The EU: "Prove that this additive is safe before you use it." The US: "Prove that this additive is dangerous before we ban it." I know which one I prefer.
It's impossible to prove anything 100% safe, even water. I prefer a more risk-based approach rather than a let's-all-be-afraid-of-everything hazard-based approach.
That isn't actually the U.S. approach. There are lots of regulatory hurdles to using new food ingredients. And there is a vibrant liability and litigation industry ready to severely punish anyone who puts something deemed unsafe into the food supply.
@ntray3729 he is right, sadly. ...... even our water is full of hormones and nano plastic.....even in switzerland...known for very clean water. greets from swiss
"better safe than sorry" that's what popped up immediately. Of course it takes longer to proof that a chemical element, dosage or a certain procedure is un-dangerous, harmless, ie not beneficial or healthy. It might slow down inventions of new ways of mass production of goods. In the pandemic vaccination safety is king. But in capitalism you try to maximize profit on behalf of what, consumer protection, social security of laborforce or animal wellbeing? So as I see it, it's cutting corners in the making, and fixing it in chlorine later on. Still detected salmonella 11%↓8% in US, than only 1% in EU speaks volume to me. Loads of additives to ease a production process or have a very long shelf life.
I'm affraid it's not the culture per-se, absent regulations encourage to make a cut. EU citizens are not the better or more civilized people. We need to fight against unfair practises, ie only one side take advantage. See right to repair {on your own, changing 🔋 or display} or Apple try to spare charging devices in there inexpensive phones for lame environment purposes, filling their pockets for extra chargers, avoiding standard USB C interfaces.
European countries think that because hugh fructose corn syrup and GMOs are banned , that people there are protected from our nasty fake crap but you are being tricked by your govts too. How??? Your govt imports this junk for animal feed. You eat the animal, you're eating it.
For the apple thing; as a german, me an my family don’t buy apples in stores because we want to protect our original apple varities. My grandfather started this when he transformed one of our fields into an apple farm in the late 50’s. We haven’t stopped collecting/and planting “new” old varities and each year when we harvest we provide our relatives and friends with apple baskets. I’m thankful and really proud of my grandfather for this!
I can't remember which American sandwich company wanted to open stores in France but had to cancel everything because their 'bread' could only be labelled as 'cake' in France.
I only disagree with the chlorine chicken ban. Chlorine dioxide is not dangerous in these low concentrations, and has been used for over 100 years to purify water in e.g. swimming pools.
As a german, i love food safety, so i strongly agree with the precautionary principle. That said, the EU obviously uses regulation to protect its agricultural industry from cheap imports. On the other hand I see the US attitude to regulation as an example for the US to always put profits before people.
How does this work? I mean, the europeans farmers have to follow the very same regulations than any non-EU farmer has to who wants to sell in the single market.
Seeing how long it took to ban or regulate some truely harmful products, from lead ( e.g. in fuel, pipes or paint) over asbestos to cigarettes, which where even marketet beneficial for your health back than, i think the approach of the EU is better. Sure, if you want to use another chemical in food, you have the money to proof its harmless. If you just want to use it, because it safes you 2 cents on a five dollar product, maybe the world is better without using it.
@juppjames9635 Exactly. The moment non-EU farmers follow the same regulation, their production cost rises to a comparable level. Plus there is documentation: How do you prove at the border that your product is compliant with EU rules? (Doable, but costly and probably requires an agreement between your government and the EU. That is why trade deals are so important.) Then of course there is the cost of shipping your product from overseas.
@juppjames9635 Your comment sounds as if anyone in the world can export anywhere in the world and the only thing to do is following certain required production standards. But that is not the case at all. In order to export into the EU single market or into any market in the world there has to be a trade deal in place amongst those countries/blocks in the first place.. ...otherwise there are high tariffs on that product which will make that product not competative in that export market and therefore not profitable to export Best example is the UK after leaving the single market. Their exports of food products into the EU fell into oblivion just because of "the red tape" which is now in place as like as that is in place for every socalled 3rd country... as like needed expensive quality certificates of all kind + tariffs + customs fees etc which raises the costs to export those goods into being not profitable to export into the EU single market anymore. Bigger UK producers in the UK even had to establish/relocate whole new production lines in EU countries in order to stay in Business which smaller UK producers simply can´t effort to do.
@michaelgrabner8977 The original comment by Jens was specificlly about regulations, and not tariffs. And your competitors within the single market don't have ANY advantage, if you have to follow the same regulations than them, don't they? You might say that you have to prove that you are in in compliance with the regulations is an extra cost, but should the EU just believe corporations when it comes to food standards?
EU hold the benchmark for food safety in the world. Often foods get 'more save' because the foreign producers want acces to the European market. They have to change the products and so their whole productionline and ingredients! Europe is the continent with the most strick food laws in the world. So thank you EU for making indirectly our food (and the world) less toxic👌😉
Here I am sitting in Sweden, upset that we had to lower our standards. Just checked the recommendation on raw eggs: Do not eat raw eggs that are not from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, because eggs from other countries do have a significant risk of salmonella.
That is an unproven claim that the EU is the best in the world, yet you have nothing like the californian proposition 65 that forces companies to label their products if they have dangerous chemicals like lead, cadmium, mercury and other carciogenic heavy metals in them, you eat food that contains these and never know it. I know this because some products exported from europe carry the warning here in California, for example for lead.
save? wel soon they want to get rid of it they will sell what wef and eu said ow yes insects no real meat they host a rat to let the cow beef growing in labs safe wel i dont think so they want to get ride of meat chees milk eggs no chicken no bacon no cow thats the plan we go its so serious as digital money but they also in war with russia thats why tey cant defeat iran they bizzy everywhere those roman reich with manipulated foods drinks
I had to laugh as an American who hates the typical American sandwich bread when we moved to Poland and they sold what looked like the same tasteless white bread and called it 'tost' bread and charged MORE than the regular 'chleb' which makes wonderful toast. I still can't figure out why any Pole would buy so-called tost bread when they have great chleb which makes far better tost than that stuff.
You can buy better bread in bakeries in the U.S. It's not as convenient as the supermarket, but depending on the bakery there is lots of handcrafted bread types available. Our supermarket sells "La Brea" bread in the bakery section, which is pretty good.
I have moved to Germany from the USA, this is also my first time coming to Europe. I can easily say that all the food here tastes much more fresh than American food. Everything isn't overwhelmingly sweet too, it's really nice and I prefer it this way.
@thestraightroad305 as I looking forward to visiting the USA! Though I don't know if you are from there😅. But I hope you can come to visit Germany, as it is really beautiful 😍
@SoneaT yes I’m from the USA, and I have seen pictures and videos of Germany. It looks just beautiful. My daughter and her family are living in Italy for a couple of years, I know they want to visit your country!
Seems to me that Germany is very health conscious, and prefer organic, as in REALLY organic to things on the food that is not food. I'm with Germany on this.
Organic food is entirely different again. And it's marked. There is the EU label for organic food, but also a couple of organizations with stricter regulations to get their label.
@HappyBeezerStudiosno there isnt we have Bio what is an totaly diffrent Methode from Organic farming. Organic farming is banned because of its fertalizers and Pestecides beeing banned. But even comercial farming uses less harmfull product even basic Things like Backingpowder
well i wouldnt say buisness friendly and in Germany it is too hard to open a buisness btw for a normal guy who doesnt want to read 10000 laws. The main point of the government is to protect the country from Dangers from outside and protect the nature ... and well part one is mostly done by all countries, but part 2 is mostly ignored.
While it may seem draconian to food manufacturers, the EU policy of erring on the side of caution seems a more prudent approach. There are plenty of stories told by US citizens that spend considerable time in Europe, how they lost weight and felt better during their stay, and then felt sick for a while when returning back to the states. That may only be anecdotal evidence, but still evidence that there IS a difference between EU and US food!
I felt sick for around a month after visiting the US, my friend did as well. I completely broke out, felt bloated, gained weight and was just not in a good mood at all. I think most Americans would need the possibility to leave their country for some time to learn about the importance of good food safety, how do you want to know how bad your food is when you never had the chance to try something else?
I'm watching twitch streamers from the US for many years now. They often talk about what fast food they had that day and almost never prepare their meals themselves. So far alone this one streamer had four food poisenings. In contrast in my 40 years in Germany I only know of one person that had problems and that was because he ate a potato salad with eggs which were too old. Honestly, I would be scared to go out eating in the US.
