1mo ago

Anon visits America

265 comments

Wait 'til you see the child size soda.
It's 512 ounces, or roughly the size of a two-year old child, if the child were liquefied. It's a real bargain at $1.59.
- Straight from the orphan crushing machine. Delicious
- 512oz = 15.14L. Literally soda in a size of a child.
  
  Who The fuck is able to drink that much? That's a fucking bucket just with soda.
  
  Damn, 15L of coke is like 5700 calories. More than double a daily intake only in a fucking soda.
- Soda from pnr
- If you can't beat'em sweetems :)

Between 1975 and 2016, the prevalence of obesity in Europe rose 138%, with a 21% rise between 2006 and 2016. The prevalence of overweight rose by 51% between 1975 and 2016, and by 8% between 2006 and 2016. It is expected that by 2030, over half of Europe will live with obesity – up to 89% in some countries. No Member State is on track to reach the target of halting the rise in obesity by 2025.
https://www.eufic.org/en/healthy-living/article/europes-obesity-statistics-figures-trends-rates-by-country
The proliferation of unhealthy eating is a big problem for most of Europe, too. They’re on the same path as the US for mostly the same reasons, just a few steps back.
That said, if I’m going to be fat, I’d rather it be because of schnitzel the size of a dinner plate or cacio e pepe over a Monster Burger.
- That said, if I’m going to be fat, I’d rather it be because of schnitzel the size of a dinner plate or cacio e pepe over a Monster Burger.
  Do you actually believe that these numbers are from common people eating quality food?
  
  No. I think it’s for the reasons outlined or suggested in the link I included: increased cost of healthy ingredients, decreased accessibility to the same, people struggling to find time to eat well in the increasingly fast paced world, etc.
  My mentioning my personal preference is mostly a concession to nuggets of truth in the 4chan post. It’s also true; there is nothing common about how I would prefer to consume quality food.
  
  The access to fresher ingredients and healthier food cannot be understated. Food is so much more processed in the US, even if you're mainly cooking at home. Even the "ingredients" you buy at grocery stores are more processed.
- hey I've been waiting for you
- Yeah. Europe is only 10% behind the US in being overweight. 60% compared to 70%. Not much room to talk shit.
- Nothing beats a cheeseburger. Btw, it's not cheeseburgers making us fat, for the most part. It's soda, and low quality food products with excess sugar and refined carbs.

I'm currently vacationing in Japan and have slimmed down a lot in just a week of walking, eating smaller healthier meals, and taking the train everywhere. America has a truly fucked standard of living. I don't want to go back to driving and eating shitty oversized unhealthy meals while also tipping.
- you've "slimmed down a lot" in a week? did you also give birth this week? or is this a bias?
  
  It's not a bias it's a fact. My shirts are way more loose on me and I've been walking an average of 15,000 steps a day. What's it to you anyway? Are you upset someone's making a valid criticism about American transportation and eating habits?
  
  Depending on your starting state/condition, you could slim down a noticeable amount during a week, sure.
  
  You can lose 5 pounds in a week if you're under 50 and healthy. This would cause clothes to loosen up on you.
  
  I spent a month there at 19 and had to buy a belt a week and a half in
  Story checks out to me
- Vacationing in Italy was the same - smaller, healthier meals, lots of walking - I felt great and didn't have the shits once on a 2 week trip. It's a daily thing at home.
- What do you do if you have a bad knee or back?

visit America
get shot
bystanders start clapping
- Don't forget to tip the shooter.

I’ll have two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda.
- All you have to do is follow the damn train...
  
  Aw shit, here we go again...
  
  If you think about it, that mission was a red flag about Smoke being a fucking traitor. Fatass couldn't shoot dudes 2 meters away
  
  This hurts me
- I'll take a Double Triple Bossy Deluxe on a raft, 4x4 animal style, extra shingles with a shimmy and a squeeze, light axle grease; make it cry, burn it, and let it swim.
  
  We serve food here, sir.
  
  And I'm guessing a Florida small ball on the side?
- *diet coke

Anyone who looks at the U.S. and thinks it's a fucked up country because of the food just isn't paying attention.
- It may not be the only issue but it is definitely on the list.
  
  Agreed to both of these points, though as an American I will say there are healthier options, it's just that they make those cost twice as much as the cheaper, unhealthy options.
  
