Just this past month was my first ever visit to Canada, and the supermarkets here also blew my mind (I spent the last decade in Germany and before that in a mix

Just this past month was my first ever visit to Canada, and the supermarkets here also blew my mind (I spent the last decade in Germany and before that in a mix of Malaysia/Singapore). I heard this was also representative of US supermarkets. I was mostly surprised at the ridiculous size of the mall footprint (no wonder they need to put these in the middle of nowhere and require cars); of the variety of things (like the parent comment mentioned); the variety of the same thing (30 different types of frozen pizzas), of the packaging (especially Costco holy shit, some package sizes are what some supermarkets where I live have on display). It is very convenient and impressive, but I have mixed feelings about the trade-offs, like needing a car to get around and carry larger quantities of groceries (though I’m unsure whether big box stores or car dominant culture came first or maybe hand-in-hand), the majority of food choices on offer seem less than ideal for your long term health (lots of packaged and processed meals, junk food), and lack of origin or locality of goods (though farmer / wet markets do exist for that).