American food is unhealthy: truth or myth? What about GMOs?

[Amiir]

Even though it takes me very little to feel full, I love food and quite frankly I can't think of anyone who doesn't. I think we often overlook how important it is to our happiness and well being to eat some good food

My favourite cuisine is italian while my most dreaded is american. I mean, I enjoy eating some trash food at McDonalds but only every once in a while. I'm sorry, but while the US attract me for a couple of reasons (I'm considering to go to college there), food definitely isn't amongst them. These may just be rumors, but I hear that in the US they make an extensive usage of genetically modified organisms which on the long run can cause tumors, cancers and all that shit. I've seen a documentary years back about how they modify organisms to enhance some of their traits, like plants growing larger than usual and being more resistant to certain adversities, or to speed up production, such as chicken who grow faster and larger in very little time. Only this tampering with these organisms' DNA has serious collateral effects apparently

So my question is: is that true? Is food in the US really as unhealthy as they say, or is that all a myth? Is it true that GMOs are that dangerous? I for one heard they're much more common than I think and that the US is definitely not the only place where they (allegedly) use 'em so heavily. Are healthy foods avaiable in the US? 'Cause I also heard that simple fruit and vegetables can be fucking expensive there, unlike precooked and frozen foods. Is it true that the average american eats with an excessive frequency at fast food restaurants? I wonder, is it any different in neighbouring Canada? What's your diet like where you live, american or not?
I'm sorry if this sounds like an interrogation to y'all haha but, really, I'm actually just curious to know how people from other countries deal with food

 

[Byron]

The anti-GMO thing is a bunch of ignorant anti-science hysteria, like anti-vaxxers.

American food is fine. We don't have to eat at IHOP every meal of the day; other options exist.

 

[Zerig]

America is very big, so it mostly depends on where you live.

Where I am you can't go a mile in any direction without finding a produce stand and there are functioning farms everywhere, so its easy to get cheap food.

But if you're in a city where they have to import everything, it's going to be cheaper to eat at McDonalds.

 

[Kaizy]

American food is fine to a point. It's not full of weird chemicals like you hear the rumors about, but it's certainly not "healthy" for the most part, but that's because a lot of it contains large amounts of sodium and fats, which you obviously shouldn't eat in excess. Like, having a burger once in a while isn't gonna kill you, but a lot of people in the country eat it a lot and are reliant on cheap foods that are usually full of sodium and other preservatives that aren't too good for health.

 

[Cyanomega]

Well, honestly, thee is no such thing as "American" food. As cliche as it sounds, America is a "Melting pot"
its all cuisine brought over from other places and all mixed together. As for the unhealthy aspect of American food, I think it's mainl a misconception. I(and pretty much everyone I know) don't eat out all that much. It's a once every other month kind of think. I cook most nights, and nothing all that heavy. Then again, I supp its all regional. I've seen so many deep fried delights down south and in the Midwest. And sure, a lot of people will "make" soup by emptying a can into a pan. But I think it's just over exaggerated.

 

[Byron]

I cook most nights

This. As long as you are wiling to cook for yourself, you can eat pretty well in the US. Of course eating out all the time is bad for you, but I imagine that's true everywhere.

 

[Distorted]

I don't think we eat mutant animals and vegetables here. The worst thing about food (fast food mostly) in America is that everything's full of salt and sugar. And the healthier, more natural alternatives besides fruit cost an arm and a leg if you don't grow or make your own. I know especially living down South it's kinda bad since everyone tends to fry things. I mean how the hell do you fry a twinkie? If you're the indulgent sort, it can really make you unhealthy if you're not careful. And then there's people who can't afford to eat better so they eat cheap fast food all the time, which isn't the best thing for your body.

I used to eat a lot of fast food and sweets and it was making me feel like crap. Nowadays I mostly drink water and mostly bake rather than fry foods. It's cool every once and a while but you shouldn't eat that stuff all the time. Now matter how good it is. T^T

 

[Deleted member 82554]

Well, I have heard of people that have made the move to here form America and their health changed dramatically in a few weeks, so there may be some truth to the rumor.

 

[Kosdu]

Our food that we buy at things like major fast food resturants is very unhealthy when it comes to ingrediants.
I believe there was a Last Week Tonight special over sugar, and we eat a shit ton daily.

