Celebrations

For most major holiday's in my family meat is traditionally the centerpiece food but the side dishes have become to be more important as many of my cousins have become vegetarian in the past few years. What we used to do was have a big spread of all the foods we would eat at someone's kitchen or preparation table and then everyone would walk through and grab what they wanted. The hosting family would provide and make the majority of the food and would delegate what others would bring. Now that we have some vegetarians though the family nearly requires them to make the majority of their dishes and to bring them to the events. Kind of like if you want to eat differently that's fine but you need to do a large portion of the providing and cooking. And my family is pretty into cooking so my cousins have taken well to this. The meal is "good" because everyone is together making it a real meal. It's also good for us meat eaters as we usually have a hearty dish prepared that showcases someones cooking prowess (which is an added benefit/fun part in our family).

The family from Great Britain stuck out to me for a couple reasons; maybe they reminded me of my family or of a family I knew. The fact that they were celebrating their kids 14th birthday in a Pub was really cool though. Trying to think back, I didn't have very many birthday parties, but when I did they were usually at my house or a restaurant. It's not common to bring your own cake and toppings to a restaurant/pub/bar in the states at all but I think it's interesting that they can and do. I also like the similarity of how much their family dislikes grocery shopping and that if the husband goes shopping a lot of weird stuff comes back. The same thing happens in my family! With the family from east of Beijing I liked that they focused on meat at big meals or holidays - similar to what we do but in the mean time they don't eat very much meat at all during their average meals which is not the same here. I think I'd like the idea of meat more or it would be less scary to me if it was only eaten at special occasions. It would definitely help.

Celebratory Food

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving was always considered a special meal. Family would come from all over the place to share the meal at one of my aunt's or uncle's houses. Everyone would claim a dish beforehand to bring to the dinner, but the turkey was always cooked by whoever was hosting. The meals would always be the typical thanksgiving foods, like turkey, casserole, mashed potatoes, and cranberries. 

There was always an unspoken rule of no arguing. To our family, Thanksgiving was a time to bury the hatchet and come together as a family. Looking back on it, I always enjoyed this aspect the most because everybody always got along. 

In regards to food grammar, I would say none of the food served on Thanksgiving are core foods. The only secondary foods would probably be the turkey, green beans, and mashed potatoes because I usually eat those once or twice a week. The rest of the foods are definitely peripheral types of foods. Casserole,  cranberries, and pumpkin pie are only ever eat on special occasions or gatherings. 

In relation to other culture's celebratory dishes, the Guatemalan family from Menzel and D'Aluisio also have occasion specific dishes. In general, their daily diet mostly consists of vegetables and potatoes, but when celebrating All Saints Day, they get together as a family and community and slaughter lambs for the special dinner. Even though no culture celebrates every holiday in the same way, this is an example of how most every culture prepares celebratory food that is only consumed a few times a year. 

Holiday meals- Birthdays

Birthdays are an interesting case.  In a lot of cultures, including the U.S., I feel that they are similar in the sense that whoever is being celebrated gets to choose.  Often in the U.S. people choose to go out to their favorite restaurant.  It could be a slightly more expensive one that they do not frequent or it could be a place that feels homey and that is frequented due to having the best version of some food that they like.  In D&A the latter can be seen in Great Britain when they are celebrating at the local pub with friends and family.  It is a homey vibe and more of a celebration because they may be known there by the staff or be "regulars."  It is also probably more convenient to gather loves ones and friends at a place that is local and known in the community.  Some people may choose to stay in as well, perhaps having a favorite home cooked meal or a meal that is not prepared often due to expense, time, preparation, etc.  It is an occasion to make something different or just something that is a favorite.  It is interesting that although the type of food we are talking about having for birthdays largely differs, the conversation around it does not seem to change all that much from culture to culture.  It is pleasing whoever is being celebrated.
One time when I was younger I was at a friend's for a birthday party.  It was a little gathering of just family and friends and then we had a nice dinner (barbecue ribs, her favorite) and then after a short break her mom called us all back in the room for cake. The candles were lit and we sang and she blew them out.  Then, after barely touching her small piece of cake we were back in the other room away from her mom and I asked her why she did not eat much of her cake and she said "yeah, I am not really a big cake person."  It seems that cake is seldom a favorite dessert compared to other things such as ice cream, pies, brownies, etc. but for some reason it is a symbol for a birthday.  No matter what the dinner meal is, cake always has to follow.  In D&A you can see they have a cake in the pub, probably not something they typically make, but they make an exception because it's a birthday and that's what you do.  It's often assumed that there needs to be cake there rather than asking the birthday person what they would like for dessert instead... maybe it's just because they are the easiest things to stick candles in!