@Lothar Freitag tbh I'd like to try them at least once, because I always here about chains like taco bell, Wendy's, Popeyes, In-N-Out, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A and whatever else there is just for the experience as they don't exist here
@Lothar Freitag I live in the US, and where I live we don't have kebabs. I went to Europe and man, kebabs and fish and chips are on every corner. In the US we do have food trucks that make pretty good food. But it is not everywhere, and sometimes it is more expensive than fast food value menu sandwich.
The people who work in food production & preparation/serving usually have little or no paid sick leave. So turning up for work when you probably shouldn't is normal in the US
@mackereltabbie it's not just the food industry but many many other places where not being able to take sick leave is a practice. Sometimes it'd guit and shame from peers or bosses that makes people come to work sick. Luckily covid is changing this. I'm hoping that work places continue encouraging and allowing sick people to stay home when sick.
I've heard about 2 unrelated people who traveled to Australia and Ireland. They each lost weight outside the US without changing diet or activity level. They each attributed it to additives in American food.
I can attest to that. I moved from the US to the Netherlands about 5 years ago, and in the first six months, I lost 15 kg without doing anything different in my diet.
What this demonstrates for me is how far outside the mainstream my food habits are. I exclusively buy eggs and dairy from the farmers market, because I have visited the farms and seen how they treat the animals. For that matter, I also buy the apples at the farmers market, and yes, there are occasionally blemishes. Honestly what I find terribly bizarre is that strange wax they cover supermarket fruit in. The bottom line is that I far prefer knowing that the kale I will buy at the market tomorrow was literally just pulled from the ground today, and I embrace the idea that meals will change with the seasons.
Another great post. Apples: 😁 Apples in US supermarkets look pristine, polished and enticing. They taste of nothing! In EU supermarkets they mostly look gnarled, patchy and small (in comparison). But they have heaps of taste. For me, regardless of the biological or chemical prohibitions, I'd go for European apples any day.
We touched on the "perfectness" of American food in grocery stores a while back, but it really is an interesting issue. There's a growing movement to normalize "ugly" food to reduce food waste.
I picked apples in America many years ago that were for sale. Most people don’t understand that they may be getting apples that have been in cold storage for quite some time and as i understand it as much as 5-8 years. Other produce can come out of storage after quite some time too. I know that I am looking for to tell me how fresh the produce is so I don’t buy old food that way. Bread is junk for the most part where I live and if is “squishes” it is just junk filled with air that I don’t waste my money to buy. The problem with produce that has been in cold storage for a while is that it spoiled faster than from a fresh crop so I decide carefully how much to buy in off seasons and am prepared to can, dry or freeze it so it doesn’t spoil on me before I can use it.
There are only a very few American apples I'll buy. Most are very tasteless with a terrible texture. The good ones come from local farms and are varieties I've never heard of before, but they're amazing. I don't think they'd ship well. Other than that, pink lady or honeycrisp, but very little else.
The more important question is: do we have to import cheap chicken? Oversweet soda? US American apples? I don't even buy Chilenean oder New Zeeland Apples. And there are enough chicken farmers and apple farmers (and everything else) in my region to buy regional (and seasonal).
@antonb9459 no it's not. Food that traveled thousand miles per ship produces less CO2 because of the huge amount of food you can store on just one single ship. A regional food may seem more ecological but trucks and train just can't transport as much as one ship. Don't get me wrong, I prefer as much regional food as available. But the facts are sadly like I state above...
@DJST1NG3R well yes it is. A Truck that drives 20 kilometers loaded with apples produces less CO2 than a ship that is under way for thousands of kilometers. Im sure you meant the right thing, but Transportation is important among many other things regarding the footprint. Don't say it isn't . Thats Blashpemy!
@CosinusCarl I never said it isn't. And yes a truck that drives 20 kilometer loaded with produces infact less CO2 than a container ship. But to bring the same amount that a ship can transport it produces more CO2 (depending a bit on the length of the route) than the ship. Cause the ship can transport 10 thousand of tons with just one drive. And if you read my first comment right you must have understand that I prefer food that is regional and have a very short transportway. What I state above and in the other comment are just the existing facts. It doesn't mean I'm prefer that method.
Right. I live in the US and don't eat a lot of store bought processed things. I recently went to Europe for two weeks. Then came home and I noticed that I have more gastrointestinal issues. Minor things but still it was noticeable.:( Europe has better quality food.
@juliawashburn675 Yes. And that’s one of the reasons the trade agreement didn’t go through some years ago. US food has a number of ingredients forbidden in the EU, one of the things were chlorine washed chicken.
@claudiakarl2702 not sure why my reply poofed so apologies if this shows twice, but this was well-documented during Brexit a few years ago. The weird fear y’all had of chlorine used to wash chicken clashed with y’all using it to wash bagged salads, etc. You also use chlorine to treat your tap water. You literally drink it just like Yankee heathens. All of this is easy to find in any search engine.
Another point - perhaps already mentioned in some comments - is that a lot of foods in the US contain high fructose syrup either as a substitute for genuine sugar or added for the purpose of being a preservative that extends shelf life. I think it is one of those reasons why many foods are sweeter in the US. Also, if I'm not mistaken, that is one of the contributing factor to the obesity problem. There a timeline correlation between increasing obesity and the presence of high fructose syrup in various foods.
HFGS is used because it is cheaper than sucrose. HFGS is sweeter than sucrose because it is a glucose and fructose mixture. If they didn't use HFGS they could use "Invert syrup" which is produced by breaking sucrose into glucose and fructose with heat and acid.
ask maby isreal they have informations alot alot alot they there lifes purpese is to destroy others life to gain more for themselfs thats all they never changes but know they do it on slow slow they make money its slaves trick here some changes go build work here some little bit food but its not your land or food or house it theres if they say you must pay higher every year wel why not pay more every month its getting more sick minded soon its never good decade always crisis we must war this others did it we dont do blablablabla
High fructose corn syrup is allowed and used in Germany. It goes by a different name, but there isn't enough corn there to make it economical. Much of the sugar in Germany comes from beets, not sugar cane.
Hi from South Africa. I use unbleached organic pure flour, brown bread flour, and spices WITHOUT FLOUR! And it's delicious! From my Mom's side, her great grandpa came from Germany in the 1800s, my Mom is German, and I grew up with traditional German food and a German culture. We take our health and what we eat very seriously. Very health conscious.
Food in South Africa is the best! Another German South African. Only thing to compare is a trip to Germany. The patisserie in Germany is as good as France.
The key thing about chlorinated chicken is *not* that it is chlorinated - we eat salads that have been washed with the same chemicals without any concern - the issue is that USAlien chicken *has* to be chlorinated because it has been kept in such unsanitary conditions that it is dangerous to eat _without_ the chlorine.
In sweden it is even stricter with salmonella an chicken. The presence of salmonella in chicken is essential 0, so low that you can eat it raw. If salmonella is found in chicken farmer all chickens are killed, every chicken at that farm is burned and the hole place is disinfected. Scorched earth principles...
Also a side note: we (my mum tought me so i assume everyone learns it) learn as kids: raw chicken meat will kill you, multi resistent bacteria everywhere, disinfect every surface with boiling water and knife the raw chicken touched, use plastic cutting boards and never wood.. we germans know, that even we've got measures to enforce "some" animal health it won't protect us from getting frikkin sick if you handle your food not properly.
There is a belief in Europe that chlorinating chicken may be safe to the consumer BUT it is UN necessary if good hygiene measures are applied throughout the process. In other words it is a cheap and easy way to avoid implementing hight standards in both hygiene and animal welfare. (and allowing the production of cheaper products that undercut the local producers who DO invest in high standards).
Probably we have to take into account the low level of education and intelligence in general among the population in the USA. Thus it makes sense to chlorine chicken to lower deaths or poisoning in the USA.
No the issue is that even with washing with chlorinated water, you are over 10 times more likely to catch Salmonella in the USA than in Europe. Ideally, we would like to wash our chicken in chlorine too, and make it even safer. However while the USA insists on appalling animal welfare standards and disgusting abattoir practices the ban will have to stay in place to keep by European standards dangerous chicken raised to unacceptable welfare standards out.
Yeah, I agree. The American market is really tough for farmers to NOT handle animals commercially. Our family used to raise hogs, but stopped in the 80's because there weren't any profits unless you ran a HUGE operation.