  Agreed. It's just not where I'd start changing things.
- The food stands out. Like Australia has too many fat people too, but our restaurants don't cater to them like America's - don't try to feed everyone a meal suited to a 200kg man trying for 300.
- Most of the food comes from fast food along stroads. It is a core part of the problem. The education system is probably the root, but I wouldn't expect a tourist to understand that.
- Anyone who (likely) intentionally writes the word "snicker" wrong to include a slur doesn't think the actual bad stuff in America is bad.
  
  Snigger is just a variant form more common in the UK, where snicker is the preferred one in the US. Though I wouldn't put it past a 4chan user, it's also a perfectly normal word they may have learned being taught and exposed to UK variants of English.
  
  Most american comment ever
  
  Really waving your ignorance there, bud, not his.

I'm up in Canada and since the start of the pandemic I've stopped going to fast food places. But after things got back to normal, I thought why should I go back to ordering food at McD's .... as I thought of it more, I realized it didn't make any sense.
Fast food is basically unnutritious food made by underpaid workers who don't like their work ... the food doesn't do me any good and its too expensive .... I have to trust the underpaid employee didn't mess up my order ... I waste money by degrading my health only to spend more money to try to get back some good health
I realized it was cheaper in the long run of my life to not eat at these damned places.
- mcdonalds is the literal worst burger option though
  
  If you're vegan this applies even more. From what I heard McD only has like 3 vegan options while, in comparison, Burger King had the whole menu available in a vegan form.
  
  Yeah and a combo at Five Guys is $25 bucks so it's not like a good cheeseburger is even accessible to most people anymore.
- Yeah, McDs sucks and I haven't been in years, but I do go to fast good restaurants that have decent quality and pay workers reasonably, like In-N-Out, Five Guys, etc. We don't go very often, maybe once or twice per month, so we're happy paying a little more for better quality.
  
  How's the worker pay on Culver's?
  
  https://youtu.be/3u04LYvGQjw?si=FiveGuysOff
- I made a similar decision around 20 years ago.
- Last year, I got to march, and realised I hadn't had a McDonald's in over 3 months.
  So I decided to just stop going there.
  I think it was all the price hikes: When it's £7 for any half decent burger and fries, I might as well be spending a bit more and going to a local place.
  Or getting something better than a burger!
  Or spending the same, and getting slightly better at Wendy's.

American burgers are the king of all burgers, bottom line
That said 2 things I absolutely agree with:
A burger should be small enough to easily bite. It’s okay if you have to smoosh it down with your hands
If you already have ketchup, mustard, mayo, bbq, etc then why do I need “burger sauce”? Your burger sauce is probably just some variation on mayo and ketchup anyway. Thanks for making my burger a sloppy piece of shit akin to eating ribs
- Ok, serious question, is American fast food different from European? I've been to our local McDonalds and the like and the food is fucking atrocious. Tasteless non-identifiable meat patty with some mayo, ketchup, "cheese" and a sorry excuse for a vegetable. I mean it's just bad. Is American chain food better or are you just delusional?
  
  I mean, I don't know an american that would list any fast food as the place that serves the best/their favorite burger.
  
  When I visited US their mcdonalds burgers tasted +- the same as local (eastern europe), that is exactly as you described. What was different is million different options that they asked me and were somewhat aggressive with me being slow. 🫠 Drinks were enormous in size and super cold, air conditionioners set to something like 16 while its 30+ outside everywhere. 😄
- This poster speaks the truth.
- Burger sauce can be pretty delicious

Malnourished european can not handle a real meal.
- fun part is americans are fat AND malnourished….
  
  Explain how we are malnourished when ONE burger contains EVERY food group. You can't.

I REALLY wish they would have went to Five Guys.
Guy 3/5: fills 32 ounce cup with fresh hot, salt slathered fries. Drops cup in a large bag. Takes another full scoop of the fries and throws them in the bag. Easily 4-5 potatoes worth.
The cup of fries should be 1300 calories, they easily put twice as many in. That's a daily food intake worth of calories for the side alone.
- The calorie count is accurate for what they give you, not what fits in the cup. They just use a cup that's way too small to trick you into thinking they're giving you more than what you paid for.
  