Too much sugar, corn syrup, salt, and fat.

Yes, I would say our food is fairly unhealthy.

 

[Sergalmedic]

American food isn't as bad as it's portrayed. Fast food is unhealthy as a general rule but you can certainly do well making your own meals with food here. The big health concern is obesity and the health conditions associated with it, as a result of excessive amounts of fat, sugar, and salts in our food options combined with sedentary or indulgent lifestyles. High blood pressure, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in blood vessels) are all common chronic diseases in the US that result from years, if not decades, of excessive consumption. Artificial and processed ingredients like aspartame (Diet Coke) and high-fructose corn syrup (soft drinks, processed foods, cereals) are also abundant and probable contributors to general decline in overall health.

But it is absolutely possible to eat healthy and be well here. It probably won't be the cheapest or easiest option sadly, but it's certainly possible.

 

[grassfed]

American culture is unhealthy

 

[Deleted member 82554]

Western culture is unhealthy

Better.

 

[Ratical]

It's possible to eat healthy in the US, but it is more expensive, yeah. If you can cook stuff yourself and end up buying fresh stuff in bulk it's not so bad, but any restaurant alternative to greasy or fast food is always gonna be marked up much higher than anything else. The sad thing is that many people who eat unhealthily just can't afford the alternative.

But stuff like produce isn't too bad. If you don't get it organic there's a chance it'll have trace amounts of wax as a preserver and to make 'em look "shinier".

The anti-GMO thing is a bunch of ignorant anti-science hysteria, like anti-vaxxers.

GMOs get a worse rep than they should, I think, but "GMO Free" stuff fairly abundant, so it's not hard to find if you're skiddish about modified stuff.

 

[Deleted member 82554]

It's possible to eat healthy in the US, but it is more expensive, yeah. If you can cook stuff yourself and end up buying fresh stuff in bulk it's not so bad, but any restaurant alternative to greasy or fast food is always gonna be marked up much higher than anything else. The sad thing is that many people who eat unhealthily just can't afford the alternative.

But stuff like produce isn't too bad. If you don't get it organic there's a chance it'll have trace amounts of wax as a preserver and to make 'em look "shinier".



GMOs get a worse rep than they should, I think, but "GMO Free" stuff fairly abundant, so it's not hard to find if you're skiddish about modified stuff.

GMOs get the rep they do because there are no known long or even mid-term health effects, if any.

And healthy eating is like that everywhere. Fruit, veg, diary are through the roof here, meat per kilo here averaging in at $20 and $30+ for something like scotch, and dairy is our main export FFS! We actually get food cheaper by importing, how fucked up is that?

 

[SodaBubbles]

Corn. We wouldn't have corn without someone genetically modifying shit that looked like grass some fuckall number of years ago. Frankly, I survived the pesticide scares of the 80s, the hormone scares of the 90s and 00s, and now I'll survive the GMO scares of the 10s. I'm just kind of meh about that stuff.

I eat healthy for the most part. I eat less veggies than I should, but I eat a lot of fruit, lean meat, and whole grains, as well as some dairy. I can't eat out if I wanted to (not much is available) because I'm allergic to soy, tomatoes, and nuts.

I think severely unhealthy eating is largely overblown-- not to say people don't eat unhealthy at all, I know people by the bushel who do (lol?), but I think like a lot of stuff, it's kind of a hysteria thing. I mean people say we ate better in the 40s and 50s, which is crap because they boiled the shit out of everything. Never mind the sheer obsession with irradiated everything, and eating weird shit like colloidal silver. (wtf).

But like you, Amiir, I LOVE food. I know there are people out there, and I've met them, who don't (Karl Lagerfeld among others who adhere to the "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" crap), and I don't even get how they can think this way. Food is brilliant. I love to cook it, I love to eat it, and I love the feeling I get afterward. FOOD. IS. GOOD. News at 11

 

[grassfed]

I think our corn came around due to selective breeding hundereds of years ago, not genetically modifying it.

I think everyone should be growing/raising as much of their own food as possible.

 

[zanian]

Op, they deep fried everything (butter and etc), but it is always possible to eat healthy

 

[GarthTheWereWolf]

People get fat in America because our portion sizes are so insane.

