4 ms·

> What do poor people tend to eat? Fast food burgers and other high calorie, low cost meals that are readily available. No prep/cook time, minimal cost (at leas

> What do poor people tend to eat? Fast food burgers and other high calorie, low cost meals that are readily available. No prep/cook time, minimal cost (at least on the surface) and hot and palatable to most. I think it is a uniquely western problem. I know for a fact that for most of Asia and Africa, and even South America, cheap food doesn't include processed food. In fact, foods like lentils and rice tend to be a major parts of the diet. This is usually supplemented with some form of local crop (veggies or otherwise) or easily accessible wildlife (or farmed animals and birds).

bluGill 6y ago
The poor in western nations would still qualify as rich by world standards. However it is still the case that they are barely getting by, often with many objectively worse parts of life compared to the middle class elsewhere who live on less.
- darth_avocado 6y ago
  That is absolutely correct.
- gscott 6y ago
  As long as I can go to Wendy's and for $4 get a double stack, frys, 4 nuggets, and a soda I feel rich!
justin66 6y ago
The popularity and purchase of fast food are growing at a very steady rate in countries like China. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5129322/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5129322/ A more recent assessment would give a similar growth rate to the one cited in the paper (~13% annually), but for the last six months, COVID 19 has put a damper on things. > This is usually supplemented with some form of local crop (veggies or otherwise) or easily accessible wildlife (or farmed animals and birds). Since you're talking about "easily accessible wildlife," please keep in mind that urbanization in Asia and Africa is a big thing.
- darth_avocado 6y ago
  > Since you're talking about "easily accessible wildlife," please keep in mind that urbanization in Asia and Africa is a big thing. Yes, but unlike cities in the west, a lot of cities across the world aren't that far from where wildlife is accessible. And this means, people from neighboring villages commute daily to the cities with the fresh catch of the day and make it available in urban markets. And in most countries, a huge population is still rural/semi urban, and this population tends to be more likely to be "poor". For e.g. 65% of India's population is rural and that still amounts to 700 million or twice the population of the United States. Also, although I used the term "wildlife", but I also said "(or farmed animals and birds)" which isn't that difficult to access in urban environments, especially considering lax zoning and unplanned development of cities still allows people to have those in the middle of an urban sprawl.
  - justin66 6y ago
    > And in most countries, a huge population is still rural/semi urban China is 60% urban now, and that's another number that's only going to increase. I'm sure it's true enough that India and China, for example, are quite different, but your description that the issues surrounding fast food are a "uniquely western problem" strikes me as pretty obviously not true. The rise in worldwide obesity rates has to do largely with this change in diet, for example.
    - darth_avocado 6y ago
      Right, but China isn't everything. 55% of the world population is Urban. But if you look at the distribution [1], you will see that my statement still holds true. Most countries in Asia and Africa still have a large rural population. And besides, I don't know if you've lived outside of the US, especially in parts of Asia or Africa, but processed food, even in big urban centers is not as big portion of people's diet as is in Western Countries. [1] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS
      - 6y ago

bluGill 6y ago

The poor in western nations would still qualify as rich by world standards. However it is still the case that they are barely getting by, often with many objectively worse parts of life compared to the middle class elsewhere who live on less.

darth_avocado 6y ago
That is absolutely correct.
gscott 6y ago
As long as I can go to Wendy's and for $4 get a double stack, frys, 4 nuggets, and a soda I feel rich!

justin66 6y ago

The popularity and purchase of fast food are growing at a very steady rate in countries like China. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5129322/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5129322/ A more recent assessment would give a similar growth rate to the one cited in the paper (~13% annually), but for the last six months, COVID 19 has put a damper on things. > This is usually supplemented with some form of local crop (veggies or otherwise) or easily accessible wildlife (or farmed animals and birds). Since you're talking about "easily accessible wildlife," please keep in mind that urbanization in Asia and Africa is a big thing.

darth_avocado 6y ago
> Since you're talking about "easily accessible wildlife," please keep in mind that urbanization in Asia and Africa is a big thing. Yes, but unlike cities in the west, a lot of cities across the world aren't that far from where wildlife is accessible. And this means, people from neighboring villages commute daily to the cities with the fresh catch of the day and make it available in urban markets. And in most countries, a huge population is still rural/semi urban, and this population tends to be more likely to be "poor". For e.g. 65% of India's population is rural and that still amounts to 700 million or twice the population of the United States. Also, although I used the term "wildlife", but I also said "(or farmed animals and birds)" which isn't that difficult to access in urban environments, especially considering lax zoning and unplanned development of cities still allows people to have those in the middle of an urban sprawl.
- justin66 6y ago
  > And in most countries, a huge population is still rural/semi urban China is 60% urban now, and that's another number that's only going to increase. I'm sure it's true enough that India and China, for example, are quite different, but your description that the issues surrounding fast food are a "uniquely western problem" strikes me as pretty obviously not true. The rise in worldwide obesity rates has to do largely with this change in diet, for example.
  - darth_avocado 6y ago
    Right, but China isn't everything. 55% of the world population is Urban. But if you look at the distribution [1], you will see that my statement still holds true. Most countries in Asia and Africa still have a large rural population. And besides, I don't know if you've lived outside of the US, especially in parts of Asia or Africa, but processed food, even in big urban centers is not as big portion of people's diet as is in Western Countries. [1] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS
    - 6y ago