Food in America compared to the UK - Why is it so different?
Added 2025-01-23 15:00:13 +0000 UTCComments
Let's be honest when you have the food industry in bed with the drug industry there are going to be problems. The FDA becomes a an overseer of making people ill from the food so drugs are needed. What are the majority of US commercials? Medications. Mke the public ill and then pretend to offer them a solution. US policy when it comes to people's health is probably the most messed up thing on the planet.
Tass
2025-02-03 01:47:07 +0000 UTCDid you ever see this? https://youtu.be/VMqcLUqYqrs Speech - America is not the greatest country in the world - watch and learn before it's too late.
Eric Tull
2025-01-28 12:26:38 +0000 UTCIt all depends, I suppose, if you define truth with loosened expectations! . . . or loosened underpants!
Josef Schiltz
2025-01-24 13:15:47 +0000 UTCDo you mean: "I think so"? 😜
Eddy
2025-01-24 13:06:23 +0000 UTCI responded to someone on Quora who lives in Utah - 'a homemaker and constant science enthusiast' - who had mentioned that the tablets she was prescribed to take had a latex paint coating and I replied regarding all the toxins, particulates and micro-plastics in the environment and in the food and she blocked me, saying that i was "done!", claiming that I was spouting "anti-science rhetoric". She was the one that mentioned the latex paint on the tablets. Is it scientific to back away from the truth? I don't think so.
Josef Schiltz
2025-01-24 08:43:35 +0000 UTCThree of my very closest friends live in the US (one a US-born surgeon and the other 2 from London but residents for over 30 years), and they all speak of how they are forced to buy very expensive, organic food to prepare their own meals in order to avoid the nastiness that is normal US food.
Eddy
2025-01-24 01:20:23 +0000 UTCYes! Home made bread is the way forward. Once you get the knack, it really doesn’t take too much time. I started baking because of the high sugar content in most US breads amongst other ingredients. Good health choice to bake but also because I just wasn’t used to very sweet tasting bread.
Bobby K
2025-01-24 01:16:28 +0000 UTCThis is unfortunately true
Bobby K
2025-01-24 01:02:44 +0000 UTCThere are more natural ketchup versions and they are pretty decent. I wouldn’t pay for the U.K. ketchup. I’m sure it is hella expensive
Bobby K
2025-01-24 01:02:02 +0000 UTCThis is really interesting to me. I have been working in the US for over a year now and I have been so stressed with the food here 😂 because I know how lax the regulations are. And to eat healthily is extremely expensive - just for simple fresh ingredients. I have gotten over the prices though as I really don’t want to eat crap!
Bobby K
2025-01-24 00:57:37 +0000 UTCNow that I've had time to watch the video, I have too much I'd like to write, of course! I don't enough time to write a lot, so I must keep it brief. I’m sorry my post is a bit political, but that can’t be avoided when it comes to food safety. Apart from my comment about UK animal rights laws, everyone else's comments about the better food here and in the rest of Europe (and in particular the EU) and the general message of the video itself, I'd like to point out that things are far from perfect here. It is, for instance, hard to find bacon or ham that is not produced with Nitrates, a known carcinogen (and a US creation designed to replace the salt that was originally used for meat preservation) that the UK Government refuses to ban. That was one good reason for the anger of those of us who understood the ignorance of the 37% of the voting population who narrowly got their way with Brexit and the ridiculous 'taking back control' slogan; unfortunately, it has left our nation so desperate for a trade deal with the US that we are willing to give up our sovereignty in return for easier access to the US market, since the EU has become so much harder to access, and of course in return for that US companies were demanding not only easier access here but were also making outrageous demands such as dropping ‘country of origin’ labels on our foodstuffs, so we wouldn’t be able to identify US chickens brought up in terrible conditions and then cleaned with chlorine to kill bacteria that shouldn’t be there in the first place etc. I could go on and on about such things, including the secret courts that have been implemented whereby US healthcare companies can sue the UK Government if their access to the NHS is in any way curtailed etc, etc… However, I think we can short-cut such discussion by agreeing that we all need to watch what we eat and, as Mike and Jess point out, we have the individual responsibility and power as adults to educate ourselves and do our best to avoid known harms. I have one simple suggestion I’ll make: Jess, buy a bread machine! US bread has all sorts of nasty additives, as I understand, which is one reason why it doesn’t go mouldy for ages (I’m told), whereas good-quality UK bread will do so within 3 days or so. My sister bought me one and I have never looked back. It takes me less than 10 minutes to prepare the ingredients (5 if I am in a hurry), I can experiment with different flours, oils, salt and sugar, it saves money and I get that wonderful smell of freshly baked bread permeating my house! Okay, it takes about 3 hours for it to bake, but that’s the sum of my efforts; a ‘no-brainer’, as you Americans might say!
