies at 0.37% the lowest of all.

I had heard about subsidies being an issue and never realized how dramatic the differences were, so I really appreciated the OP posting that chart.

0.37% subsidies for fruit & veg, versus even sugar, starch & alcohol's 10%+, grains' 10%+, and meat & dairy's whopping 73%.

Maybe if we had to finance health care for all with our tax dollars, we'd prioritize our subsidies differently.

[undeterred]

86. We don't like them very much

except for broccoli.

[yawnmaster]

89. Because bacon tastes so damn good and cauliflower smells like farts. eom

[Hannah Bell]

101. link?

[yawnmaster]

122. Here they are (the links)! Bacon = yum, cauliflower = farts

Regarding the yum of bacon -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/5111754/Chemical-reaction-that-explains-the-appeal-of-the-bacon-sandwich.html

Regarding the smell of farts and a related issue about cauliflower farts... http://www.heptune.com/farts.html

Why cauliflower smells like farts (even before eating)-
"Cauliflower contains phytonutrients that release odorous sulfur compounds when heated. These odors become stronger with increased cooking time. If you want to minimize odor, retain the vegetable's crisp texture, and reduce nutrient loss, cook the cauliflower for only a short time. " http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=13

[whistler162]

91. proof?

[Lyric]

93. They don't taste very good.

I should eat more of them, but most of them are just nasty to me. I can tolerate SOME veggies, usually only well-cooked ones covered in a sauce that hides their flavor, but most of them make me want to puke.

There could be a genetic cause for this increase in people who dislike the taste of vegetables. There's a particular bitter compound called PTC that is closely related to compounds found in many vegetables. The ability to taste PTC is genetic; people who CAN taste it are repulsed by its bitterness. People who can't taste it are not. The people who CAN taste it are also far more likely to detect a bitter taste in veggies that other people never notice, and are therefore more likely to avoid eating vegetables that contain the PTC-like compounds. If that particular genetic variant is becoming more common in our population, it could be one explanation for why more and more of us are eating fewer and fewer veggies overall.

Perhaps we can discover a way to breed veggies without those compounds?

[Overseas]

96. K&R. It is the subsidies that make the junk food cheaper. And the science of flavoring

that makes the junk tantalizing. And the thousands of junk food commercials that reinforce our desires for it.

It was when I saw Food Inc. that I learned that processed junky food costs less $/calorie due to subsidies of big ag.

Check out Dr. David Kessler's Google Talk. He explains the way food science makes sure processed foods are their most enticing...

http://www.vidoemo.com/yvideo.php?authors-google-david-kessler=&i=QTdNX21xcWuRpWHpwcjg

[flvegan]

97. Because far too many Americans don't know how to feed themselves properly.

As for meat being cheaper, I've compared my grocery bill to my workout buds (essential calories only) and they spend FAR more than I do.

[pipi_k]

98. OK I did manage to think of one bad thing about vegetables...

after having asparagus for dinner tonight.


Asparagus pee.


Vile.

:puke:

[Retrograde]

99. yeah, but that's genetic

actually, I'm not sure if the pee or the ability to smell it is the genetic part. Whatever, it doesn't affect me. More asparagus for me! And it's just coming into season! Yippee!

Vegetables take more time to prepare - gotta clean them, peel, chop - than pre-packaged foods, but I think they're worth it.

[pipi_k]

105. Actually it's both

I mean, the smell and the ability to smell it.

I was reading about it last night, and it seems that there are two different genes for the doing and the smelling.

So a person could have foul smelling pee but not be able to smell it, and someone else might not have the smelly pee, but be able to smell someone else's.

Unfortunately, I have both. The aroma gets exceedingly disgusting about 20 to 30 minutes after eating it.

I eat it anyway.

fish, too, even though I also have "Fish odor disease".


Do you have a food processor? It doesn't completely take away the hassle of preparing vegies, but it does help a bit. As far as them being worth it, I agree. Cooked raw beets taste so much better than the canned ones, for example...and you can boil up the greens as well.

[fujiyama]

100. Because many American don't know how to prepare them in a way that's tasty

Often times they're bland, and spices are foreign to many. Maybe salt, pepper or some sort of sauce or dressing is used, but oftentimes that stuff is poured on the veggies in huge quantities to mask the flavor, defeating any real nutritional benefits of the veggies themselves.

Veggies can taste great, but it takes skill and time to prepare them in such a way. And many claim veggies in this country generally lack the kind of flavor they do in other countries.

[Powerdot16]

106. The reason

is because of massive subsidies to Agribusiness. It's called:

[conscious evolution]

112. Remember that movie with John Wayne called

the Cornboys?
You know,the one where he hired a bunch of kids to drive the corn to the market in Kansas.

When you were a kid did you and your friends play broccoliboys and indians?

The social and cultural conditioning of americans is the main reason we eat so few veggies,imo.

[yawnmaster]

123. Well, that and because bacon tastes so really really good. eom

[conscious evolution]

124. Got that right

[negativenihil]

114. Because they arent deep fried?

or dipped in chocolate?

[hack89]

118. Because they suck. nt

[Codeine]

119. They're too busy putting extraneous apostrophes everywhere. nt

[Codeine]

120. I eat enough vegetables for all of you.

And I've got the gas to prove it! :evilgrin:

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

121. Perhaps meats and dairies cost more to farm... requiring more subsidy?

Plus they taste better!

[omega minimo]

128. Too many haven't tasted them fresh and flavorful. Canned and pharm trucked don't do it.

[lucas_g20]

130. interesting stuff

[pipoman]

134. It is true...

I do cost analysis on a salad bar and a hot food bar regularly. The salad bar costs as much or more, per person, as a hot food bar. Much of the cost of veg is in labor from the field to the user. Also the need for refrigeration and the toll of weather and shelf life drive the cost of fresh vegetables.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

135. all too often commercial veggies are bred for looks, not taste.

and people understandably react to tasteless shit.

Go to a roadside farmer's market, ignore the different shapes, and realize what fresh produce and veggies taste like. Yummy.