That said~ I love me my free drink refills <3

 

[TheMetalVelocity]

I don't trust anything anymore.

 

[Gator]

just watch out for the cheap, mass-produced stuff and don't overeat. you'll be fine.

 

[Kosdu]

Our portions are huge.

People are taught to eat if they want to, not if they are hungry.
I've recently become very good at knowing exactly how much I need to eat.

 

[Rassah]

Did anyone bring up yet that GMO = selective breeding, just using faster, more scientifically advanced methods, and technically most foods we eat are GMOs?

 

[Astus]

The problem with GMOs is that we don't know how our bodies react to them and the things they produce. For example a plant genetically modified to be pest resistant may also affect us when consumed in large numbers. As well there are a multitude of other variables that we cannot account for with GMOs because of our limited understanding of how the genetics of other organisms reacts with our own digestive system... for Example the miRNA of rice actually produces proteins in your body after you eat it... things like that we don't currently know about our foods and how they interact with us

 

[GamingGal]

Yes, American food is unhealthy. That, as well as our way of eating.

We put so much extra shit in our food it's insane. All the preservatives and chemicals we add to the food. High fructose corn syrup being one of the main culprits. We add a lot of unnecessary stuff, pretty sure it's something we only recently started really doing in the 1900s with chemicals and GMOs and stuff. I think we're just now seeing the end results of that and thinking "oh shit, what have we done?" As for GMOs, I think it's better to leave stuff as natural as possible. Yeah, you might be able to alter something to survive better in heat or produce more food, but we don't know what the longterm affects that will have are. There are a lot of things that seem like a good idea, but end up blowing up in our faces, and I don't think playing with the stuff that fuels our bodies is a good idea. I think organic is best, which even then can be hard to get considering how loose the policing of that term is. Cage-free and free-range and grass-fed is good, too, but again those words get tossed around when they shouldn't. Also to take into consideration with meat is the use of steroids and antibiotics. That stuff is going straight from the animal to you, and I think we're also beginning to see the affect on us, same with pesticides used on produce. I think we should try our best to buy from the source as often as possible, and make sure that source is as natural as possible. I once read a book by Michael Polan (or something like that) called "Food Rules" and it gave some simple guidelines for shopping. Things like don't buy something your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food, don't buy things with over 5 ingredients, etc. That last one I really notice with bread. I mean, bread is just yeast and water and flour, I make it at home all the time, but the bread in the supermarket has 20+ ingredients. Why? Yes, shelf life, but do we really want to eat something that SHOULD have expired a month ago?

Also, our portioning is crazy.

http://www.motherjones.com/files/images/usa-v-japan.jpg
^^^^
Our portion sizes have taken a huge jump the past few decades. At McDonalds, what used to be the kid size no longer exists cause it was too small, instead what used to be the small/medium is the kid size. The super sizes (which thankfully don't exist anymore) along with the "Route 66" drinks or the "Gulp" drinks from gas stations where you're literally consuming a liter or two in one go before refilling, cause, you know, free refills. And then the food sizes, sheesh. Our bodies don't need as much as we think they do. Take meat for example. You only really need about a deck of cards portion of meat a week or so, but you see people chowing down on huge burgers and steaks all the time. It's unhealthy, and the shit that's in the meat is having adverse affects anyways. We eat because it's there, you know? People were raised to clean their plates before leaving the table, or kids are given food to shut them up. This is teaching us to eat when we aren't hungry or to quell emotions, and it's this mindless eating that's kicking our asses. Why not supersize for twenty cents more? Why not go to the buffet when it's the same price as a sub? Why not make it a combo for a dollar more? It's the fault of us and the fault of the companies (who are really only doing things cause WE'RE buying into it).

All in all, I worry for America(ns).

 

[Byron]

Did anyone bring up yet that GMO = selective breeding, just using faster, more scientifically advanced methods, and technically most foods we eat are GMOs?

I've been waiting to, but so far no one has said anything stupid about GMOs, and I am absolutely astonished.

The problem with GMOs is that we don't know how our bodies react to them and the things they produce.

The same is true of thousands of untested chemicals in plastic products all around us. I'm not saying that's good, I'm just pointing out that we're all probably boned either way.