What comes to mind when you think about European food? Maybe fantastic Italian pasta, French quiche, Spanish tapas, or German bratwurst? Many people who have traveled to or lived in Europe have indelible memories of wandering through farmers’ markets, seeing, smelling, and tasting amazing fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, local dishes - and of course incredible bread hot from the oven. But how does European food compare to American food in terms of nutrition? This article delves into the nutritional differences between European and American diets, exploring the factors that contribute to these differences and the potential health implications.
The Essence of European Food Culture
The value Europeans place on small-scale local farming and high-quality, fresh food stems from centuries of tradition and is linked to Europeans’ commitment to protecting human health and the environment. The residents of a Belgian neighborhood did much of their shopping at these local markets, going several times weekly and greeting vendors by name. Most of the offerings at these markets are organic, grown by local farmers using traditional techniques, without additives, preservatives, or artificial ingredients.
Regulations and Food Safety Standards
In 2002, the European Union adopted a “General Food Law” which ensures a high level of protection of human life, mandated that member countries pursue an integrated approach to food safety, and established the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The EU also vigorously supports its top food products. The EU “geographical indications” (GI) system labels certain foods, wines, and spirits as deriving from specific geographic regions - French champagne, Italian parma ham (prosciutto), or Greek feta cheese, for example - protecting those products from imitation, but also ensuring consumers know GI products are made with high-quality inputs and traditional methods.
Another major difference is the EU’s strict approach to the regulation of additives, preservatives, pesticides, and other chemicals. The so-called “precautionary principle,” - a fundamental element of EU environmental policy - emphasizes caution and extensive review in considering approval of substances where safety information is uncertain or unknown. The EU consequently requires manufacturers to submit toxicity data to regulators before approving the use of new chemicals. In the United States, while the EPA requires safety assurances from industry for new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), this does not cover food or pesticides.
Additives and Ingredients: A Tale of Two Continents
The United States is unique in that it allows these eight ingredients in food products: rBGH, ractopamine, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, olestra, azodicarbonamide, coloring agents (also known as Red #40, etc.), and BHA and BHT. All of these additives are banned in Europe, yet they are commonly used in American food. Why?
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As a result, the EU has banned many food additives still used in the United States. Among these are potassium bromate, added to flour to make dough rise higher, and flavor enhancers and preservatives BHA and BHT, considered likely carcinogens; various food dyes linked to neurological problems, brain cancer, ADD, and ADHD; bovine growth hormone (BGH), which causes health problems in cows; and others.
For instance, the widespread use of Potassium Bromate (added to flour to make dough rise higher and turn stark white) and Azodicarbonamide, or ADA (a whitening agent for cereal flour), are common in the US, but not allowed in the EU for human consumption. ADA is a dough conditioner to make bread stay soft and spongy longer. It is also used to inject bubbles into certain plastics to manufacture soft, spongy goods such as yoga mats and flip flops, gaining it the name the “yoga mat chemical.” Potassium Bromate has been found in lab animal studies to increase benign and malignant tumors in the thyroid and peritoneum (the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity) and cause significant increases in cancer of the animals’ kidneys, thyroid, and other organs. The EU, Canada, and Brazil deemed this information enough to ban these products from their food supply.
Examples of Differing Ingredients
- McDonald’s French Fries: McDonald's makes their iconic french fries in the U.K.
- Quaker Oats Strawberries & Cream: In the U.K. Quaker doesn’t even attempt to sell that garbage and doesn’t make any products like this. Quaker mimics the look and taste of real strawberries by using “Flavored and Colored Fruit Pieces” comprised of dehydrated apples, artificial strawberry flavor, citric acid, and the artificial dye Red 40.
- Mountain Dew: Pick up a bottle of Mountain Dew in the U.K. and you’ll find that it gets its bright yellow color simply from beta carotene (a natural color derived from carrots and other plants). Meanwhile, PepsiCo sells a very different version of Mountain Dew in America. Here in the States, instead of using natural colors to give it a tantalizing look, Mountain Dew is artificially colored with a petroleum-based dye called Yellow #5. The American version of Mountain Dew contains brominated vegetable oil (BVO) - which is an ingredient BANNED in Europe.
- Heinz Tomato Ketchup: When the US began using GMO’s, European citizens rejected these foods resulting in a US surplus of corn and soybeans.