  It's supposed to be 1.2 lb I'll circle back in the next time I go there.
  https://www.fiveguys.com/-/media/public-site/files/allergen-ingredients-and-nutrition-info/five-guys-us-nutrition-allergen-guide-july-2023.ashx
- You know what you get in Canada for 25 bucks at Five Guys? Tiny little fries, no peanuts while you wait, and a burger so shitty you want to throw it at those stoned morons.
  
  TIL
- I would sure fucking hope I get a few potatoes worth after paying $45 for one burger combo…
  
  a few potatoes worth after paying $45 for one burger combo…
  Lol yeah, took the fam there it was $75 for 3 plates of fast food.
  Pretty good tho..

Big food is kind of a marketing thing in America. Restaurants want to give their customers more " bang for their buck" (or at least appear to), but they don't want to lower prices. Instead, they increase portions. This has lead to a size arms race where every restaurant wants to claim they have the biggest food in town. This is especially the case for burger joints. It doesn't matter to the restaurant if customers eat all their food, since they pay for all of it either way. I'm guessing Americans are more culturally susceptible to this marketing tactic, since bigger-is-better is common here, and hence things have been taken further than in other countries.
This seems to be another case of someone throwing reason out the door for the sake of insulting Americans. There is no way you would be getting "shit eating grins" for ordering a kids meal. And if your large burgers are smaller than a kids meal, you either have very little size variation, or the small would be like a single bite.
- Yeah, that worker is one of two in the entire restaurant. She has to take your order plus the five behind you, the drive-thru orders, make fries, bag it all up, take your monkey, clean tables, make coffee, refill the ketchup/soda/milkshake/yogurt contraptions with their various bags of sugary goo, restock counters/tables with all the varied plastic and paper geegaws, take out the trash, stock the walk-in, clean the bathrooms somebody sprayed with liquid shit, then count out and get to her other job by 3pm so she can then do it all again tomorrow. She doesn't give a fuck what anyone orders, it's just a blur of colors and lower back pain.
  If she makes a face it's probably the best she can do to fake a smile because you might be a secret shopper who is going to ding her points for not saying, "Welcome to McDonald's Home of the McFlurry™ now with DoubleStuff™ Oreo™, what can I get started for you today because It Just Tastes Better!!℠" with the proper amount of obsequiousness.
  There's plenty of reasons to hate the hellscape, no reason for anon to invent some.
  
  She can't have my monkey!

Erhm well back in the day fat people were the peak of social hierarchy because they had enough money to buy enough food to be fat, therefore spending $12 on a burger to get fat makes me mega rich
- Make this into a greentext, you will earn so many likes
- It's the other way around now, normal people can only afford the ultra-processed slop and nutrient-defficient fruits & veg.

Wait until anon discovers a hamburger with a glazed donut for a bun and the entire thing is deepfried.
- served with a side drink of milkshake with double cream on it
  
  I think you think you are joking but that is a real beverage option for said burger. They even add a stick of butter for extra fat content.
  
  Is it a five dollar shake?
- I haven't discovered this yet, praying 2025 won't be my year 🙏🏼
- Comes with a side of insulin I hope. $800 combo
- Wait till Americans discover deep-fried candy bars, the one area where the Europeans (well, Scots in particular) area ahead of Americans in deep-fried tech.
  
  We've had that for nearly a century, it's just state fair food because even Americans have standards.
  
  Haha that's cute! That's where deep frying starts here. We even deep fry butter.
  Behold! A monument to American Gluttony!
- Where do I find this?

It's interesting reading responses on this because I'm gathering a lot of Europeans/non-americans think that burgers are always fast food?
When an american thinks of a good burger I think most of us are picturing our favorite bar and grill's burger, not a chain fast food one.
Are burgers pretty much only at fast food chains in other countries?
- Nope. Tons of places make them. I have no clue what these people are on about. Just fake outrage, I guess.
  
  REEEEE NOT EVERYWHERE IS AMERICA REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
  
  It would be interesting to have a poll by country about what people think a burger is.

As someone who usually eats just once a day (with some supplemental shakes on work days) I love American potions. One of the good things about this country.
The lack of veg is concerning though. It sucks that the alternative to fried potatoes is usually just a handful of leaves.
- I just got a Carl's Jr Star burger for $3 and it had tons of lettuce and tomato. Pretty fantastic and almost healthy (not really). Like a good American, I ate 2, so something like 1k calories.
  