There is more chlorine in your tap water. Chlorinated chicken is a myth. Yes, the birds are passed through a dilute solution of calcium hypochlorite (HTH) after evisceration. This is because the eviscerator might damage the large intestine, and allow faecal matter into the cavity. The HTH solution kills any pathogens. Rest assured the birds are completely washed in purified water after passing through the HTH solution.
I live in a town that it's major production plant is chicken. Chlorine is necessary to kill all the bacteria and virus contamination. It's safe, it's effective and it's cheap. It's also in drinking water. You get more exposure to it when doing laundry or or swimming.
The existence of bodybuilders prove, that its possible to eat a risky amount of chicken. Its better ro be careful and not borderline poison youre people.
I was in Europe back in 2004-Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland & Holland. The food was so simple and amazing! I’ve been depressed about the food here in the US ever since and it’s getting unbelievably worse. They are killing us here.
I think Americans misunderstand British and European meals that are very simple and think they are tasteless. I watch a lot of American cooking shows and absolutely everything seems to have garlic powder and loads of salt . I just made my evening meal. Sourdough bread( flour and water) olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes and olives and British Brie. Huge pile of homegrown salad leaves. Mix it all together and eat with the bread. Lovely….. no salt no garlic powder, just simple gorgeous food.
@courgette3401 There's a lot of truth in that and I think the problem is, as Richard Hammond said, "Americans think luxury is making something bigger." I mean look at what they have done to European classics like pizza and IPA. "Italian" food in America is little more than an exercise in cramming as much fat into a bowl as possible. They totally miss the point. As for the joy of walking for 15 minutes to your local high street, buying carefully-grown produce from various specialists, then going home to make, e.g. Beef in red wine for 3-4 hours?. Well, American society has lost that, if it ever had it. French bakeries are open to accommodate The Bread Run, which is traditionally 3 times per day. There are few things in life more wholesome and satisfying than a still-warm baguette spread with high quality butter, especially if it is then dipped into hot black coffee. A proper baguette is at its best for about 45 minutes and suffocates instantly if packed in plastic. Tomatoes that taste of something. Proper tea [which I have come to appreciate after spending time in China]. Mushrooms fried in butter. GM-free, natural, in-season produce, cooked to enhance their flavour. All these have been lost in the travesty of a society that Americans have had imposed on them. I would feel really sorry for them if it weren't for the fact that so many of them think they are God's Gift to the world.
as an older person in alabama, i have often complained that foods often don't taste nearly as good as they did when i was growing up, or even when i started my own household. for example, the additives or way cheese is made makes most brands taste like cardboard. when young, i always bought kraft brand, but now i never touch it. i'd rather do without than buy stuff that tastes that awful. there are lots of other examples i could give, too. lots of things done in this arena are to preserve stuff, but that comes at the expense of taste. anyway, i could rant on this for quite awhile, but you get the idea.
I very much like European food standards even if they go to far sometimes. Every time me and my parents go to North America, we break out in acne and gain weight, eating the same things we do back home.
German way: Don’t throw children in the water unless you know they can swim USA way: Let them throw the kids into the water, If they drown we try to help
This was the thinking 40+ years ago. Children are protected now (which they should be). Nowadays kids go to swim classes. In areas where pools, lakes, canals, and/or ocean is common the city and the YMCA offers free swim lessons ages 6 months to 99+ years for people who can't afford swim lessons. In areas where pools etc isn't common they start learning to swim for free at 5 years. My 2 year old already knows how to swim better than alot of adults. She just doesn't have the endurance. I did this when living in Switzerland without a swimming pool in the backyard also. In areas where pools and lakes are common everyone thinks a 6 month old learning to save itself is drowning. To an untrained person they think the 6 month old is drowning. They aren't. They are holding their breath so they can't drown. The babies are learning to survive if they should fall into the pool without an adult knowing.
@jessicaely2521 Happy to hear that this crude thing is of the past. But is the idea behind what I described really history? Is the “winner takes all” thinking really not existing anymore? I am not convinced...
@wr6293 it's not the way you think. Up north where people didn't have pools in their backyard kids didn't learn how to swim unless their parent knew how to swim and the parents made an effort to teach their child to swim. My mom never learned how to swim. My mom only knew how not to drown. My dad had some lessons from his dad, but not much. My parents were born up north. The kids born in the south and had pools in their backyard would either learn how to swim because they fell in, their parents were around when they fell in, they drowned, or their parents were rich enough to afford swim lessons. The people in the south and who had pools didn't have the technology that we do now. Nowadays we have pool alarms for when a child falls in the pool, a sturdy mesh fence that goes around the pool to keep kids out, and better locks for door leading out to the pool. When I was a kid we didn't have the fancy technology (fence, pool alarm, and locks). What we did have when I was a kid is cheap swim lessons (it still wasn't free). I learned to swim by a teacher when I was 1 years old. Edit the areas where they don't have swimming pools they really don't do "winner takes all." They never purposely did this. It's a requirement by home owner insurance companies to have a pool fence and/or a pool alarm around the pool. We found out about secondary drowning. This is when kids look fine right after they almost drown, but go and die hours later because the way their body reacted to fluid in their lungs. People don't want their child to die. Also if you do this and Department of Children Services finds out about this from a neighbor you will possibly loose your children and be charged with child abuse. If your child dies and it's known that you threw your child into the swimming pool you will be charged with their death. Kids are overprotected in some areas in the US. I mean outside the US have you ever heard of a parent being arrested for child abuse because they told their child to play in the backyard without you being outside? This happens in the US. Playgrounds are super safe in the US. My daughter doesn't like going to pthe playground here in the US because it's boring. My daughter was born in Switzerland and spent the first 5 years of her life in Switzerland. It's unheard of for schools not to allow kids to walk to school in Germany and Switzerland. Kids are expected to walk to school in some areas of Germany and Switzerland at 5. A mother in Texas was arrested for child abuse because she allowed her kid to walk to school. The family lived next door to the school. The kid only had to go out their gate and the child was on school property. The charges fell through and the mom sued the school and city, but still the mom lost her child while fighting the charges. There are schools in the US where they won't accept anyone coming to school by foot even if the parent walks with the child. The child HAS TO be dropped off by car.
@jessicaely2521 Dear Jessica, I respectfully disagree with your statement that “winner takes all” was not on purpose. Public pools have been systematically been closed in the USA and hence only those with access to private pools or clubs with pools where in the lucky position of being able to learn swimming…
@wr6293 You aren't separating north from south. Places like California, Florida, etc it's common to have a pool in the backyard, beach within driving distance, OR a man-made lake in the backyard. Even apartment complexes had swimming pools in Florida. Florida has the Everglades and kids swim there a lot. Florida you can also wait for a good rain during the summer and swim in the low lying areas. This was all 40+ years ago. I don't think you understand how much water there is in places like Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, parts of Texas, and parts of California. The Northerners were on their own. There are lakes, rivers, and ponds they could swim in but again your paremt(s) had to know how to swim and took the time to teach you how to swim. Nowadays every city in the US has a public pool and it's $1-$10 to swim. Kids under 5 are free in a lot of areas. YMCA has swim lessons based on your income. If you're poor you pay a little. If you're rich you pay alot. Also alot of YMCA's in the US are offering Learn to Swim program which teaches school age children how to swim. Kids would practice what they learned with an adult at the lake, pond, river, pool, etc. I was an instructor for this program. This is an article about the program in my local newspaper. YMCA offers free lessons with 'Learn to Swim' program NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) - With summer right around the corner, pool safety is vital for families with children, but swim lessons aren’t always affordable. The YMCA is helping to bridge the gap for underserved communities. Amy Kennedy has been involved in the YMCA “Learn to Swim” program since 2010. “It’s very important for your kid to learn how to swim,” she said. “Anything can happen. They could fall, they could trip and fall not even into a pool, into a lake or pond. You don’t need very much water to drown. Just knowing what to do in that situation helps out a lot. There’s a lot of apartment complexes out there that have pools and they don’t have lifeguards, so the kids need to be aware.” Kennedy told News 2 many of the children that come into her class are fearful, while others are very curious. The Learn to Swim program is a partnership between the YMCA and Metro-Nashville schools, which provides swim lessons for first and second graders during their PE program for free. The response from parents has been positive. “I’ve heard from the teachers that they’re extremely excited that they’ve been able to have the opportunity , that their kids are able to learn something so important that they couldn’t provide,” Kennedy said. The program takes place at four different locations and lasts 14 weeks. That’s plenty of time, according to Kennedy, for the kids become more comfortable in the water. “We heard a little boy say to one of our instructors that he’s not scared anymore. That’s huge because that little boy was almost in tears when we first started the program, and now he’s jumping into 12 foot,” she said. If there are parents out there interested in their schools participating in the program, they should reach out to their school’s administrators.
allowed until proven dangerous or not allowed until proven safe Well, I prefer the second. By the way: There are many aspects of life where the second principle applies even in the US. e.g. driving licenses. No one is allowed to drive a car until one has proven to having the knowledge of how to drive a car safely. Also in medicine: Not everyone is allowed to treat patients. They have to prove that they're no danger to their patients.
