Facebook Follies of Friends and Families

[crazy canuck]

On most of it I disagree but a discussion can be had.
But European food worse than American? 😂

We both have the same stuff.

There are still towns in Europe that don't have a McDonads.

[Eddie Teach]

So?

[crazy canuck]

So?

So your comment is ill informed

[Eddie Teach]

I was of course talking about what is available in cities. Besides, I am sure they sell ground beef and buns in almost every supermarket.

[viper37]

He might have been confusing the UK with all of Europe when it comes to weather

Or everywhere that's not Iberia/Italy/Greece.

Southern France has a nice climate.  Northern France is quite temperate too and is warmer than north-east US.
Britanny is a vacation sport.  The Alps and the Pyrenées areas are cold, but they offer better ski opportunities that Colorado.

Can't say anything of Eastern Europe.

[crazy canuck]

Eddie, I am wondering how sure you are that all cities in the US have exactly the same food available in all of Europe.  You may be surprised at what foods you discover if you ever left the US.

[crazy canuck]

He might have been confusing the UK with all of Europe when it comes to weather

Or everywhere that's not Iberia/Italy/Greece.

Southern France has a nice climate.  Northern France is quite temperate too and is warmer than north-east US.
Britanny is a vacation sport.  The Alps and the Pyrenées areas are cold, but they offer better ski opportunities that Colorado.

Can't say anything of Eastern Europe.

The Dalmatian coast would be my pick.  Montenegro would be a close second.

[Zoupa]

We definitely don't have the same food, either in supermarkets or in restaurants.

Taste is relative, and one is always going to prefer the food they grew up with, but to say NA = EU when it comes to food access, quality or variety is simply wrong.

[Valmy]

On most of it I disagree but a discussion can be had.
But European food worse than American? 😂

We both have the same stuff.

I am sure you can find the same stuff someplace in Europe and America if you look hard enough. But we are talking about what is generally available and the laws about food are also pretty different between Euroland and America.

Here we eat beef, chicken, and pork products almost exclusively when it comes to meat and in very set ways. In Europe, thanks to centuries of famines and starvation condition in the pre-industrial world, they have traditions of eating a huge variety of meat in a huge variety of ways.

[Jacob]

The UK has great weather I tell you 

I remember reading a passage somewhere stating factually that England has the best climate in the world. This was IIRC a victorian thing, something authoritative... a text book or an encyclopedia. The argument was that it was great for farming and the crops (so awesome), and that the weather is part of what created the (enterprising, superior) national character of the English which inevitably resulted in the dominance of the British Empire. QED.

[Valmy]

The stereotypical southern English climate would seem to me to be great for farming. Never huge storms or hail or something that might destroy crops. Never huge droughts. Just a steady stream of gray drizzle. Presuming nothing you are growing requires that much sun.

[Josquius]

I do think there's something to the British climate being particularly great for agriculture - the Netherlands, with a similar albeit damper climate, is one of the world's leading agricultural nations (for its size) after all.

[Richard Hakluyt]

The UK has great weather I tell you 

I remember reading a passage somewhere stating factually that England has the best climate in the world. This was IIRC a victorian thing, something authoritative... a text book or an encyclopedia. The argument was that it was great for farming and the crops (so awesome), and that the weather is part of what created the (enterprising, superior) national character of the English which inevitably resulted in the dominance of the British Empire. QED.

I have a 1901 school geography textbook with a lot of stuff like that in it. Here's what it has to say on the Danes :

"The Danes, like the Norwegians and Swedes, belong to the Scandinavian branch of the Teutonic race. They are yellow-haired, blue-eyed, and of middling stature. They are very independent in feeling and manners; well educated, and of a "surprising gaiety." They are also, with the Swiss, the most thrifty people in Europe."

The book is nearly 600 pages long and is full of similar gems 

"Thrifty" is just about the highest compliment in the book. The only thing better is to be considered on a par with the English/British.

[Richard Hakluyt]

I also have an 1824 geography textbook written by an American professor (a 1970s reprint).

These old geography books are very interesting and fun reads; but they also give considerable insight into how people thought about other countries and peoples back in those days.

[HVC]

Midling stature? Were early 1900s English people taller then now, or were Nordic people shorter? Because they be giants now.