  A burger with high quality ingredients is not the worst thing you can eat. The worst part about it will be the saturated fat from the red meat.
- Even if you do get vegetables they're typically flavorless compared to what you can grow at home.
  
  Yeah, because everyone has a yard and free time for gardening...

I don’t even think the stereotypical giant american burger is a thing anymore unless you go to places that specifically market a special large burger. Now a $12 burger is just regular sized. And an $18 “artisanal” burger has a thin disc of meat and is taller than it is wide.
- I think the point here is that "regular" for Americans is not the same as "regular" for Europeans.
  A European "large drink" in a fastfood restaurant is 500ml. In the US, 473ml is a small one.
  
  I understand that. I was referring to shrinkflation specifically, where the typical regular american size burger is the same as anywhere else now and not like the stereotype before where everything is bigger in the US. I agree it still applies to soda drinks though.

the "tiny" burgers like the $5 biggie bag at Wendy's is the perfect amount of food. jr bacon cheeseburger, small fries, 4 piece nugget, drink.
THATS normal portion, even if it's not healthy, not a 1/2 lb double cheeseburger 6 inches in diameter, 3 inches thick and a 32oz bucket of cola.
- Where the hell are yall getting burgers at? Every fastfood place near me serves anemic, poorly prepared burgers that are not worth the cost for taste and only rarely worth the time investment when it's near midnight and I need to absorb the alcohol in my stomach
  
  $5 is worth for a quick lunch to me.
  
  You think the Baconator is anemic? I think you mean sclerotic.
- Isn't that still over half your daily calories needed in your "normal portion"?
  
  I was curious so i just checked. Assuming the drink is water and there's no dipping sauce or sauces added to the burger, it comes to 760 calories (macros are 44g fat, 63g carbs, 31g protein). That's definitely more than half of my daily calories, but I'm a middle-aged 5'0" lady. Still, that's a huge amount of fat, and surprisingly little protein!
  
  probably, but it's the right size, never said it was healthy lol
- They call the tiny one a "biggie bag"?
  They really don't want to let on that small burgers are available, do they?
  
  It's because fastfood places need to compete on either value or quality. They can also try to do both by primarily aiming to convey quality and having a special menu or set of offerings that promise the same quality but at a better price.
  Wendy's mostly brands themselves as quality focused as compared to other fast food places. So their "good deal" offering has to promise to offer the same quality at a lower price, which means smaller. So they call it big to camouflage that it's actually smaller.
- I need to investigate this “biggie bag”
  
  it's my go to, good value for what you get. those $15 baconator bullshits are WAY overrated.

Falsified and homosexual. No Yuroopeens allowed

Ragebait, am European, love American Food!
- In Europe, the portions are European sized. In the US, they are whale-sized.
  
  In Europe you pay 20€ for a semi decent micro Burger some Hipster slaps together, wearing black Nitrile Gloves thinking his shitty minimalistic "Burger-~~Shop~~Artisery" will become the next big joint.
  I think both cultures have their issues when it comes to food. Europeans are just more pretentious about it.
- Heresy! There must be rivalry between the continents in all things!

Some places won't let you order a kids meal unless you have a kid with you.
- Why would they care? Is the rule really enforced?
  
  Absolutely they enforce it. To the point that they rather you leave the restaurant.
  Some places they actually discount the kids meals. Places that don't have this policy people would abuse it by only buying 2 or 3 kids meals since that is the best food to cost ratio.

Twelve dallers? That's a steal post-inflation.
- I just fed myself and three kids on <$20, which was pretty cool.
- When is the "post-inflation" going to happen? Haven't seen any indication of inflation coming to an end in my lifetime.
  
  Fuck yeah.... Not really implying it's over but there's a huge spike from 2020 to 2022 but much less so from 2023 to (now) 2025.
  Prices spiked from pre pandemic to post pandemic. Burgers from 8-10 dollars to 15 ish dollars. So like 50 percent. From two years ago to now... Idk. Burger spoked from 14 ish dollars tobamube 15-16. Ridiculous. But predictable/ reasonable (but actually inreasonabel).
  That's where I come from. Chime in from other countries other than my current state of mother fucking Georgia, USA...
  Edit: happy to double check my math with sources when I'm sober again. Happy new year's!

