4 ms·

Wow. Most of these are really close together. The US clearly eats way too much fast food.

komali2 2y ago
Not sure if you've been to the USA but it's not like many Americans have a choice. As an American from a smaller town it's something that depresses me a great deal. Basically every restaurant is an instance of a chain. Outside of the cities it's rare to find an original small business. Especially because the only place to get food is sometimes a parking lot "food court" or mall, and I guess only the franchisers can afford the rent there? Idk. Anyway that combined with the fact that fast food chains can leverage cost saving measures like putting their employees on food stamps and economies of scale mean nobody can beat them on prices, so for those that don't have a grocery store and wouldn't know how to cook a meal even if they did, for your daily dinner the 5$ McDonald's burger or whatever is genuinely your only choice unless you wanna eat gas station canned chili. Meanwhile now I live in Taiwan and every alley is chock full of original, small business restaurants all serving population that basically exclusively eats out for every meal and it's lovely.
- lotsofpulp 2y ago
  We have long had access to unlimited recipes and YouTube videos showing how to cook quick, easy, tasty meals. And we have online shopping. A small minority of Americans live so remote (either in blighted urban or rural areas) that they don’t have a choice in cooking.
  - komali2 2y ago
    Where in the USA do you live? For my parent's house in Texas City there wasn't really a grocery store for ten miles and I'm not even sure delivery apps were available there. It's like trying to call an Uber in league city... MAYBE you'll get one in 30 minutes or something. I'm curious if you think it's because Americans are too lazy or undisciplined or stupid or something to find and cook food? Is it hard to believe there's structural issues making it harder there than in other places? I mean even if you just open a map the geographical obstacle should be pretty apparent... It's an enormous country.
    - lotsofpulp 2y ago
      Per Google maps, there is an HEB, Kroger, Aldi, and Walmart Supercenter within 5 miles of what looks like all the populous parts of Texas City, TX. I am not making value judgments. I just know that the availability of ingredients and knowledge of how to use those ingredients is there for the taking for most Americans. Maybe people don’t have time, maybe people don’t find it worthwhile to cook for households of 1 adult, maybe people prefer the taste of super sugary/salty/sat fat laden restaurant food. Edit: > I mean even if you just open a map the geographical obstacle should be pretty apparent... It's an enormous country The size of the country is irrelevant. All metropolitan areas have numerous options for purchasing groceries. https://www.statista.com/topics/7313/metropolitan-areas-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/topics/7313/metropolitan-areas-in-t... > Nearly 83 percent of the U.S. population lived in an urban area in 2020, and that number is expected to reach nearly 90 percent by 2050.
      - vel0city 2y ago
        There's also a lot of indie restaurants in Texas City. Sure right off 146 there's a sea of chain restaurants but head down Palmer to 6th and you'll find a number of indie places to eat along the way.
      - ghaff 2y ago
        In fairness, I live in an "urban area" with 2 neighbors on the surrounding 100+ acres of land. A lot of people hear the census "urban area" and they imagine a dense downtown. That said there is no shortage of grocery stores and restaurants (if not especially high-end restaurants) around where I live. I do suspect that most of the people who say they have no choice but to eat at McDonalds or wherever just don't want to make a meal at home.
  - sidewndr46 2y ago
    Yes because while traveling from one jobsite to the next everyone has a full kitchen available to them.
    - lotsofpulp 2y ago
      What proportion of Americans are traveling from one job site to the next? Surely, the vast majority are coming home every day, and the vast majority of those presumably have a kitchen.
      - throwway120385 2y ago
        The word "surely" is doing a lot of work for you. It sounds like you're arguing that the lived experience of an itinerant construction worker doesn't matter in your quest to ensure everyone cooks all of their meals from healthy fruits and vegetables no matter how much grind it takes to accomplish. That's probably not the best way to address GP's concerns. I once had to wait out a lease and commute an hour and a half one way when I got a new job, and I stopped at convenience stores a lot more often than I would have liked. It's not pretty but sometimes you have to compromise between many competing priorities in your life, especially if you really need the job as a springboard to something better or as a big pay increase on its own. I empathize with other people currently in a similar situation, even if it's by choice, because unless you live off of a trust fund or are supremely fortunate you will often have to take work at the intersection of your skill set and your willingness to compromise other aspects of your life in order to get ahead.
        lotsofpulp 2y ago
        I’m not arguing that. komali2 wrote: > Not sure if you've been to the USA but it's not like many Americans have a choice. A small portion of Americans, such as itinerant construction workers or people with 90 minute one way commutes, might not have a choice, but to say “many Americans” don’t have the option to make simple lentil/rice/vegetable/etc meals is not correct in the sense that much of the restaurant business exists due to necessity rather than desire. The vast, vast majority of decisions to eat at restaurants are made out of convenience or preference, not time or money constraints.
infecto 2y ago
Although the U.S. does have an abundance of fast food chains, I find these types of reductionist comments unhelpful. If you look at a map of a metropolitan area in Europe, you’d likely see several McDonald's or other popular fast food chains located fairly close to each other as well.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Yes but they mainly focus on tourists here. Here in Spain we never go to fast food even for a quick lunch. There's so many better cheaper options
Eumenes 2y ago
[flagged]
resource_waste 2y ago
Abundance shows itself. I semi-agree. We have too many people complaining about economics. Cut out fast food, and suddenly they have an extra few thousand dollars to spend.

