3 ms·

America is the breadbasket of the western hemisphere. We should be able to make all our own pasta!

crote 1y ago
Not really. The US is the biggest good exporter in absolute terms, but it's not very impressive once you account for its size. For example, The Netherlands exports only 30% less despite having a 95% smaller population and a 99.6% smaller land area.
JohnFen 1y ago
A surprising amount of "Italian" pasta on the shelves in the US is, in fact, made in the US. Barilla sold in the US, for instance, is made in either Ames, IA or Avon, NY.
JamesBarney 1y ago
Why? Why should we care where our pasta is made? Why not just buy the cheapest highest quality pasta, where ever it happens to be made?
- rayiner 1y ago
  Because places and people aren't fungible.
  - twixfel 1y ago
    Well, nor is food, you see.
    - rayiner 1y ago
      Food is relatively unimportant except as a source of calories.
      - deeg 1y ago
        This would explain why you don't like Italian pasta.
      - apawloski 1y ago
        Frame this on the wall as the most succinct way to sum up the utter capitulation people face in supporting these tariffs. Yes they are raising taxes and making everything more expensive for Americans. Yes they are disrupting the raw materials needed for domestic manufacturing supply chains. Yes their policies change so frequently and capriciously that it's impossible for American businesses to make medium-to-long term plans. Yes the president and his family are personally and directly benefiting from these policy decisions. Yes they are directly accepting gifts and payments, including jets, TikTok board seats, and brazenly corrupt contributions to their personal cryptocurrency. All of that is acceptable, and technically food doesn't need to taste good anyway.
        rayiner 1y ago
        > All of that is acceptable, and technically food doesn't need to taste good anyway. Food doesn’t need to taste good. This is America, not some mediterranean country: https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/31/archives/food-on-enjoying-food-while-millions-starve-the-puritan-distrusts.html https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/31/archives/food-on-enjoying... (“This American attitude toward food has been formed by two important elements in our national thinking, both functions of our national history. One is the he‐man ideology developed during our pioneering past which holds that it is effete to demand finesse in cookery (or in any other cultural activity, for that matter). The other is our Puritanism. The Puritan nourishes himself (grudgingly), for God has so organized the universe that he must. Possibly he suspects that the chore of eating was imposed on him as a penance for his disgraceful gourmandise in connection with an apple.”).
        apawloski 1y ago
        Of all the things in my post to address, the fact that you are pulling some random NYT opinion piece from 1975 to say “actually it’s more American to NOT enjoy food” only reiterates my point.

Not really. The US is the biggest good exporter in absolute terms, but it's not very impressive once you account for its size. For example, The Netherlands exports only 30% less despite having a 95% smaller population and a 99.6% smaller land area.

JohnFen 1y ago

A surprising amount of "Italian" pasta on the shelves in the US is, in fact, made in the US. Barilla sold in the US, for instance, is made in either Ames, IA or Avon, NY.

JamesBarney 1y ago

Why? Why should we care where our pasta is made? Why not just buy the cheapest highest quality pasta, where ever it happens to be made?

rayiner 1y ago
Because places and people aren't fungible.
- twixfel 1y ago
  Well, nor is food, you see.
  - rayiner 1y ago
    Food is relatively unimportant except as a source of calories.
    - deeg 1y ago
      This would explain why you don't like Italian pasta.
    - apawloski 1y ago
      Frame this on the wall as the most succinct way to sum up the utter capitulation people face in supporting these tariffs. Yes they are raising taxes and making everything more expensive for Americans. Yes they are disrupting the raw materials needed for domestic manufacturing supply chains. Yes their policies change so frequently and capriciously that it's impossible for American businesses to make medium-to-long term plans. Yes the president and his family are personally and directly benefiting from these policy decisions. Yes they are directly accepting gifts and payments, including jets, TikTok board seats, and brazenly corrupt contributions to their personal cryptocurrency. All of that is acceptable, and technically food doesn't need to taste good anyway.
      - rayiner 1y ago
        > All of that is acceptable, and technically food doesn't need to taste good anyway. Food doesn’t need to taste good. This is America, not some mediterranean country: https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/31/archives/food-on-enjoying-food-while-millions-starve-the-puritan-distrusts.html https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/31/archives/food-on-enjoying... (“This American attitude toward food has been formed by two important elements in our national thinking, both functions of our national history. One is the he‐man ideology developed during our pioneering past which holds that it is effete to demand finesse in cookery (or in any other cultural activity, for that matter). The other is our Puritanism. The Puritan nourishes himself (grudgingly), for God has so organized the universe that he must. Possibly he suspects that the chore of eating was imposed on him as a penance for his disgraceful gourmandise in connection with an apple.”).
        apawloski 1y ago
        Of all the things in my post to address, the fact that you are pulling some random NYT opinion piece from 1975 to say “actually it’s more American to NOT enjoy food” only reiterates my point.