Celebratory Food

            My family is huge and very into big celebrations like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July and birthdays. Each kid in my family was born either on, or near a holiday and our celebrations are filled with different foods corresponding to the event and time of year. For example, Thanksgiving consists of staple foods like turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cornbread and cranberries. Christmas usually entails ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, eggnog, and a lot of pies, cookies and ice cream. My birthday is two days before Christmas and that is a special meal based around what I enjoy eating most – seafood. King crab legs are my absolute favorite food and therefore every year on my birthday that is our main course. On my brothers birthday (St. Patrick’s Day) we have traditional Irish food such as Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots. On the fourth of

July we tend to lean towards more barbeque foods like burgers, chicken, shish kabobs, pulled pork, etc.

            Dishes seen in other countries like Mexico for Christmas are tamales, romeritos—which are small green leaves, potatoes and “shrimp bread”, soup, and ponche (to drink) which usually is a hot sweet drink with rum or tequila. The United Kingdom has many staple foods for Christmas such as brandy butter, ham, roast duck, roast goose, roast pheasant, trifle, and chocolate Yule log and Dundee cake.

One thing I noticed about American meals is that everything is separated. Either separately served course by course of everything is served at once but placed on separate areas on the plate.  

Another thing I noticed is that meat is a big part of celebratory meals. I don’t think I have any celebrations with my family where the main part of the meal isn’t meat or fish. Also, no one in my family is vegetarian. Lastly, dessert also is a huge part of celebrations whether its birthday cakes, pies, ice cream, homemade cookies or other pastries –we LOVE our sweets.

Christmas

One thing that instantly came to mind while thinking about special meals was Christmas breakfast at my house. For as long as I can remember, the actual courses for breakfast have been changed, but it's always included ham. My uncle is always in charge of buying ham for my mother, and she would be in charge of carving and preparing it on Christmas morning. No matter what we had for breakfast, everyone would get some ham, and then again at dinner if other family members came over, we would get more ham.

Even though ham is a pretty common food and we have it more than annually, something about eating ham on Christmas seems like a tradition to me, and I've come to expect it every year at breakfast. In comparison to some of the Asian countries we've discussed, ham differs from their norm, where seafood might be more commonplace, and meat is not very common for people to eat all that often. Japan and India both came to mind, as Japan often has meals that include seafood, and India (due to religious and environmental reasons) has a high population of vegetarians.

I think it definitely speaks for the differences in cultures and how meat is commonplace, but still considered necessary and important (to the point where it has become the main part of my family's meals at Christmas.) However, the importance of ham, or any meat for that matter, definitely differs across various cultures.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Growing up my family usually had Thanksgiving dinner at my grandpa’s house in South Carolina. It was also interesting going to my grandpa’s house because we never knew which family members were coming. The idea was for all of my grandpa’s children, their kids and his sisters to come. But sometimes he didn’t know who was showing up until the day of Thanksgiving or he didn’t know what time they would arrive. Thinking back on this I would think it would be stressful on my grandpa about knowing how much food to cook. But he had the mentality that whoever shows up will show up. My grandfather also did almost all the cooking himself, he was often adamant about other people not doing any cooking. I remember his sisters would often ask to help and he would not want them in the kitchen. But once my grandfather found out who was coming to Thanksgiving we were unable to eat until everyone arrived. Once everyone arrived we prayed then ate. Everyone usually ate in various places around the house.

The food at Thanksgiving was typical Thanksgiving food. Nothing special was made except sometimes my grandmother would bake pies and send them with us. I enjoyed the simplicity of the meal because I was a pickier eater so it was nice knowing that I would be able to eat everything. It also was nice having a familiar home cooked meal.