I wonder what the nutrition is of the average fish and chips meal. That would be a slightly more reasonable comparison, wouldn't it?
- He said he was European, not British.
  
  So a kebab then?

lol, I better eat two hamburgers in one day to get the true american experience
- I had two hamburgers today for lunch today. No big deal.
- É meglio no

They didn't give you a pack of cigarettes with your meal? How un-yurapeein!
- that's france and finland specifically not all of europe
  
  Germany is pretty smokey in some cities

Americans shop for calories per dollar.
Please don't look at why they do that, we're the best country ever!

This is after supersize was deemed too super sized

It's the gateway drug to insulin. Corn syrup infused fats, no vitamins or any other important stuff.

Does OP even Taco Town?

Changing $12 for what is functionally agricultural waste product is so fucking funny.
Ground beef is what's left on the cow after all the choice bits have been carved off. The bun is so thick with preservatives most organisms literally can't eat it. The sauces are just colored corn syrup. The produce is bottom of the barrel.
This isn't food, it's industrial runoff. You'd eat better picking through the trash of a real grocery store.
- Found the vegan. lol.
- Lol. You don't know shit about fuck. It's honestly a little amazing.

There are other places to eat, though? Why travel and get fast food? Get something local - anything that is a nationwide chain is nonsense, the US is too big to have one cuisine.
Here, get a Cuban sandwich, black beans, and fried plantains. You will still have enough for two meals, they aren't wrong about the portions, but at least it will be good.

I think the most sacred, fundamental, and important “right” my fellow Americans care about is the right to self destructive behavior.

Just watch Bowling For Columbine to find out exactly how fucked up the USA is.

So anon blames an entire country for their shitty life choices?
I don't remember the last time I ate fast food. I'm sure when I did, it was nothing like this - oh, it still sucked - but all I got was a burger and iced tea.
Though I completely agree restaurant portion sizes are insane anywhere. I akways get 2 meals out of a "serving", often 3.
- It's not life choices, it's getting to know a new culture
- The fact that you are calling this a life choice and not a societal problem also reveals a lot about American culture. A public health policy that relies on personal responsibility has never worked and will never work.

dont stop them. it was a mistake to take care during the pandemic. let them eat a ton of fat a day, zip some raw milk with mountain dew - because that is how you solve a problem. you do not stop it.
look at world aid. tried to stop world hunger...and more people than ever die from hunger.
we proling a problem by trying to solve the impossible. there is no argument to convince imbeciles.

Guarantee it was a very reasonable burger and this person just wanted to bitch and moan
- For an American, sure.
  But basic cheeseburgers here are around the size of what you call sliders.

Compare this to all the other Europeans saying how absolutely fucking delicious American burgers and food in general is.
- I don't think I've heard any European say this about American junk/fast food even once.
  About the only thing I think I've heard in regards to flavor is "sickeningly sweet" and "even stuff that's not supposed to be sweet is sweet".
  
  Yeah, if anything it is known for sugar in everything that's not supposed to be sweet and corn syrup where you'd expect normal sweetness from sugar. And absurdly large portions.
  Personally I have only tried some of the more "famous" sweets such as twinkies and reecies or whatever it's called, and I found both disgusting. The former are just weirdly greasy cake dough filled with teeth hurtingly sweet goop, so intense you can't taste anything else. And the other made me gag after just a small bite and was entirely too sticky for my taste.
  I also tried imported "original" Mac and cheese and that stuff was just repulsive too. Weirdly bland and the consistency of snot.
  
  Just eat your cake bread drenched in sugar sauce.
  
  and salty... everything is way high sodium
- Deliciousness and oversized portions are not, in fact, mutually exclusive
  
  The real issue is that in American food they are much more willing to throw out the idea that food should be healthy and nutritious for profit and quantity.
  
  True, but if you can have both, why not? You don't have to eat a whole combo yourself, my SO and I usually share an order of fries, don't get sodas, and get our own burgers. If we go to a sit down restaurant, we'll usually share an entre and maybe order an extra side if we don't think it's enough.
- I’ve literally never heard any European say that, and I know a good fucking amount of Europeans
- fucking delicious American [...] food in general is.
  yeah so that's a ragebait, isn't it?

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