Wrong on the meds - i can’t take the meds here for most issues unless I want to be worse off than I am without them. Good food has proven to be a better promoter of health than drugs especially since Dec 2019
A major problem with the "allowed until proven dangerous" approach is that as long as there isn't any data, something can't be proven harmful. Basically the "this sign can't stop me, because I can't read" approach to food safety.
But you are allowed to drive a car without a license. You're not allowed on public roads.. Alcohol has been proven unsafe, yet still allowed. Smoking has been proven unsafe, yet still allowed. And seems quite popular still in Germany. Sugar causes diabetes yet still allowed.
One more coming back to this video since things have changed now from 2024: BVO (Brominated Vegetable Oil, a food additive used as a stabilizer in citrus-flavored drinks) is now heavily restricted or banned in many regions, not only the EU (since 2008) but now also in the US (as of July 2024), due to potential health risks. It was banned due to concerns over bromine accumulation in tissues and adverse thyroid effect. Beverages that still contain BVO in the U.S. include Sun Drop, made by Keurig Dr Pepper, and Orangette orange soda, sold at Walmart, according to their ingredient lists as of 2 Aug 2024 but maybe these have been stopped too meanwhile.
Thank you very much for your contribution. I have been following your channel for quite a while. As someone who moved to the US from Germany for four years, I find the food comparison very interesting. It is well known that Germany has the strictest food laws in the world, some of which even exceed the regulations of the EU. But what struck me most in the USA is what the FDA apparently allows in food. When American cheese has to be labeled as "cheese flavored" at the counter or even $5 pasta tastes like you're biting on plastic, you question the FDA system and the so-called approach of "proves." After 2 months in the USA, I almost felt compelled to shop expensively at Whole Foods because I couldn't be sure what I was really getting on my plate anywhere else. Even though I love the USA, this is where I feel there is catching up to do on the US side.
"Come frequently in contact with in our daily lives pretty frequently": "gasoline exhaust" Last time I checked those fumes weren't recommended in spa treatments. And while yes, we do come in contact with exhaust gases frequently, it is not recommended to make a conscious effort to seek them out. On the contrary, if you need to be exposed to higher concentrations, gas filter masks are advised. As with most substances, the dosage is relevant. Coming in contact with Aloe Vera once every two years is different from having a daily dose in products made with flour. Which are ubiquitous.
When I visited Germany years ago I asked someone why the orange crush drink I got was not orange. I was told about them not using artificial dyes and stuff. I didn't see anything wrong with that. I even liked that they were concerned about people's health. And their food in Germany was delicious. I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't a big fan of sauerkraut, but their food is so much more than sauerkraut.
Orange Fanta in Europe looks more like carbonated orange juice because the color is closer to juice. Most orange sodas in the U.S. have an intense orange color.
You need to say some US bread. There's organic (bio) bread in the US. The only things in my bread in the US Organic whole wheat organic whole wheat flour, organic cracked whole wheat, water, organic cane sugar, organic 21 Whole Grains and Seeds mix organic whole flax seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic ground whole flax seeds, organic brown sesame seeds, organic triticale (this was invented in Scotland or Germany), organic pumpkin seeds, organic rolled barley, organic rolled oats, organic rolled rye, organic black sesame seeds, organic cornmeal, organic millet, organic rolled spelt, organic brown rice flour, organic amaranth flour, organic yellow cornmeal, organic quinoa, organic buckwheat flour, organic sorghum flour, organic poppy seeds), organic wheat gluten, organic oat fiber, contains 2% or less of each of the following: organic molasses, sea salt, yeast, organic vinegar.
Never trust a bread that can be kept in the fridge without tasting terrible. Never trust a bread that can sit on the counter for weeks without molding. I never had Trouble eating bread untill i was in America. It tastes bad, way to sweet, i was bloated, my belly hurt, felt terrible. Bread should be stale in 3 days and mood within a week. Keeping it in a fridge makes it stale in a day. Not? I pass. American laws are in favor of companies. European laws are considering the environment, people and the animal.
Was ein Quatsch. Traditionelles deutsches Roggenbrot hält sich mehrere Wochen ohne Kühltruhe. Sättigt etwas älter sehr viel besser als ganz frisch und ist auch bekömmlicher. Ich hab gerade Gulaschsuppe gegessen und hatte ein Brötchen vom letzten Wochenende dazu, trocken, aber ideal, um es in die Suppe zu brocken. Natürlich ein Brötchen vom traditionellen Bäcker und kein Formstück aus der Großbäckerei.
@raythevagabond3724 just regular bread you put peanutbutter on it for lunch. Yeah that is stale in 3 days. And in summer mold grows on it with a 5 days. Knäckebröd is a cracker not a bread. But when opened those are getting softer. Sure crackers and ryebread and some others will be okay for weeks but just normal bread with yeast..the best is gone within days and it molds within a week.
"If you drink more than 2l of any soda per day, you're going to have health problems" - nope. One year, might have been 1991, I was working part-time for UPS, loading parcels into containers for long distance transport. In summer, I drank well over three liters of Coke in those four hours of work. If that had been Mt. Dew, I'd have been in trouble. So, I'm ok with the authorities banning an ingredient that you might end up ingesting in dangerous amounts. LOL.. Vita Cola. The East German clone of Coca Cola (tried it in 1986 when visiting my relatives in eastern Germany, was underwhelmed). Regarding the different approaches to food safety, I seem to remember the long, drawn-out fights by some individuals against large corporations after getting harmed by some ingredient. It's much easier for a large corporation to prove something is safe than for an individual to prove something is unsafe. If the corporation doesn't want to (or they want to fight the individual because it's just cheaper to keep using the harmful ingredient), in the US the can do so, in the EU, they have to contend first with actual experts that have the power to simply tell them NO! and make it stick. So, while the EU regulations often place traditional methods of doing something in jeopardy, they seem to be a good idea when dealing with creative uses of potentially hazardous chemicals in food.
Over 3 liters of Cola a day of course causes health problems. Maybe you didn't drop dead, but I'm quite it harmed you a lot (way too much sugar, weakened bone structure from phosphoric acid, results if high doses of caffeine...). Obviously you don't know a lot about nutrition and biology. Hope your heart is ok and you changed your lifestyle. Our body is able to come back from a lot of damage over time .
@ravanpee1325 if you dont know how to smoke and if you dont know whats inside and your time grandfather is diffrent he had much vitamines real fresh food no additivse thats why he lives so long like mostly rich older ones they get old we dont even make it so much sugar so much manipulated food for profit remeber they they lived ina short golden years then they lose wars because here they again to make war ? you know its profitable if its war prices goes up its decades like that its same teams too doing it agian first it was climate then it changed in war its same like in old days never good always crisis how bigger the land how more crisis they have roman reich idea but they didnt figure out why they lose till this day look there lands so small big mouth the enemys still there bigger now and stronger all to safe the jews yeah right europeans roman reich have many fake jewish killer roman ideas
@Stracciways23 Converted to one liter Cola: around 35 sugar cubes of sugar...I don't know how to convert for corn syrup :D there's a reason so many US people today are fat and have diabetes or other health problems
I buy my groceries from local producers. My groceries are therefore seasonal. I don't feel restricted and am looking forward to the seasonal delicacies
Was expecting low effort crappy clickbait family content but this was very informative. You obviously put a lot of effort into the research and the presentation was very well done too. Good Job 😅
There is, of course, a huge difference between having to prove that an ingredient in a food is harmful after it has gone on sale, and ensuring that an ingredient in a food is guaranteed to be harmless before production. Unfortunately, in the U.S., much is left up to the manufacturing companies. This may be one reason why the average life expectancy in the USA is 4 years less than in Germany.
I think a good example of good quality in Germany is the frequent checks. It is not uncommon to see a message from a manufacturer in the supermarket that a product is being recalled. because there could potentially have been a problem in the charger or it could have come into contact with something bad. it does not necessarily have to be proven, the possibility is sufficient. It can be contaminated, so you can return and exchange it free of charge in any supermarket.
