It might be better than America here, but it’s nowhere near perfect
All over the internet, people are romanticising European food compared to American.
TikTok calls it “no tummy issues on vacation!” The Cut calls it the “purity myth of European food.” Medium’s own newsletter calls it Europe’s “reputation as a haven for fresh, whole food.”
I’m a European. I’m British. I’ve lived in Spain and now live in Portugal. I’ve worked in hospitality for 12+ years, am a recipe developer and have written about food for the past five years. Hear me when I say that Europe does have great food. Amazing, in fact.
That does not mean however, that the whole continent is living in a food utopia. There are huge problems here. We have food insecurity. We are seeing an increasing number of less-than-quality foodstuffs in our stores.
There is no doubt that the US food industry is in the depths of big, worrying, systematic problems. Food deserts. Factory farming at the detriment of animal — and human — welfare.
But here’s the thing. When it comes to European food, it’s not always better. It’s certainly not always good. And to…