Eddy
2025-01-23 23:14:36 +0000 UTCPS Just saw your Rich Hall "When Brits Snap" recommendation. That's one I intend to recommend!
Eddy
2025-01-23 20:29:38 +0000 UTCI lived near Valencia for a few years and it is probably the loveliest city I have ever visited - very fond memories. I never watched Minder. Not my kinda show, I'm afraid, so I can't comment. I was made over they decided to react to Fawlty Towers though, which I have great memories of watching with my parents on its release. I intend to put together a list of comedy I feel Mike and Jess are badly missing out on though and would suit their personalities, once they get past their obsession with the slightly smug and cruel (albeit sometimes funny) Ricky Gervais, who really isn't as smart or as educated as he evidently believes he is ('Seven Wonders of the World' my arse!). I think part of the problem is that their audience now includes a lot of people who love cruel, supposedly 'anti-woke' comedy, when there is far funnier stuff out there without resorting to 'roasting' other people.
Eddy
2025-01-23 20:00:18 +0000 UTCYou're little bit older than me, the only city I'd live in now is Valencia, I've just got to find away to get there in the next 12 years when I turn 67, lol. As one of the old guard on here, do you think 'Minder' would travel well to the US?
Jason Bonner
2025-01-23 19:34:46 +0000 UTCI love London and I love my old, cold and draughty house, having been dragged (I'd write 'kicking and screaming', except it was they who did the kicking and the screaming at me!) by my parents to the middle of nowhere in Somerset at 12 years old, so wouldn't live anywhere else in the UK, unfortunately. I just need to find a way to pay off the mortgage in the next 5 years when I turn 67!
Eddy
2025-01-23 19:14:23 +0000 UTCThats why I moved away from London when Johnson was Mayor. Garys Economics is worth a look on YT.
Jason Bonner
2025-01-23 19:06:22 +0000 UTCMy US friends explain everything with "it's all about the money", which is largely true in the US, of course, but it blinds them to more nuanced concerns, in my opinion. It certainly explains Donald Trump's behaviour to a large degree (although pride, narcissism etc have to be factored in), but not that of the 33% of eligible voters who made him president this time around. That said, you're dead right about food and socialised vs privatised healthcare.
Eddy
2025-01-23 18:38:39 +0000 UTCThe 0.1 or even 0.01%ers, to be precise. I bought my house in central London a long, long time ago, and by sheer accident I and many other people who own their own homes in the UK are officially 1%ers, even though I have no spare cash and struggle to pay my council tax, utility bills etc, not to mention failing to afford a holiday in over 30 years!
Eddy
2025-01-23 18:31:49 +0000 UTCI'm an Americanophile having grown up with much of the US culture here in the UK but my heart bleeds for everyday Americans enslaved to the 1%ers. This issue largely boils down to a "profit before people" mindset. In systems with socialized healthcare, governments have a vested interest in keeping their citizens healthy, as it reduces the overall cost of healthcare. However, in a healthcare system driven by the "sovereign individual" model through private insurance, the primary concern often shifts from the health and well-being of individuals to maximizing profit. This shift redefines people from being citizens to consumers. I delved into this topic during the UK's process of leaving the EU and discovered some striking contrasts. For instance, within the EU, over 1,500 ingredients and chemicals are banned from cosmetics due to their links to cancer and other health risks. Meanwhile, in the US, only 11 such substances are banned. As an example, hair-straightening products containing formaldehyde—a known carcinogen—can be freely sold in the US, whereas they would not be permitted under EU regulations. This stark difference highlights the potential impact of prioritizing profits over public health.