Holiday Meats

In my country basically any holiday includes a big barbeque. Christmas, birthdays, independence day, or what have you, we’ll have a combination of meats that can include steak, pork, lamb, and chicken. When we’re outside the city and in or near a farm for a holiday or occasion we’ll slaughter an animal (usually a lamb) and eat fresh meat. This gives the occasion a special touch because it’s very rare to eat meat that hasn’t been handled by a supermarket or meat market. In these occasions we’ll be outside and the meal grammar is constituted mainly by meat. Meat is the main food and the one you eat in the highest quantity in relation to the other foods. Potatoes wrapped in tinfoil that are put on the barbeque accompany the meat. Along with potatoes we’ll also have salad. The meat, potatoes, and salad are eating in relatively proportionate quantities, but as mentioned before, most of what is eaten is meat. Eating meat of high quality that’s put on the barbeque outdoors is a rare event because of how expensive it is and how much we eat when we do so. This gives these occasions the feeling of being special and rare moments that are supposed to be enjoyed more than other meals. Interestingly enough, this does not just affect the enjoyment of the food, but the enjoyment of the people we’re with and the moment in general. Big barbeques are like a signal in our culture for moments meant for relaxing, letting go, and having fun.

            This tradition seems somewhat similar to the one held in Todos Santos for the Dia de Todos Santos. On this special day people have a very festive attitude and this includes slaughtering and eating sheep and turkey. It’s rare for the people of Todos Santos to eat meat, so this emphasizes how special of a day it is. According to the book What The World Eats it would seem that meat is also the center of the food eaten on this occasion.

Celebrations between Cultures

In my family, holidays are a very important time for all of us to get together. Since my parents got divorced, I alternate going to my mother’s side or my father’s side for Thanksgiving and Easter every year, and I end up seeing both of them for our own Christmas celebrations. Those three holidays are our biggest meals when a lot of my immediate family from one side or the other gathers together to celebrate over a meal. It’s always a female member of my family who cooks most of the food; sometimes it’s a collaboration of many female family members.

For Easter and Christmas, we generally have very similar meals. The main dish is ham, and then we have other side dishes to go along with it, such as au gratin potatoes and green bean casserole. On Thanksgiving, however, it is a much bigger feast. My family makes many dishes, always including but not limited to: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn casserole, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie, and cookies. On all of these holidays, we always have core foods of meat (ham or turkey) and potatoes, but secondary foods, like casseroles, stuffing, and cranberry sauce are also added. There are also certain signifier foods for each holiday. Turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie signify that it is Thanksgiving, ham and a variety of Christmas cookies signify that it is Christmas, and Ham, pie, and Easter candy signify that it is Easter. I think these meals are “good” because they bring together my family. Holidays are the only time of the year when everyone takes a break from their regularly busy schedules to relax and enjoy each other’s company over a meal. We all celebrate together on holidays.

In other cultures, celebrations have similarities and differences to my family’s customs. In Menzel and D’Aluisio’s What the World Eats, the Caven family from the United States is mentioned as eating a lot of chocolate and candy on holidays. My family has this in common with them. In Great Britain, the Banton family goes to a local pub to celebrate their teenage son’s birthday. Oftentimes, my family also goes out to eat to celebrate birthdays. In China, the Cui family buys foods for their son’s birthday that they wouldn’t normally eat. He requested butter and cake, so they bought those Westernized foods for him. In my family, a birthday doesn’t pass without having a cake. In Guatemala, on holidays, the Mendoza family eats rice, beans, potatoes, eggs, and tortillas three times a day. They also eat fruit as dessert. My family has one big feast on holidays, not three like the Mendoza family does. We also have sweet, baked goods for dessert, never considering fruit to be dessert. It is very interesting to see how different traditions and eating habits differ between cultures.

Passover and the Birthday Celebration - Foods for Once a Year

In my family, there are a few celebrations every year, and each one includes special food. Thanksgiving, of course, has the requisite turkey, cornbread, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and cranberries, along with a few family favorites, such as cranberry applesauce. We also celebrate Chanukkah, Passover, and family birthdays, each one with its particular food traditions.

The celebration of Passover and the food preparations that go into it remind me in some ways of the long process of tamale making described in Williams' article. For days, family will work together to prepare the bullets (hard shells of matzot meal stuffed with chicken and spices), matzot balls, the soup stock, desserts, charoset (diced apples, sweet red wine, walnuts, cinnamon, and honey), the Seder plates arranged very specifically, and any other food we will be having at the Seder. At no other time of the year do we spend so much time making a meal, except, perhaps, at Thanksgiving. Unlike the tamale making, however, these cooking duties are shared across gender lines to some extent. My grandfather and a male family friend always assist in making the matzot ball soup and the bullets, as well as the dessert. My mother always makes the charoset, something that I have come to help with in recent years. My grandmother usually helps with the vegetables. And, for the only time in the year, we hire someone to help in the kitchen. Though she never assists with the cooking, she helps serve the meal so that we can all relax and enjoy the holiday, and she helps clean up the kitchen when all of the cooking is done. 

