A lot of the US culture is based around convenience- how to get things done the fastest and easiest. Whether this occurs in production and manufacturing or at a restaurant, it is apparent in everyday life as an American. I think this is extremely visible in food service, Americans love food to be fast and available. There are hundreds of thousands of fast-food restaurants all around the country in every area rich or poor, urban or rural. In just about every area of the country, you can find a McDonald’s no farther than a twenty-minute drive away. This need for food convenience doesn’t only apply to the fast-food industry it is also seen in standard dine-in restaurants. Americans go out to dinner and expect their meal to come out and have the check within an hour or so of when they order. This quick turnaround and efficiency expected by restaurants is an American cultural standard that not many even realize. In other societies restaurants expect people to sit around for a while to drink and enjoy each other’s company, going out for a meal is a social gathering that takes time. In addition to restaurants, sit down or fast food, the need for convenient food in America can also be seen in groceries. The need for food to last and take minutes to prepare is also fairly unique to American culture. In many other countries you will never see food with nearly as many preservatives nor will you see as many microwavable or “minute-prep” meals. I think that this part of American culture meets the desire for convenience in the ever-moving American life, however, I think it causes many Americans to be naïve to the appeal of spending quality time on eating a meal or preparing a meal that other cultures value so highly. These components of food culture also play into the added level of unhealthiness in a lot of American food. Fast food is fast because it is deep-fried, a lot of the food that can be bought in a grocery store lasts a month or more on the shelf because of all of the added preservatives in it. Though, as an American I appreciate the convenience of going through a drive-through when I’m in a rush or being able to spend less time out to dinner and more time doing an activity after, I also appreciate that for other cultures there is a lot more importance to a meal than just satiating hunger. Other cultures have begun to adopt a lot of American fast-food chains making it so that ability to get McDonald’s in a matter of minutes is no longer unique to just America and there are thousands of KFC’s, Starbucks, and Pizza Huts in just about any major city of the world. Despite adopting some American culture this way, many cultures abroad have held true to having meaning in meals from taking time to prep at home to taking time to sit down in the company of others when eating at a restaurant. I think awareness of how American food production and expectations for the convenience and efficiency of a meal is helpful to prepare me to be understanding while abroad that the food I’m used to may not always be easily accessible and I may spend more time in a restaurant than I’m used to at home. I also think it will help me appreciate the food I eat more while abroad, knowing the time and thought that goes into making it and the expectations that surround what a meal is.