I know that a friend’s daughter who went to study in Germany had much fewer problems with her stomach than in the US. She could eat items in Germany that she couldn’t in the US.
I went to Ireland for about 2 weeks and could eat bread without bloating! Here, In the US, I eat gluten free (not crappy GF substitutes, just no wheat).
I'm all about research and as an american I don't eat so many different foods here. I was happy to see you are on point when it comes to doing your research. JOB WELL DONE
There must be a reason that people in europe and japan can expect to live longer than in the us. Also the US is the only First World Nation where the Life Expectancy is shrinking since some years.
I'm sure access to healthy, balanced meals is part of it. Also in combination with a more sedentary lifestyle and lack of affordable access to preventative healthcare plays a part too. We sadly notice how much more of an issue obesity is in the US every time we go back .
Our european approach to food safety (and to safety in general) is influenced by history. Look up Thalidomide (in Germany infamous as Contergan). In those days, it was still more a "let's assume it's safe if the producer says it is".
Short story: An american friend of mine once sent me a package with different stuff. And I was wondering why he sent me sponges!? o_O But they worked very well! So nevermind! Some days later we phoned and he asked me how I liked the bread and me was like: "There was no bread in the package!" ... I mean: That says a lot about american bread! I didn't even recognized it as bread! I though those were sponges! Well, ... tells a lot about the bread quality in the US ... :-( *lol - I guess I'll stay with my german bread instead! :-)
The only fault, and I mean the only fault, about American toast bread they can't make at all. They call it American sandwich bread where you can eat without the toaster, but you cannot. It does not taste good. With that said, the German bread is much better than the bread in the USA
I am sorry but I prefer precaution like we have in Europe. I don’t want trash in my food „just in case it might be safe“. The need to prove their ingredients are safe first.
I am sorry Ashton but this video is too "blue-eyed" for me! You did mention one crucial point only in passing and might have missed it yourself: In the US risk assessment is mainly done by the companies themselves! Companies can declare their products as "Generally Recognized As Safe". For me, this is the same as declaring the goat as the gardener. ((Ziegen) Bock zum Gärtner machen). In these cases, the FDA only does a check if the company asks for it! Since its implementation in 1997, a further 250 food additives have been added to the US market. Of course, I am sure the companies have run extensive and expensive tests by independent labs to ensure the safety of their customers... Also what American Bread are you talking about, please? Isn't it counted as a cake due to the high sugar percentage? ;)
Of course risk assessment studies in the U.S. are primarily done by companies-they are the ones applying for safety review, and naturally they should pay for the expensive part of the process. That doesn't mean the studies are flawed; there's huge risk to a company bringing an unsafe product to market. It behooves them to have confidence in safety before applying.
@TheAntibozo You kind of overstimate the fear of responsibility of companies. If the profit margine is higher then the expected penalty for doing bad stuff, companies will do it anyway. Opiod-crisis in the US is probably one of the best examples for it. Car companies also do it a lot. If you find out 5 years later that the stuff is carciogenic, the harm is already done. No money in the world is probably worth getting cancer.
I could taste the chlorine in certain brands of American chicken. My friends and family all told me I was crazy, but I could never finish a chicken dinner because the meat tasted like it had been brined in a public pool. Bone-in breasts had the strongest clorine flavor, particularly the meat/juices closest to the breast bone.
You’re crazy. 🤷🏻♂️Chlorine breaks down very fast as you know if you have a pool. Depends on where you live (how far from the water plant) the water can have a heavy chlorine taste. But you definitely won’t taste it in chicken.
When the carcass is being prepared, a machine rips out the lungs and internal organs, which often split or break, showering the meat with salmonella. This is why they sterilise it with chlorine. They are doing this because they know that most of the birds are infected, due to the awful conditions they keep them in.
I really like how well researched your videos are (not only this particular one). There are dozens of videos like these with more or less click-baity titles - but most of them are repeating each other without adding value. Thank you!
Your videos go far beyond simple onset. Nice job digging deeper into available information and working to provide perspective. I’ll be looking at your other videos. Thanks.
I live in NYC, since 2000, from Milan. I was chatting with the manager of a relatively upscale Italian restaurant (not Italian-American, true Italian/Tuscan). In NY they can not serve cheese or cold cuts like prosciutto/raw ham at room temperature like in Italy. That is why they have to slice the prosciutto paper thin, unlike in Italy. Otherwise, it would be too cold and hard to serve. Cheeses like Taleggio, which are very ripe and decadent need to be served at room temperature. In NY they seem to enforce very cold temperatures. If you buy a $12 baguette sandwich at the airport or some chains like Pret à Manger in NYC, these baguettes will be bought and eaten fridge cold. In Italy €6 panini often sit during rush hour at room temperature and they are grilled or eaten as they are. It is interesting that in the USA artificial flavors, colors, chemicals, unhealthy fats, and huge amounts of corn syrup are allowed in processed foods, but they are so strict in keeping all food extremely cold.
europe has mostly bought form isrealis america or urkaine poland compnaies dont you agreed we have mostly brands drink its from them who knows whats in it you go in supermakets and buy buy buy eat do you care if your hungery thats the tool of roman reich now make them desparet prices high goes up for fake choclate manipukated foods meats fruit in europe its all fake very low vitamines in the supermarket
Have you tried Boskop Apples for your pies. It is a variety which is not shiny and not great for eating, but phantastic for cooking apple sauce or baking cakes/pies.
When you see apples in American movies, they are always either bright green (I think the type is called granny smith) or dark red (red delicious) - just like in your example pictures. I was quite astounded when I tried to buy apples in Walmart in the US and only found those two kinds of apples there. Are there really no other kinds of apples in normal US supermarkets? German supermarkets, even discounters, carry several different kinds of apples at any given time, and the above-mentioned ones are not very common here (maybe because of their taste?)
Interesting! In the US I have also seen Fuji apples, Pink Ladies and Jonathan apples (as you can imagine... Jonathan's favorite 🤣). I am personally partial to the Granny Smith kind.
@TypeAshton mmmmm…Granny Smith. But yes in US we have many varieties of apples in stores here in US and WalMart is not a good example of variety of produce.
There are many varieties of apples grown in the US, but Corporate Food sells what is most profitable, and other varieties are found in smaller and more local markets. Appearance and shelf life are the biggest factors, and taste and nutrition are irrelevant.
@VinsonMusic Very true! Food is only a sideline for WalMart, and their produce is often very poor. I never buy food there. I'm happier with the products and prices at Market Basket, a New England chain. In summer and fall I get my veggies (and apples) at a local farm stand. More expensive but fresh and tasty!
Great video as always. Love your research. I grew up on a farm in Germany and we had many apple trees as well as over 5000 chicken. The chicken farm was like you had it in the picture with the chicken in cages and the eggs rolling down. I think we had 4 chicken in 1 cage. Now, this was 40 years ago and we already were planning on how to make this better for the chicken but it comes at a cost and space needed and we all know that the US is all about making as much money as possible. The same is true for the apples. We stored them in a cellar with no light to keep them fresh as long as possible. Here in the US, I buy apples and can have them laying around for weeks, seeing bump marks on them, but the apple does not get brown, period! I still eat them but I think the preventive approach to food safety is better then "Let's see in 50 years if some people might have died from it".
@agn855 Exactly. That's why it's far better to have an independent organ to do those tests and proofs rather than a manufacturer. They simply have another agenda, goals, and also means - and, thus, are more trustworthy than the producer, who would allow chlorine on chicken to lower risks, which are caused by overworked staff and unhygienic conditions in the first place, rather than rising the overall training of staff and hygiene and working standards, as using chlorine is simply the less expensive choice for him and is permitting them higher margins. Usually, the videos in this channel are quite accurate. But this one is very blue-eyed. And, being a parent, I would have expected her to embrace the extra layer of food safety, she finds in Germany.
USA = corporations profits are most important. Europe = people's health is important. Europe doesn't want your hormone beef or yoga mat bread. We prefer to be healthy. uSA should show corporations its place
11:30 Germany is an apple country. It has rank 14 of the biggest producers worldwide, the production per capita is nearly as high as in the US (12.5 kg vs. 14.1 kg per capita), but since Germans consume more than 19 kg apples per capita every year, about one third of the demand has to be imported. Italy produces around half the total amount of apples as the US, which adds up to about 40,6 kg per capita), and about half of that amount is harvested in (mostly German-speaking) South Tyrol resp. Alto Adige.
