What Americans aren't eating

Which foods aren't grown in the US? I'm irish so I wouldn't know.

I'm American and I have no clue what he's talking about. The US is a big country...there aren't many foods we can't grow somewhere in the country.

fruits and veggies are often grown seasonally...the US doesn't cover both the north and southern hemispheres...most of our typical grocery stores change very little in the fruits and veggies offered...you do the math.

I could probably get plenty of fruits and vegetables from my state, let alone the entire US. Don't forget about Hawaii and Alaska. The only thing I thought of was the grains. Most grains produced in the US are for livestock consumption.

Am I the only one confused by the recommended intake of soup?!

I'm not eating enough soup in my diet!! :noway: :laugh:

I wonder if this data is affected by the fact our current EBT (food stamps) system allows free will of the card holder to purchase as they please with very limited guidelines and restrictions. Why buy FFV (fresh fruits and vegetables) when you can use the card value to purchase bottled water, Monster Energy drinks, soda, steak and deli items? We do have a WIC voucher system that forces the voucher holder's hand to purchase milk, eggs, beans, grains etc, but the ratio of EBT to WIC recipients is in the range of 9:1.

How does this differ from the choices I can make and pay for? I'm not following.

The key phrase is "affected by". Let's put it this way; if the current EBT program did not exist or had heightened restrictions (such as the inability to buy cases of soda, energy drinks, cookies) would this chard look the same. If it followed the WIC program more closely, disallowing garbage food and steering EBT users toward healthy basic options; would the FFV numbers be that insanely low and would beverages be that insanely high?

So what you're saying, if I understand you, is that the folks using EBT don't eat fresh foods and that the should be required to, or rather that their benefits should be monitored and limited to certain foods deemed appropriate?

Yeah, that's a slippery slope.

I've always thought it would be nice to require nutrition classes for those using EBT, like with WIC. Except for the higher taxes to pay for the classes. :ohwell:

In my state WIC recipients do have to take nutrition classes. And the benefits can be used at the local farmer's markets. EBT too.

USDA chart on average household food consumption versus recommended levels. Make of it what you will:
http://ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/detail.aspx?chartId=41706&ref=collection&embed=True&widgetId=39734#.UtathNJdWc0

Not at all surprising, unfortunately.

I agree that a lot of these items are unhealthy and not really food and shouldn't be allowed with food stamps, HOWEVER you can get a lot more "junk" food then you can fresh produce and meat for your dollar.. and with such a limited amount of funds to work with. Its' more important to eat, then it is to eat healthy.

I know it varies by state, but ...

My parents were on food stamps for a short time when I was a baby and my dad was in grad school and they managed to buy healthy, fresh foods, cook from scratch and have money left at the end of each month. And I have friends who were able to do the same.

I worked as a grocery store cashier for a couple years and very, very few people on assistance ever did that. Do that job for a while in an area where you get a decent amount of food stamp recipients and you'll see what I mean.

When the *amount* of food stamps your receive is in line with what is actually costs to feed your family, then we can go back to this. I do not receive food stamps, but I did go through the application process once, 10 years ago, when my income was under 20,000 gross. I had a child to support.. he was too old for WIC.. they offered me 35 dollar per month in food stamps.. Now you tell me how that would have fed my child, forget about me. Esp if I was buying fresh produce and meat.

I've done that job and i see people who don't use it properly, but they were not the norm, most people do purchase actual food with occasional soda or monster or whatever thrown in. . In today's reality it's not as cut and dry as ban all unhealthy food from food stamp users. If they did that, a lot of people would go hungry. It is simply cheaper to buy the prepackaged junk food and if you're looking at getting the most for you money that's what you do.

They've got to stop cutting the funding (it's not their money to cut anyway, it's paid for by my tax dollars, which means the people who pay for it are absolutely entitled to use it if necessary) and start giving people the tools they need to help themselves. Like control the cost of food, control the cost of living and create real jobs that pay a decent living wage so people can get themselves off the system. So what if the costs of alcohol or cigarettes or jaguars skyrocket. Paying a dollar for 1 pepper or 4 dollars for a gallon of milk is ridiculous.

The problem is not the food stamp program or those using it. The problem is the cost of living and lack of jobs.

I still don't get the original post about that. AMERICANS of all SES don't eat enough nutrient dense foods. I just don't see what EBT has to do with it.

EBT doesn't have squat to do with the original post. It's just a spin off conversation because someone has their panties in a bunch over the EBT program.



PS: I was one WIC for 1 year. They do have nutrition classes.. The quality and usefulness of the classes offered need to be evaluated. Mine were taught by a morbidly obese woman who handed me a food pyramid, explained it to me (like I hadn't learned that in high school) and then chastised me for giving my son crystal light and a cookie after dinner. I also had to write out a food diary with everything I fed my child for a week. I just started leaving off the daily treat I gave him. Because honestly 1 cookie or pudding snack or piece of cake or scoop of ice cream was not going to make him unhealthy. The amount i was willing to bet that woman ate is another story. And I wasnt' going to be made to feel like an unworthy POS or like i'm doing something wrong over a cookie. (which I made myself, I did not buy.. just for the record)