- Doritos: Both versions of Doritos are horrible, but American Doritos are covered in artificial dyes made from petroleum (Red #40, Blue #1, and Yellow #5). These dyes have been found to be contaminated with carcinogens, such as benzidine. In the U.K., these dyes require a warning label that says “May Have an Adverse Effect on Activity and Attention in Children”. That’s why they don’t use artificial dyes in Doritos overseas and instead color Doritos more simply with paprika extract and annatto. The Doritos in the U.K.
- Kellogg's Cereals: BHT isn’t permitted in cereals in Europe, so Kellogg’s reformulated their cereals to sell them legally overseas.
Pesticide Regulations
Similarly, with regard to pesticides, EU regulations put the burden of proof on industry to demonstrate that products have no harmful effects on humans or animals. agricultural production. oat, wheat, and soy products. Despite findings by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and academic studies that the chemical is a probable human carcinogen, the EPA disagrees, saying it finds no evidence glyphosate poses a cancer risk for humans. Though the EU has issued mixed opinions on glyphosate, it will require a phaseout by 2022. The EU has also banned the three most commonly used neonicotinoids, insecticides linked to colony collapse disorder, a malady which is killing bees.
Regulatory Philosophies: Precaution vs. Reaction
Perhaps an important factor in the differing approach to food quality in the EU and the US can be explained by their respective regulatory approaches. Europe takes a cautionary position and will pull a product or additive off the market if it has reason to believe it could cause harm; more of a “better safe than sorry” approach. The US situation is worsened by the fact that the US government relies on the companies producing the products to prove their own guilt. As stated in a Natural Resources Defense Council report “no other developed country that we know of has a similar system in which companies can decide the safety of chemicals put directly into food.”
The FDA relies on food manufacturers to inform them about GRAS ingredients. foods. and E.U. It helps strengthen the dough and makes it rise higher. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classes it as a 2B carcinogen, which means that it’s “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” They explain that potassium bromate causes cancer in mice, rats, and hamsters - but there’s not enough evidence from human studies to know whether it causes cancer in us. To be safe, it’s banned in many places, including the E.U., Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, India, and China. The FDA has “urged” manufacturers not to use potassium bromate. But the chemical is still approved for use.
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Food Labeling and Allergen Information
Clearly, less thought goes into the American food label compared to the European one. This rule applies to other aspects of food packaging, including caloric markers; American food regulations state that calories can be listed for the serving size of food rather than the entire food. Furthermore, the FDA allows additives to be used in American foods until they are proven harmful. Europe, on the other hand, will only allow certain additives in food after they have been proven to be unharmful, demonstrating that American corporations care less about the health of their foods than those in Europe. Why do these organizations have different approaches toward food? Well, the FDA is a reactive government, while the European agencies are precautionary. In America, growth hormones and chemical preservatives are used to produce larger foods and to make sure that the shelf life of food products is longer. However, EUFIC and EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority) prohibit hormones and advise against preservatives. It is important to be conscious of the ingredients in our food. In this photo, the difference between European and American food is emphasized. American foods have many preservatives; in fact, preservatives make up more than half of the ingredient list.
The FDA requires that companies list eight common allergens on their food products: eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, and soybeans. The EUFIC, however, requires 14 common allergens to be listed: celery, mollusks, fish, eggs, rye, gluten products, peanuts, mustard, tree nuts, sesame seeds, soybeans, sulfur dioxide, sulfites, and lupin.
Processed Foods and Dietary Habits
The European diet is much less processed than the Standard American Diet. For example, many European stores sell ‘shelf-stable’ milk, which is processed beyond the need for refrigeration (and therefore mostly nutritionless). Europeans also consume more alcohol than Americans. While the average European consumes 12 liters of alcohol per year, Americans drink approximately 10 liters or fewer. We know alcohol can wreak havoc on the body and lead to serious outcomes for metabolic health.
Americans are used to gigantic grocery stores lined with endless sweets and microwave dinners. This is uncommon in many European countries, especially Northern Europeans. Today, whole, real foods remain a core part of the traditional European diet. Protein, dairy, and vegetables are usually high on the grocery list, while fruits and grains may be less common. Interestingly, many European countries have strict policies on additives and ban foods with certain ingredients. Some European countries incentivize healthy foods with discounts and rebates. Apart from the occasional coupon, this isn’t common in America. For one thing, we see far fewer whole, real foods in American grocery stores. We also see more fast-food restaurants and a higher likelihood to eat out. Speaking of fast food, the content of American fast food is very different from Europe. A study from 2012 found higher levels of salt in American fast food chains than their European subsidiaries.