Passover is an interesting food holiday because there are very specific foods that must be eaten for religious purposes. There is a specific order to their eating as we move through the story of Passover, eating the bitter herbs, the salt water, the egg, the glasses of wine (or grape juice if preferred). We sit at the table for more than an hour, telling the story of Passover, before we actually get to the meal. These little bits of food - the charoset and matzot, the parsley and saltwater, the horseradish - serve as a sort of first course in a way, even though they are very spread out. These foods sit on our plates from the beginning of the Seder. These are secondary foods, foods that we rarely eat but that signify our place in the Jewish faith and our connection to the Jews who were enslaved in Egypt. 

When the actual meal comes, we always start with soup. In it, we have the choice of matzot balls or bullets or, for the courageous appetite, both. At no other time of year do we have this sort of choice with a first course. Normally, we don't even have a first course, and if we do, we certainly don't get to choose what to put in it. But Passover is special, so we have both matzot balls and bullets in excess. I inevitably get full on the soup before we even get to the main course, which is usually a chicken dish that I personally find to be repugnant, but we have it anyway. Along with the chicken are always a few side dishes, including vegetables. I usually abstain. Instead, I get full on charoset and matzot, possibly my favorite food in the world. As it's the only time of year when I get to eat it, I find it foolish to eat anything else. 

Then we have dessert, a rarity in my family. Again, like the first course, we always have more than one option. We always have a dessert that we call "mazel toffee," matzot with chocolate, nuts, and toffee covering it completely. And, because we are not allowed to have flour or yeast on Passover, we often have a flourless cake, a very strange choice to me (why not make an inherently flourless dessert, like chocolate mousse or creme brulee?). Yet we have it, perhaps because we like to prove to ourselves that we can still have "normal" desserts during Passover.

This meal, then, can be classified into four courses: the bitter herbs, charoset, and matzot that go along with the Seder, the matzot ball soup, the chicken and vegetables, and the dessert. Usually, our family only has one course, so this meal is certainly special. And the content of the meal is different too, with most of these foods only being eat once a year. The meal is "good" because of the family that I get to share it with, the huge quantity and choice involved so that I have the luxury of skipping the bits I don't like, and the magnificent quality. It's also good because many of these foods only get to be consumed once a year - the matzot ball soup, sparkling grape juice, and the charoset being particular favorites - so I make sure to absolutely gorge myself while I can, paying no attention to the usual restraints that I place on myself and my eating.

Another celebratory time in my family is the birthday, something that comes up in the Menzel and D'Aluisio book.  Unlike the British family, I always eat at home on my birthday, celebrating with my parents and my grandparents. Because this is a celebration of my life, I get to choose whatever meal I want. When I was younger, I often asked for homemade macaroni and cheese, but in recent years, I have asked for barbecue chicken. This is one of the two or three times in the year that I will break my vegetarianism. I absolutely love barbecue chicken, and for this special occasion, my mom will find a local, free range, organic, grassfed chicken for me. This is definitely a prestige food, as meat like this can get pretty pricey. Like the Hondurans in the Menzel and D'Aluisio book, meat comes into my life almost exclusively for celebrations, and the meat that I choose is special, not just something I can pick up at the grocery store, but a bird that we order months in advance so that it can be raised by a local farmer specifically for me. This is definitely a departure, then, from the normal content of my meal. I also always choose to have fruit salad, full of blueberries, strawberries, and bananas. These conjure up the freshness of summer days, and it only seems appropriate for my early July birthday. Strawberries are just trickling out of season, and blueberries are coming in strong, so they're always fresh. The bananas, of course, are imported, but I love them too much to skip out. Then, for dessert, I have my absolute favorite: peach pie. Peaches are just barely coming into season at my birthday, but there are enough around to make my pie. And it's delicious. This year, we upgraded to a peach-blueberry cobbler. In addition, we had chocolate milk from the Meadville Market House, possibly the best drink every created.

My birthday meal is "good" because it consists of my absolute favorite foods, which all happen to be in season for my birthday. The fruits that I adore are fresh and local (for the most part), and the chicken is usually raised and slaughtered just for this occasion. It's also good because it's a relaxing time with my family, and we often don't take the time to get together and sit down for a good dinner. We eat this meal in the dining room when usually we would eat in the kitchen, each making our own meals simultaneous and standing or sitting around eating while the others finish preparing their own food. And, even when we do sit down for dinner, we never have more than one course. Dessert doesn't exist in my house.

