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> Perhaps we just value it less here in North America. The reason we have less stuff like this in the USA is due to geography. We are a mostly flat country, ra

> Perhaps we just value it less here in North America. The reason we have less stuff like this in the USA is due to geography. We are a mostly flat country, rather than being mountainous or separated onto different small islands. Because of this, products produced via economies of scale can outcompete higher-quality artisanal products.

swexbe 3y ago
Except, shipping by boat has been more cost effective since the beginning of history. The furthest you can get from the ocean in Japan is like a full days walk.
- gottorf 3y ago
  > shipping by boat has been more cost effective since the beginning of history I've read that before the Transcontinental Railroad, it was cheaper and faster to get to San Francisco from a port in China than from St. Louis.
  - badpun 3y ago
    Similarly, people who wanted to join the 1849 San Francisco gold rush, but were on the East Coast, took boats which sailed all the way around South America to reach SF the fastest.
- JoeAltmaier 3y ago
  Well, unless it involved going around the horn. Time costs something too?
jandrewrogers 3y ago
> We are a mostly flat country Eh? The US is the opposite of "mostly flat". And large swaths of the mostly flat part have low population density. The country is also very regional with considerable local diversity in what is produced and available locally. The US produces a lot of very local artisanal products throughout the country that don't travel very far that are based on local tradition and history. That's been true everywhere I've lived in the US.
- gottorf 3y ago
  > The US is the opposite of "mostly flat". And large swaths of the mostly flat part have low population density. Eh? Most of the population lives in the Atlantic coastal, Gulf coastal, and Midwest plains. Only a minority of Americans live in places that could be considered "mostly mountainous", methinks. Even Denver, the most populous city in (arguably) the most mountainous state, is actually a Great Plains city.
- OkayPhysicist 3y ago
  The big flat areas have low population density BECAUSE of all economy of scale farming. Look at California: You've got 4 metropolitan areas, 2 of which (the Bay Area and Los Angeles) are in coastal areas that have geographically convenient access to the big flat area with farms, one (San Diego) in a big flat desert, and one on the river in the big flat area (Sacramento). Chicago's surrounding areas are flat farmland. Portland and Seattle likewise have river access to their state's big flat areas. What's between the Rockies and Appalachia? Big flat farms.

swexbe 3y ago

Except, shipping by boat has been more cost effective since the beginning of history. The furthest you can get from the ocean in Japan is like a full days walk.

gottorf 3y ago
> shipping by boat has been more cost effective since the beginning of history I've read that before the Transcontinental Railroad, it was cheaper and faster to get to San Francisco from a port in China than from St. Louis.
- badpun 3y ago
  Similarly, people who wanted to join the 1849 San Francisco gold rush, but were on the East Coast, took boats which sailed all the way around South America to reach SF the fastest.
JoeAltmaier 3y ago
Well, unless it involved going around the horn. Time costs something too?

jandrewrogers 3y ago

> We are a mostly flat country Eh? The US is the opposite of "mostly flat". And large swaths of the mostly flat part have low population density. The country is also very regional with considerable local diversity in what is produced and available locally. The US produces a lot of very local artisanal products throughout the country that don't travel very far that are based on local tradition and history. That's been true everywhere I've lived in the US.

gottorf 3y ago
> The US is the opposite of "mostly flat". And large swaths of the mostly flat part have low population density. Eh? Most of the population lives in the Atlantic coastal, Gulf coastal, and Midwest plains. Only a minority of Americans live in places that could be considered "mostly mountainous", methinks. Even Denver, the most populous city in (arguably) the most mountainous state, is actually a Great Plains city.
OkayPhysicist 3y ago
The big flat areas have low population density BECAUSE of all economy of scale farming. Look at California: You've got 4 metropolitan areas, 2 of which (the Bay Area and Los Angeles) are in coastal areas that have geographically convenient access to the big flat area with farms, one (San Diego) in a big flat desert, and one on the river in the big flat area (Sacramento). Chicago's surrounding areas are flat farmland. Portland and Seattle likewise have river access to their state's big flat areas. What's between the Rockies and Appalachia? Big flat farms.