Thank you once again! As other comments have pointed out, your conclusions about the difference in the fundamental approach of the food safety authorities represents a distinct difference between German/European and American attitudes in general. The former is more concerned about potential threats; the latter takes no action until harm has become obvious. One comment was also interesting - the American obsession with germs! Fill food with chemicals to make sure that not one single microbe, virus, bacterium, whatever can possibly survive. Keeping cans of disinfectant sprays around the house and spraying everything after every touch.
Anyone who paid attention in chemistry class knows that the toxic Brom- / Bromine (element) and its compounds have no place in any kind of food. Bromine is not only highly toxic in itself, it also reacts with various other substances in the body. This makes harmless substances dangerous, and already unhealthy substances even more so, usually neurotoxic. When bromine and aluminum come into contact, it becomes explosive. If this happens on a small scale in the body, it is extremely unhealthy and equivalent to radioactive irradiation. Salmonella (bacteria) is not only found externally, but throughout the animal's meat. External disinfection (with chlorine) of poultry is almost ineffective. In Germany, salmonella is a reportable infection and can lead to the closure of the animal breeding operation. Eggs from farms with reported salmonella are prohibited from sale. Eggs already in stores are recalled. To protect livestock from various infections, poultry houses in Germany are often secured like high-security biolabs. There is positive pressure, the fresh air is filtered, and access is only permitted with protective clothing and prior disinfection of rubber boots. So, if I buy poultry or eggs in Germany with the label "made in Germany," I know that everything possible has been done to avoid contamination of the product. Not because the manufacturer is concerned about my health, but because they are afraid that the authorities will shut down their business.
When I visited the US in 1994, after the first Coke in a fast food chain, I started ordering my Coke without ice because the ice cubes contained more chlorine than the water in a German swimming pool, completely ruining the taste. I was shocked that most cities did provide tap water that was not classified as drinking water. We saw a few small towns proudly announcing that their tap water had drinking water quality on big signs at the town border. We also found it difficult to find simple flour in the supermarket without tons of additive "vitamins" or weird stuff, proudly announced as a feature, not a bug. And in general, the colors of many food items were far more intense than what we were used to, reminding me of what we could see in France in the early 1980s. Back then, I thought of it as customer preferences, but a lot of it was just the effort of the producing companies to increase their profit and hide lesser quality by artificial means. Looking at the debacle with cigarettes, where companies were allowed to do whatever they could to get their customers addicted to their product until it was proven without a doubt, how dangerous it was, I do prefer the "less is more" approach when using potentially dangerous chemicals to process or "enhance" my food. Sadly, even the EU standardizes the size, form, and color of apples but not their taste. And as long as many people think that a small scratch on an apple's skin reduces its value, the producers will put a lot more effort into the optical presentation over the taste.
Can't say enough how much I appreciate all the effort and research you guys put into your videos wether it's building/zoning laws and policy impact or weird food facts everything is so well presented (while still keeping it lighthearted).. And as always I learned new things about both the EU and America and how they look at regulating and protecting consumers.
That was interesting, some new information! Regarding the chlorinated chicken: If you take a closer look at the chlorine bath it turns out to be more than gross. The carcasses are dipped into a brew which contains not only chlorine but also feces, slime and other residues. For detailed reading I can recommend Jonathan Safran Foer (Eating Animals) and Michael Pollan (ALL of his books!).
@C. Krueger Exactly! If you consider that a side-effect (not necessarily unwanted by the producers) is that the chickens soak up part of this brew making each chicken weigh more... Makes you think twice before buying chicken.
We just moved to Germany! Hannover to be exact, so this is super interesting. We had no idea about some of these! We've subscribed now and can't wait to watch more of your videos!
i hope you like the trolley stations in Hannover, they won some awards, in the 80s...lol and the Kröpke being a big hole in the ground during the 70s... i got ask which king was living in the Hannover city hall...lol
Perhaps they should try BVO containing soda instead of soda containing BVO? 😉 Probably I‘m lost in translation, but the way you worded the sentence sounds funny to me. #nooffense 😊 Iirc Vita Cola is the original brand that was unique to the GDR. And it really tastes different but is still good. The problem I see with the FDA approach to food safety is, as you said, the burden of proof is on the consumer side. But if harm is done it is very difficult to proof the cause for a single person. Even when they associate the right ingredient with their cancer, what alone is probably difficult, I believe there will be legal battles between customers and companies for years. So I‘m happy with the approach that everyone who wants to sell me her/his products, especially when I will digest them, that they have to proof they do no harm. 😊
Why would the US not endorse the precautionary principle. The EU and Canada demonstrate that it is possible within corporate food production systems. Food safety and human health should be first and second priority. Optimising corporate profits at the possible expense of harn to consumers should be recognized as criminal behaviour.
From what I always heard about the Dutch equivalent of the FDA (single countries can have their own bans), in some cases that lead to bans, the idea behind the massive consumption of the single product that might contain a dangerous ingredient or agent or trace of it before it actually becomes dangerous to humans, there can also be indications with other foods. It can stem from the idea that those other foods might contain other agents or ingredients and can have undesired effects due to the stacking effect of bio-accumulation in our body when those ingredients are combined. One of them is deemed safe enough, but the combination isn't, or, due to prospects of foods increasingly containing the safer ingredient, the chances of suffering problems because of the combination of both increase.
if you want american apple varieties for your american pie, you can consider growing an apple tree with american varieties crafted on. and for small gardens there is a solution too, like small growing trees (zwergobstbäume) or staight growing trees (seulenobstbäume).
@nikomangelmann6054 Gerade in diesem Fall beispielsweise eine Rechtschreibkorrektur - die fast jeder Computer anbietet - zu nutzen bevor man den Kommentar abschickt ...?
@Balligat stimmt in gewisser weise schon, aber trozdem hat jetzt ihr beitrag überhaupt nichts mit dem thema hier zu tun. ich versteh eh nicht warum man den oberlehrer raushängen lassen muss und jemanden den man überhaut nicht kennt auf evttuelle rechtschreib oder grammatikfehler hinweisen muss wenn es im thema des beitrags überhaup garnicht um rechtschreibung oder grammatik geht. wenn es fehler im inhalt meines textes geht bin ich gern bereit mich belehren zu lassen. evtl sollten sie sich etwas zeit nehmen bevor sie einen kommentar abschicken, ob dieser auch zum thema passt oder einfach nur ihn das gefühl gibt über jemanden zu stehn.
@nikomangelmann6054 So ist das leider heute: Es werden keine Fehler mehr zugegeben - immer ist wer anders schuld. Sie haben doch die Sache hier ausgedehnt anstatt den Hinweis anzunehmen und es damit gut sein zu lassen .... bemühen Sie sich nicht weiter, für mich ist das jetzt 'Ende der Fahnenstange'!
I think another reason for the different approaches is healthcare. In the US if you got cancer due to an additive it falls on your shoulders but in the EU such things cause more stress on the public healthcare system and thus costs the government more so the government is far more careful to let such additives in food.
@TypeAshton You don't have to imagine, it is always part of the discussion. Maybe more obviously when it comes to smoking and drinking, but absolutely also about food. There is a dilemma when it comes to meat and dairy, though, because it lies very deep in the foundational principles of the EU that we should never again lack those products and potentially starve. Changing diets and agriculture to a greener culture is this generation's big challenge.
@TypeAshton The DCI or Death Care Index always spikes under GOP dominance. Killing Americans earlier reduces the entitlement outlays which staves off FICA payroll tax hikes, makes a profit for the morticians, and fills the churches for the funerals and raises their revenue. Americans' lives have no value besides that on someone's spreadsheet. See COVID death rate-20% of global Covid deaths with 4% of the people. CDC told murdoch and red states, that 80% of the 1st wave of Covid deaths were 65 and over, aka pensioners. "Covid id a hoax", "Vaccines, don't work, and are govt poison", "Masks are affront to freedom" are memes from Fox while they sterilized their studios, implemented vaccine or negative tests results, masks, social distancing, and Murdoch flew to UK for a vaccine. Rupert, tucker, sean, laura, jesse, and friends were all facing a FICA payroll tax hike until 666,000 recipients culled themselves by refusing vaccines and dying. USA is 57th on the Press Freedom Index for a reason. Lies and disinformation are profitable. Festering violence offers even more in the NPR index for the 46% of global guns. Everybody wins when the GOP initiates eugenics of pensioners. DCI +27.5% in Aug 21, and up 9.3% the day after the tariffs crashed the market. DCI beat 3 indexes so far this quarter. Go long on death when GOP run things.