The American Food Environment and Marketing to Children
American consumers are exposed to an extensive variety of packaged food and drink products, with the latest figures showing that more than two-thirds of daily calories come from processed packaged food products. The wide availability and heavy marketing of many of these products, especially those with a high content of fat, added sugar, or sodium, makes it challenging for the American population to eat healthily and maintain a healthy body weight, particularly for children. Food marketing to children is pervasive and has been linked to increased preference and intake of unhealthy foods.
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In the US, a number of initiatives have emerged over the past decade to try to address this issue. For example, in 2006, 17 top food and beverage companies signed up for the Better Business Bureau’s voluntary Child Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), which promised that child-directed advertisements would include only healthier foods (based on company-specific nutrient criteria). However, this scheme has to date shown poor success, and with only 18 companies involved to date, is unlikely to be representative of all food products in the US market where it is estimated to be between 200,000 and 400,000 food and beverage items available for purchase. In 2011, the Interagency Working Group on Foods Marketed to Children (IWG), a working group made up of four federal agencies, proposed nutrition criteria for identifying foods acceptable to advertise to children suggesting that a national set of recommendations on marketing to children would be released.
This study did not include data on what products are currently being advertised to children and focuses solely on the healthfulness of US products and whether they meet international standards for marketing to children and adolescents. The number and proportion of US products meeting both WHO Euro NPM and Chilean criteria for marketing to children were examined overall and by food category.
Obesity and Health Outcomes
It is no secret that the United States is one of the most obese nations in the world. Currently, 60% of our citizens are overweight or clinically obese. The impact obesity is having on our collective health is significant. Secondary health conditions associated with obesity are predicted to bankrupt the healthcare system in the near future. Unfortunately, America is not just leading the pack in obesity. Americans are more likely to have chronic illness, cancer, autism, food allergies, and diabetes than those from other countries. Perhaps one reason for Americans’ poor health is the quality of our food supply.
Lobbying and Influence on Food Policy
When you walk into a grocery store, there’s often a huge range of products. and 73% of breakfast cereals are owned by just three companies. Lots of popular products mean large profits. And large profits enable food companies to spend big on lobbying. Lobbying is when an individual or group tries to convince the government to support a particular campaign or policy. Lobbying serves an important role. But it means that food manufacturers with deep pockets who contribute to election campaigns have increased access to legislators. In short, lobbyists for food manufacturers try to limit legislation that might hurt their employers' profits. food industry has a particularly strong lobbying presence. And the fact that companies spend millions of dollars on lobbying each year means that it must work - otherwise, they’d stop wasting their money.
A damning paper published in October 2022 shows that even the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) isn’t immune to lobbyists. Right to Know, said:“The documents reveal a depressing chapter of corruption at this influential nutrition group. certainly isn’t the only country where huge food corporations have undue influence over food safety and legislation. However, in the E.U. - but not the U.K. (and everywhere else on Earth) is massive. And the vast majority of the big players don’t care about your health. It doesn't concern them whether added ingredients cause disease or not. Food giants put their profits above your health. Always.
Cultural Differences and Lifestyle Factors
Thiel says changes like these can be attributed to cultural differences. Thiel notes that in Europe, more people walk and bike, keeping residents more active than the car-centric Americans. Home-cooked meals focused on socialization and family time are also central to European culture, while Americans on average eat out at least three times per month and order takeout or delivery four to five times per month. Klee also believes that Europeans are willing to pay higher prices for better quality food than Americans. Even though foods are available out of season across Europe, it’s not as common that Europeans will cook with those foods because they know the quality will suffer. Eating seasonally could have big health perks as well. The American Heart Association explains, that you are eating foods at their peak nutritional quality.
What Can Be Done?
As they stay home more during the COVID crisis, Americans are rediscovering the value and joy of cooking good food. This unusual time has given us a precious opportunity to learn from the European experience to make better choices about food and to demand stronger policies at the federal and state levels. regulators to adopt the European model - prioritizing sustainable farming, organic production, reduction or elimination of additives and pesticides, and protection of human and environmental health above all else.
Eat whole, real foods. This means buying things that come from the ground or are raised on the ground. Even if you don’t get discounts for buying whole foods, you may find yourself spending less since you don’t need as much to feel full. Get rid of hidden sugars and sneaky additives. Avoid eating out as much as possible. These tenants of healthy eating apply no matter where you live.