So, while the particular foods of my celebrations may be different than in other cultures, we have the similarity of having foods that we usually would not - the Hondurans eating meat, the Chinese grandson getting cake and butter. Additionally, it is a time when we have greater choice in our foods, huge quantities of food, and a lot of preparation going into the meal, much more than would usually go into it. The food that we eat and how we eat it (the Passover meal being stretched out over hours), show the kind of importance that we place on these events and the things or people being celebrated. 

Blog prompt for Monday 11/23: Food & celebration

On Monday, we'll talk about how food is used for celebration.  Everyone blogs for Monday.

To begin with, think about a couple of different kinds of celebrations in your home food tradition (this can include holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Passover - and/or "occasions" like birthdays).  What do you notice about the grammar of those special meals?  What about content (referring to core foods, secondary foods and other signifiers)?  What makes these meals "good" (as discussed today in class)?

Now, compare and contrast these special meals with celebration meals from other cultures.  You can include Williams and anything from the cookbooks as well as the material from Menzel & D'Aluisio.  In M&D, as I mentioned in class, I found four specific mentions of holiday celebrations with food (pp. 49, 72-3, 86-7 and 142-3), so look at those for sure.  Are there any universal features of celebration meals across cultures, or do they seem to be culture-specific -- or some of each?  Illustrate your response with specific examples.

Culture and Eating

            What The World Eats, by D’Alusio & Menzel, primarily focuses on the cost and type of ingredients representative families across several countries use on a weekly basis.  This differs from Bisogni, who points out that most westernized societies eat out and not as a family. The access to so many different food options everywhere causes a person to have a surplus of food options each day at their disposal. This changes how food is prepared/thought of and has decreased traditional eating styles over the years. What The World Eats discussed many places around the world that still use a more traditional style while preparing meals. Some of the countries they discussed were Japan, India, Philippines and France. In Japan, for example, many families base their meals around the food they can gather from the sea since Japan is surrounded by water. This is shown in the average amount of fish consumed per person each year, which is 146 pounds! Sayo Ukita, a mother of two wakes up early every morning to prepare a breakfast salad for her two daughters, Mio and Maya. The breakfast salad consists of tomato, cucumber and lettuce. The two girls eat their breakfast while enjoying a cup of tea and the mother kneels to join them and eat her own. Sayo has also prepared Maya two school lunch bento boxes that consist of grilled fish, lightly steamed green bean flanks, white rice and the second containing 4 strawberries, 2 cherries, and a thin slice of Fuji apple. Mio, the older daughter eats lunch with her friends at the fast food restaurants near her school. The difference between westernized fast food restaurants and the ones in Japan are that the chains in Japan change their menu seasonally, which is a longstanding Japanese tradition. For dinner Sayo will ride her bike to the train station to buy the freshest food she can find and spend over an hour preparing a nice dinner. In the typical week, Japanese families eat at least a dozen different kinds of fish, shellfish and three varieties of seaweed. The average amount of money spent on a weeks worth of food in May was 37,699 Yen or $317.25 USD.

            The average Indian family spends a lot less on their food per week (at least when compared to USD) typically around 1,636,25 rupees or $39.27 USD. Most Hindus are vegetarian and meat will never be served at their table. One family, the Patkar’s, usually sit down together for one meal a day, which is breakfast. What is typically served for breakfast is something like potatoes, onions and chopped chili peppers in some mustard seed and vegetable oil. Poha—which are rice flakes, are drained and added to the frying pan with a little sugar and salt and pinch of turmeric. The Poha will then be covered by condiments such as shredded dried coconut and chopped cilantro and crisp chickpea flour noodles (sev). The Poha is served ontop of the fluffy vegetables and rice with coconut, cilantro and sprinkled on sev. For other meals, India seems to love street vender food. Dishes like chhole bhature (spicy chickpea curry with flat bread), steamed rice cakes, pav bhaji (spicy mashed vegetables in a bread bowl), uttapam (thick and crispy flat bread made with coconut milk) with spicy vegetables, dosa (crisp savory pancake) with chutney or other spicy relishes are a few favorites. For a long time India’s unique food has been separated by regions but due to the increasing mobile society the foods of each region are spreading elsewhere. One thing I found quite interesting (and disgusting) about India is the amount of people without access to a toilet and therefore defecate wherever they can causing a lot of bacteria to be in the air and thus also on the food. My friend is in India (Bangladesh) right now and has been to the hospital 4 times with issues after eating food there. She also sends me videos and pictures of all the trash that is just lying on the ground and how animals and people will literally defecate anywhere, even by food vendors and markets. 