In the end you are talking about the 'Brussels effect', a term was coined by U.S. legal scholar Anu Bradford in an essay that appeared in 2012. There are some videos on YT about it, including a lecture by Bradford herself. It is worth noting that EU regulations are not only influencing the product standards for the global players, but via lobbying the whole industry in countries all over the world.
I've heard the term "regulatory superpower" used in this context - i.e. the ability to influence international production standards just by regulating access to the EU market.
@varana Correct, if you cannot sell your products in the EU, many other countries will not accept them. Many countries copy the EU standards for their production, to safeguard their EU export and to cut down on their own research, banned by EU = bad, allowed by EU = harmless. The fact that 27 relatively rich countries cooperate and set a standard based on science, and specialized institutes with world fame participate in these standards, makes them trustworthy. And do not forget: the US, Japan and other big players in the market did the same before the twelve stars did appear above the horizon.
That's also what makes the Brexit claim of deregulation so hilarious. If you want to export you'll comply. And you most certainly won't bother to produce with different standards, labeling etc. cause that's also expensive. Thanks to Phil of "a different bias" for pointing that out time and again.
FDA only requires a 50% efficacy rating for pharmaceuticals. They are also dependant on the K Street gang of lobbyists who own the committees that direct funding for research and drug manufacturing as well as pricing, and patent protection. Cigarettes, leaded gas, lead paint, and agent orange were known to kill but it takes 50 years of killing before any company is held responsible. SCOTUS Justice Gorsuch ruled that if a company faces a loss of capital to save a human life, and no law is against it, the capital has precedence.
Excellent video. I really like the in-depth research, not sparing (often interesting) details, while being as good as humanly possible neutral. You are doing excellent journalism, quite a treasure!
I'm an American, who lives in France. The food here is better by virtually every measure. i agree with you about the complexity of the science, but I'd rather find out that I was not the rat with the negative outcome from a corporate experiment in public health. There is no reason to run the experiment but greed. P.S. my family on both sides was in the food business. I remember my parents talking about the toxins being injected into US food in the 1950s..jt
Importing apples to Germany/Europe from abroad is ridiculous anyway. Germany/Europe has such an old culture of producing a great variety of apples, importing is literally like "carrying owls to Athens"... Furthermore all apple production should be organic, which is no problem at all when simply looking at this years non-commercial harvest and the huge amount of organic local apples available in the supermarkets... And why on earth would you want to use american apples for your pie, when apples grow in abundance outside your door in the Black Forest???
Bizarre enough, the Italian apples speak German. The vast majority of apples is grown in Alto Adige/sud Tyrol, which is in Italy since the end of WWI but has been since the beginning of times a german/Austrian land. Their architecture is German, they churches are German, the long established apple industry was a thing the Austrian pushed because the Hapsburg Empire loved and needed apples. Set aside chemicals, I wonder how economic it can be to send a ship of apples across the ocean instead of train loads of apples across the Alps.
"Drinking more than 2L a day Soda products...." is not very uncommon in the USA! Actually, that is ONE of many reasons, why there are so many obese people in the USA. Most of them eat to much sugar. All the drive thru restaurants (for example) provide unbelievable big containers, the biggest easily more than 1L per container! You never see this in germany.
why obsolutely want to make apple pie with US apples ? there's good ones locally produced, which didn't need to cross an ocean... better for the planet.
You kind of overheard the fact that Germany is number one Importeur of apples world wide. Ofc you can buy local aplles as well, but there are not enough for all of our population obviously. Or else we wouldn't import that many
I think I have seen Mountain dew in shops over here in Ireland. But, in lot of cases drinks that exist here and over there are often produced with very different recipes
In the UK and Ireland Mountain Dew is sold as an energy drink by Britvic who hold the local rights to manufacture and distribute the PepsiCo brands in GB and Ireland. However they don’t put a lot of energy into the brand as it cuts across some of their other brands in particular R Whites/TK/C&C. Miranda isn’t distributed in the UK as Britvic own Tango, Robinsons, and MiWadi, so aren’t going to pay PepsiCo for a mark which isn’t as well known as their own similar brands.
In the EU (or here in Germany) there (mostly?) can only be products that have been proven safe. If that seal is missing, it just won't cut it bc that also means they're "potentially unsafe". So you can gladly keep your bread, apples and so on. ;P
![Digital Circus Ep 9 Finale [TRAILER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/AjFk1cY265I/mqdefault.jpg)
The EU: "Prove that this additive is safe before you use it."
The US: "Prove that this additive is dangerous before we ban it."
I know which one I prefer.
It's impossible to prove anything 100% safe, even water. I prefer a more risk-based approach rather than a let's-all-be-afraid-of-everything hazard-based approach.
@fl1barrypiper793 BS
That isn't actually the U.S. approach. There are lots of regulatory hurdles to using new food ingredients. And there is a vibrant liability and litigation industry ready to severely punish anyone who puts something deemed unsafe into the food supply.
@ntray3729 he is right, sadly. ...... even our water is full of hormones and nano plastic.....even in switzerland...known for very clean water. greets from swiss
@fl1barrypiper793 And it's nearly impossible to prove that something is dangerous at all unless you die immediately after consuming...! 🙄🤦🏼♂️
I actually like much the EU approach “better safe than sorry” where stuff is deemed unsafe unless proven safe.
"better safe than sorry" that's what popped up immediately. Of course it takes longer to proof that a chemical element, dosage or a certain procedure is un-dangerous, harmless, ie not beneficial or healthy. It might slow down inventions of new ways of mass production of goods. In the pandemic vaccination safety is king. But in capitalism you try to maximize profit on behalf of what, consumer protection, social security of laborforce or animal wellbeing? So as I see it, it's cutting corners in the making, and fixing it in chlorine later on. Still detected salmonella 11%↓8% in US, than only 1% in EU speaks volume to me. Loads of additives to ease a production process or have a very long shelf life.
One of the core reasons I plan to move to the EU. That approach is baked into the culture.
I'm affraid it's not the culture per-se, absent regulations encourage to make a cut. EU citizens are not the better or more civilized people. We need to fight against unfair practises, ie only one side take advantage. See right to repair {on your own, changing 🔋 or display} or Apple try to spare charging devices in there inexpensive phones for lame environment purposes, filling their pockets for extra chargers, avoiding standard USB C interfaces.
It beats the 'Let's wait until people start dying and then we'll do something about it' approach.
@GlenHunt And the bread!
I’m really proud of our European food regulations
European countries think that because hugh fructose corn syrup and GMOs are banned , that people there are protected from our nasty fake crap but you are being tricked by your govts too. How??? Your govt imports this junk for animal feed. You eat the animal, you're eating it.
Well, maybe not proud, but happy!
Don't be. Most, if not all, food is poisonous to your body. Did you even read a label lately?
Yes. I'm anti-EU, but that is one thing that they have done well, in my opinion.
@fairphoneuser9009 LOL
For the apple thing; as a german, me an my family don’t buy apples in stores because we want to protect our original apple varities. My grandfather started this when he transformed one of our fields into an apple farm in the late 50’s. We haven’t stopped collecting/and planting “new” old varities and each year when we harvest we provide our relatives and friends with apple baskets. I’m thankful and really proud of my grandfather for this!
Best German apples grow in own gardens. Or you buy Apples from local producers.
It's actually more like: Food from the U.S.A. is prohibited in whole Europe and not only Germany. And rightfully so.
I can't remember which American sandwich company wanted to open stores in France but had to cancel everything because their 'bread' could only be labelled as 'cake' in France.
@Laure__LineSubway in Ireland had the same problem: their "bread" has too much sugar and it's in the spectrum of cakes, AFAIK
If you'd paid attention, you'd have noticed Ashton says that several times.
I only disagree with the chlorine chicken ban. Chlorine dioxide is not dangerous in these low concentrations, and has been used for over 100 years to purify water in e.g. swimming pools.
@3838skslaoeiwpf So you drink poolwater?
As a german, i love food safety, so i strongly agree with the precautionary principle. That said, the EU obviously uses regulation to protect its agricultural industry from cheap imports. On the other hand I see the US attitude to regulation as an example for the US to always put profits before people.
How does this work? I mean, the europeans farmers have to follow the very same regulations than any non-EU farmer has to who wants to sell in the single market.