Not sure if you've been to the USA but it's not like many Americans have a choice. As an American from a smaller town it's something that depresses me a great deal. Basically every restaurant is an instance of a chain. Outside of the cities it's rare to find an original small business. Especially because the only place to get food is sometimes a parking lot "food court" or mall, and I guess only the franchisers can afford the rent there? Idk. Anyway that combined with the fact that fast food chains can leverage cost saving measures like putting their employees on food stamps and economies of scale mean nobody can beat them on prices, so for those that don't have a grocery store and wouldn't know how to cook a meal even if they did, for your daily dinner the 5$ McDonald's burger or whatever is genuinely your only choice unless you wanna eat gas station canned chili. Meanwhile now I live in Taiwan and every alley is chock full of original, small business restaurants all serving population that basically exclusively eats out for every meal and it's lovely.

lotsofpulp 2y ago
We have long had access to unlimited recipes and YouTube videos showing how to cook quick, easy, tasty meals. And we have online shopping. A small minority of Americans live so remote (either in blighted urban or rural areas) that they don’t have a choice in cooking.
- komali2 2y ago
  Where in the USA do you live? For my parent's house in Texas City there wasn't really a grocery store for ten miles and I'm not even sure delivery apps were available there. It's like trying to call an Uber in league city... MAYBE you'll get one in 30 minutes or something. I'm curious if you think it's because Americans are too lazy or undisciplined or stupid or something to find and cook food? Is it hard to believe there's structural issues making it harder there than in other places? I mean even if you just open a map the geographical obstacle should be pretty apparent... It's an enormous country.
  - lotsofpulp 2y ago
    Per Google maps, there is an HEB, Kroger, Aldi, and Walmart Supercenter within 5 miles of what looks like all the populous parts of Texas City, TX. I am not making value judgments. I just know that the availability of ingredients and knowledge of how to use those ingredients is there for the taking for most Americans. Maybe people don’t have time, maybe people don’t find it worthwhile to cook for households of 1 adult, maybe people prefer the taste of super sugary/salty/sat fat laden restaurant food. Edit: > I mean even if you just open a map the geographical obstacle should be pretty apparent... It's an enormous country The size of the country is irrelevant. All metropolitan areas have numerous options for purchasing groceries. https://www.statista.com/topics/7313/metropolitan-areas-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/topics/7313/metropolitan-areas-in-t... > Nearly 83 percent of the U.S. population lived in an urban area in 2020, and that number is expected to reach nearly 90 percent by 2050.
    - vel0city 2y ago
      There's also a lot of indie restaurants in Texas City. Sure right off 146 there's a sea of chain restaurants but head down Palmer to 6th and you'll find a number of indie places to eat along the way.
    - ghaff 2y ago
      In fairness, I live in an "urban area" with 2 neighbors on the surrounding 100+ acres of land. A lot of people hear the census "urban area" and they imagine a dense downtown. That said there is no shortage of grocery stores and restaurants (if not especially high-end restaurants) around where I live. I do suspect that most of the people who say they have no choice but to eat at McDonalds or wherever just don't want to make a meal at home.
- sidewndr46 2y ago
  Yes because while traveling from one jobsite to the next everyone has a full kitchen available to them.
  - lotsofpulp 2y ago
    What proportion of Americans are traveling from one job site to the next? Surely, the vast majority are coming home every day, and the vast majority of those presumably have a kitchen.
    - throwway120385 2y ago
      The word "surely" is doing a lot of work for you. It sounds like you're arguing that the lived experience of an itinerant construction worker doesn't matter in your quest to ensure everyone cooks all of their meals from healthy fruits and vegetables no matter how much grind it takes to accomplish. That's probably not the best way to address GP's concerns. I once had to wait out a lease and commute an hour and a half one way when I got a new job, and I stopped at convenience stores a lot more often than I would have liked. It's not pretty but sometimes you have to compromise between many competing priorities in your life, especially if you really need the job as a springboard to something better or as a big pay increase on its own. I empathize with other people currently in a similar situation, even if it's by choice, because unless you live off of a trust fund or are supremely fortunate you will often have to take work at the intersection of your skill set and your willingness to compromise other aspects of your life in order to get ahead.
      - lotsofpulp 2y ago
        I’m not arguing that. komali2 wrote: > Not sure if you've been to the USA but it's not like many Americans have a choice. A small portion of Americans, such as itinerant construction workers or people with 90 minute one way commutes, might not have a choice, but to say “many Americans” don’t have the option to make simple lentil/rice/vegetable/etc meals is not correct in the sense that much of the restaurant business exists due to necessity rather than desire. The vast, vast majority of decisions to eat at restaurants are made out of convenience or preference, not time or money constraints.

infecto 2y ago

Although the U.S. does have an abundance of fast food chains, I find these types of reductionist comments unhelpful. If you look at a map of a metropolitan area in Europe, you’d likely see several McDonald's or other popular fast food chains located fairly close to each other as well.

wkat4242 2y ago
Yes but they mainly focus on tourists here. Here in Spain we never go to fast food even for a quick lunch. There's so many better cheaper options

Eumenes 2y ago

[flagged]

resource_waste 2y ago

Abundance shows itself. I semi-agree. We have too many people complaining about economics. Cut out fast food, and suddenly they have an extra few thousand dollars to spend.