Jason Bonner
2025-01-23 18:16:42 +0000 UTCPlease see my more detailed reply. The UK led the world in establishing animal rights as early as 1822 and has consistently led Europe. I also lived on 'The Continent' of Europe for a number of years, but give credit where it is due and that is to the UK in preference to the EU, in spite of my love of Europe and the EU.
Eddy
2025-01-23 18:04:00 +0000 UTCWell done guys in a small way ur bringing a BIG issue out 👏 keep it up….
Paul
2025-01-23 17:45:33 +0000 UTCOf course, the EU was only formed in 1993. Food standards were high in other European nations too prior to that date. I can testify to that, having lived on the continent for many years. We picked up a lot of their good habits in terms of a shift toward fresh produce and a higher quality of bread.
Thomas
2025-01-23 17:31:46 +0000 UTCI haven't had time to watch this video yet, but I'll assume it fails to cover some essential information that most people, even in the UK, are unaware of and that the YouTube comparisons I've seen so far fail to cover: "The UK was the first country in the world to pass legislation to protect animals in 1822 with the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act. We built on this to improve conditions related to slaughterhouses in 1875, and then passed the landmark Protection of Animals Act in 1911." In other words, we understood, long before the US even recognised the rights of black people, that animals are sentient and therefore deserve legally recognised rights, something the US still does not do. It is at the heart of UK food standards.
Eddy
2025-01-23 17:16:20 +0000 UTCI love the EU and knew it would prove a historical mistake to leave, but actually high UK food standards predate the formation of the EU by 150 years or so and set standards at that time that the USstill has not met.
Eddy
2025-01-23 17:11:23 +0000 UTCThe cynic in me thinks the guy in the video is probably right (I don't know if all the ingredients he lists are accurate), but there's a lot of money to be made off sick people over there. If we made people sick from food, the NHS would quickly be overwhelmed. Similar notes on flu jabs, it's big business for pharmacies to sell in in the US. I know a guy he graduated and got a job working in I think it was Walgreens, or similar. And he had a target, like a sales target. So he had to tell people you need them and they were selling them for $75 each. Or teeth is a classic, Americans will make jokes about Britis' teeth, but for the most part they're just more natural. Whereas in the US, it's sold to be disgusting not to have brilliant white teeth like a pot of emulsion paint. Why? So you go and put yourself in debt to get perfect teeth.
Andy Robinson
2025-01-23 16:26:20 +0000 UTCBasically guys, you are being parasited upon. Btw: I am not allowed to say that word on YouTube. They delete it. Interesting!
Josef Schiltz
2025-01-23 16:25:23 +0000 UTClooking forward to 'the greatest raid' doc
alexmiller
2025-01-23 16:17:27 +0000 UTCOur UK food standards were set during our time in the European Union. We have largely retained these since leaving the EU due to Brexit. There was a lot of talk about how food should not be part of any post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the USA because of its lower standards, and the chlorinated chicken, which is illegal in Europe, became a symbol of this.
Thomas
2025-01-23 15:53:49 +0000 UTCYou should be able to get British ketchup there, but it probably won’t be cheap, I remember Trader Joes always had good choices of British stuff. As you say though making your own is a better way to go!
Kieran B
2025-01-23 15:53:03 +0000 UTCBut no fear, IT'S OK! Because you guys banned the Kinder Egg.
Archie East
2025-01-23 15:09:25 +0000 UTCFood in Europe is tested before it is allowed to be sold. Food in America is allowed to be sold until it is found unsafe.
Archie East
2025-01-23 15:03:09 +0000 UTC