            Like India, the Philippines is also a very poor, crowded and polluted country. Many families pile into small homes—sometimes putting almost 4 people in a small room at once. One family in particular, the Cabaña’s are a perfect example of the little amount of space available in a typical home. This family packs 8 people into 3 bedrooms while renting out the other space to other families. The mom works multiple jobs to keep her family afloat and prides herself on making many Suki’s which is a term used for buyers/sellers that do repeated business with one another. This is important because it results in her getting good deals on food (more for less money). She is very conscious about spending money and doesn’t typically buy meat but always tries to buy food that is nutritious but not expensive like vegetables and fish. Though fast food like McDonalds has made its way to the Philippines, the street food is a mainstay in culture and important in maintaining the underground economy. Ian (youngest son) eats lunch on the street every day and spends about 100 pesos or ($1.80 USD). Charles prefers to eat fast food but points out that the street food is better because its more affordable, accessible and has a distinct cultural flavor. At night, everyone returns home to eat dinner as a family. A family favorite is snigang, which is a sour, tamarind-flavored broth with fish, shellfish, pork or beef. The Cabaña’s typically spend around $2629.50 pesos or $49.42 USD a week on food.

            France seems to be the country that is most like the United States when it comes to food. The chains of supermarkets are causing many local grocery stores to close down and for typical and traditional French food to rise in price. A typical meal for the Le Moine family revolves around convenience not tradition. Due to the increase in foreign-born Parisians, a wide variety of food has been introduced to France and has some feeling that it has altered the way people eat their meals. The Le Moine daughters express that during the week their lunches typically consist of yogurt and takeout Chinese food and although they like tasting food from other countries they are afraid that the French culture is disappearing all together. There are still many classic French shops available to buy the traditional meals like gratins, meat dishes, cheese, salad courses, rich desserts and bottles of wine but they are becoming more and more expensive and are a lot less accessible. One thing that really struck me about France was the amount of cheese they consumed per year… about 57 lbs. The average amount a French family spends on a weeks worth of food is around 315.17 Euros or $419.95 USD.

            After reading about these 4 countries I went and read about the United States and tried to compare my findings.

France: $92.29 on meat, eggs, fish

            $85.66 on prepared foods

            Soft drinks 23.8 quarts per person a year

            $24.45 Dairy

Japan: $99.80 meat fish eggs

            Prepared food $21.78

            Dairy: $2.26

            Fish 146 lbs a year

            6.7% diabetes 20 yr older

India: most money spent on dairy $9.70

            Fruits/veggies/nuts: $7.73

            Street food $3.07

            Undernourished pop: 20%

            Population w. access to safe sanitation: 33%

Philippines: Meat eggs fish $19.72

            Fruits/veggies/nuts $7.17

            Fast food $1.13

            Diabetes 7.1%

USA: meat: $42.10

            Snacks and desserts $23.33

            Condiments: $16.05

            Beverages $18.87

            Restaurants: $42.11

            13,491 mcdonalds restaurants –Japan @ 3,891

Overweight/Obesity

            France: Ov: 47M/35F; Ob: 8M/6.8F

            Japan: Ov:27M/18F; Ob: 1.8M/1.5F

            India: Ov: 17M/15.5F; Ob 1.2/1.4

            Philippines: 21/29; 1.5/4

            USA: 75/73; 37/42

Life Expectancy:

            France: 77B/84G

            Japan: 79/86

            India: 62/64

            Philippines: 64/71

            USA: 75/80

Very scary to see our rates of obesity compared to these other countries as well as the amount of money we spend on meat/snacks and desserts/restaurant food. Also, I found it alarming how many McDonald’s restaurants we have (13,491) and the next highest is Japan with 3,891. USA families seem to eat out a lot more than other countries do, therefore it seems convenience plays a big role in the way we spend our money on food. With the rising numbers of chain restaurants (which most are sneakily very unhealthy) and also the number of fast food places around our country it is easy to see why America is so obese. I found it interesting how in the reading about France they pointed out that their groceries are turning into chains and that they were becoming more Americanized and they had the second highest obesity rates.