I understand and am sympathetic to this view but I fear it is naive...The food industry will pander to whatever consumers have shown they will buy...
Don't look to the food industry to be the catalyst for a change to healthier food. Consumers will have to demand it with their dollars. That's really the only language industry understands.
My frustration is that I don't know how to use my money to show the industry what I want when there are no healthy options around. I'd happily give up McDonalds forever in favor of the fast food restaurant that serves tasty, affordable low-fat, low-carb food with lots of lean protein, vegetables, legumes, and fruit. I have a friend who used to live in California who said such options existed.
I'm pretty sure that you're right that the food industry isn't going to change, but that's the cynic in me. To put a more optimistic spin on it, I think we should remind ourselves that the men and women who work in the food industry are human beings, whose own families may be struggling with obesity, heart disease, and other nutrition-related health issues. Somehow we need to get the message to people that we want healthy alternatives. Good quality alternatives, not McDonalds' pitiful attempt at salads.
...unlike Europeans, we buy mass amounts of food and expect it to be good for weeks on end.
In Europe, refirgerators are half the size of American ones. Why? they buy fresher and buy for a day or so, not four months out. Freezers are also not as big there for the same reason. When America as a whole changes it's shopping habits, then we may see a change in the chemicals that go into our food. Until then, I remain on my restrictive diet.
Alas, I've never been to Europe, so I don't have a first-hand understanding of their eating and shopping habits. However, my friends who have lived there have told me similar things. I've also heard that wherever you live, there's almost always a market within walking distance.
For me, the nearest grocery store is over 10 miles away, and I think of myself as living "close" to town. A lot of people in Western Mass. live a good 45 minute drive--or more--from the nearest town. You see them in the stores filling up 2 carts, and buying enough food to last a month. When my parents renovated their kitchen, they put the old cabinets in the basement and filled them with canned goods, pasta, etc. They have 2 refrigerators and a large freezer. Going to their basement is like going to a mini-mart.
I think it may also have to do with the way Americans spend money. We like anything we perceive to be a bargain (whether it really is or not), so when we see "Buy 1 get 1 free" or "3 for $5.00" we buy more. Then we buy more than we need and either eat it, store it, or waste it. I think we end up eating more than we need and still wasting a lot. My parents still going shopping at least once a week. They clip their coupons and make a list of everything that's on sale, go to the store and stock up. Some day they're going to clean their freezer and discover food from 1995.
I think there's an even greater reason why so much junk food is so prevalent in the US. The government subsidizes food crops that are typically used in making many junk foods, yet offers little to nothing for farmers who raise vegetables and fruit. Why do these continue? Because there are big corporations with deep pockets who fund election campaigns. Think of how many ways we can process wheat, corn, soy and meat into the cheap junk out there, but because there's not much that can be done with leafy greens and fresh produce, there's little incentive to throw money to the producers...
Interesting points. It seems like the American farmer has always struggled in one way or another. Why grow fruits and vegetables which spoil quickly and are expensive to refrigerate and ship when they can grow cash crops that can be stored long-term, can be made into a variety of food products, and have various industrial uses (oil, wax, fuel, cosmetics, etc.)? Hmmm...a complex problem with no easy solution.