Seeing how long it took to ban or regulate some truely harmful products, from lead ( e.g. in fuel, pipes or paint) over asbestos to cigarettes, which where even marketet beneficial for your health back than, i think the approach of the EU is better. Sure, if you want to use another chemical in food, you have the money to proof its harmless. If you just want to use it, because it safes you 2 cents on a five dollar product, maybe the world is better without using it.
@juppjames9635 Exactly. The moment non-EU farmers follow the same regulation, their production cost rises to a comparable level. Plus there is documentation: How do you prove at the border that your product is compliant with EU rules? (Doable, but costly and probably requires an agreement between your government and the EU. That is why trade deals are so important.) Then of course there is the cost of shipping your product from overseas.
@juppjames9635 Your comment sounds as if anyone in the world can export anywhere in the world and the only thing to do is following certain required production standards. But that is not the case at all.
In order to export into the EU single market or into any market in the world there has to be a trade deal in place amongst those countries/blocks in the first place..
...otherwise there are high tariffs on that product which will make that product not competative in that export market and therefore not profitable to export
Best example is the UK after leaving the single market. Their exports of food products into the EU fell into oblivion just because of "the red tape" which is now in place as like as that is in place for every socalled 3rd country... as like needed expensive quality certificates of all kind + tariffs + customs fees etc which raises the costs to export those goods into being not profitable to export into the EU single market anymore.
Bigger UK producers in the UK even had to establish/relocate whole new production lines in EU countries in order to stay in Business which smaller UK producers simply can´t effort to do.
@michaelgrabner8977 The original comment by Jens was specificlly about regulations, and not tariffs. And your competitors within the single market don't have ANY advantage, if you have to follow the same regulations than them, don't they? You might say that you have to prove that you are in in compliance with the regulations is an extra cost, but should the EU just believe corporations when it comes to food standards?
EU hold the benchmark for food safety in the world. Often foods get 'more save' because the foreign producers want acces to the European market. They have to change the products and so their whole productionline and ingredients! Europe is the continent with the most strick food laws in the world. So thank you EU for making indirectly our food (and the world) less toxic👌😉
Here I am sitting in Sweden, upset that we had to lower our standards.
Just checked the recommendation on raw eggs:
Do not eat raw eggs that are not from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, because eggs from other countries do have a significant risk of salmonella.
That is an unproven claim that the EU is the best in the world, yet you have nothing like the californian proposition 65 that forces companies to label their products if they have dangerous chemicals like lead, cadmium, mercury and other carciogenic heavy metals in them, you eat food that contains these and never know it. I know this because some products exported from europe carry the warning here in California, for example for lead.
Salmonella is such fear mongering by the media. They have destroyed insane amounts of food because of it
save? wel soon they want to get rid of it they will sell what wef and eu said ow yes insects no real meat they host a rat to let the cow beef growing in labs safe wel i dont think so they want to get ride of meat chees milk eggs no chicken no bacon no cow thats the plan we go its so serious
as digital money but they also in war with russia thats why tey cant defeat iran they bizzy everywhere those roman reich with manipulated foods drinks
I wonder how strict Japan is. I imagine even more than The EU
I am still hesitant to call the carbohydrate sponge that is sold in American supermarkets "bread"
I had to laugh as an American who hates the typical American sandwich bread when we moved to Poland and they sold what looked like the same tasteless white bread and called it 'tost' bread and charged MORE than the regular 'chleb' which makes wonderful toast. I still can't figure out why any Pole would buy so-called tost bread when they have great chleb which makes far better tost than that stuff.
@beckypetersen2680 it's because it lasts longer, that's the only reason
@ninototo1 OK. that probably makes sense, but you can always freeze the chleb and pull it out as needed.
@beckypetersen2680 many people have no freezers
You can buy better bread in bakeries in the U.S. It's not as convenient as the supermarket, but depending on the bakery there is lots of handcrafted bread types available.
Our supermarket sells "La Brea" bread in the bakery section, which is pretty good.
I have moved to Germany from the USA, this is also my first time coming to Europe. I can easily say that all the food here tastes much more fresh than American food. Everything isn't overwhelmingly sweet too, it's really nice and I prefer it this way.
I found the same when visiting Italy!
@thestraightroad305interesting is, we German think, things are more sweeter in Italy then in Germany! 😅 Not everything!
@SoneaT 😊👍🏻 How I look forward to visiting Germany someday!
@thestraightroad305 as I looking forward to visiting the USA! Though I don't know if you are from there😅. But I hope you can come to visit Germany, as it is really beautiful 😍
@SoneaT yes I’m from the USA, and I have seen pictures and videos of Germany. It looks just beautiful. My daughter and her family are living in Italy for a couple of years, I know they want to visit your country!
Seems to me that Germany is very health conscious, and prefer organic, as in REALLY organic to things on the food that is not food. I'm with Germany on this.
But why do Germans go to the Netherlands and buy a lot of US and Asian import foods?
Organic food is entirely different again. And it's marked. There is the EU label for organic food, but also a couple of organizations with stricter regulations to get their label.
Organic is Banned because of the enviromental damage its fertilisers and Pestecides causes.
@HappyBeezerStudiosno there isnt we have Bio what is an totaly diffrent Methode from Organic farming.
Organic farming is banned because of its fertalizers and Pestecides beeing banned.
But even comercial farming uses less harmfull product even basic Things like Backingpowder
@TeRenner123 that means 14% of the farms in Germany are illegal, and farmers are making over 15 billion € with it annually.
Or in other words. The US is more business friendly rather than consumer friendly in their approach to food safety. Who would have thought.....
I'm shocked! Shocked i say!
The US of A, where your safety means jack shit if we can make a huge profit
Could we please change that?!! No amount of money equals the value of our loves and selves.! I'd do without a lot of things.
@franklinshriver8441 NOT THATS SOCIALISM!!!!!! /s
well i wouldnt say buisness friendly and in Germany it is too hard to open a buisness btw for a normal guy who doesnt want to read 10000 laws. The main point of the government is to protect the country from Dangers from outside and protect the nature ... and well part one is mostly done by all countries, but part 2 is mostly ignored.
While it may seem draconian to food manufacturers, the EU policy of erring on the side of caution seems a more prudent approach. There are plenty of stories told by US citizens that spend considerable time in Europe, how they lost weight and felt better during their stay, and then felt sick for a while when returning back to the states. That may only be anecdotal evidence, but still evidence that there IS a difference between EU and US food!
Sounds true. But the EU is still controlled by the US in many regards - so I hope we can keep up these upper standards. 😬
I felt sick for around a month after visiting the US, my friend did as well. I completely broke out, felt bloated, gained weight and was just not in a good mood at all. I think most Americans would need the possibility to leave their country for some time to learn about the importance of good food safety, how do you want to know how bad your food is when you never had the chance to try something else?
@serpent213 Controlled ???????????? By what ? FULL direct legal source links, please. The blind comment is useless.
I lived in the US for a long time, when I moved to another country I dropped a bunch of weigh and felt a lot better immediately
So true. I always go to the garden in my own yard first. Never have trusted government with my food.
I'm watching twitch streamers from the US for many years now. They often talk about what fast food they had that day and almost never prepare their meals themselves. So far alone this one streamer had four food poisenings. In contrast in my 40 years in Germany I only know of one person that had problems and that was because he ate a potato salad with eggs which were too old.
Honestly, I would be scared to go out eating in the US.
@Lothar Freitag well, kebab is fast food.
@Lothar Freitag tbh I'd like to try them at least once, because I always here about chains like taco bell, Wendy's, Popeyes, In-N-Out, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A and whatever else there is just for the experience as they don't exist here
@Lothar Freitag I live in the US, and where I live we don't have kebabs. I went to Europe and man, kebabs and fish and chips are on every corner.
In the US we do have food trucks that make pretty good food. But it is not everywhere, and sometimes it is more expensive than fast food value menu sandwich.
The people who work in food production & preparation/serving usually have little or no paid sick leave. So turning up for work when you probably shouldn't is normal in the US
@mackereltabbie it's not just the food industry but many many other places where not being able to take sick leave is a practice. Sometimes it'd guit and shame from peers or bosses that makes people come to work sick. Luckily covid is changing this. I'm hoping that work places continue encouraging and allowing sick people to stay home when sick.
I've heard about 2 unrelated people who traveled to Australia and Ireland. They each lost weight outside the US without changing diet or activity level. They each attributed it to additives in American food.
People with gastrointestinal problems also Report feeling better outside of the US.
I can attest to that. I moved from the US to the Netherlands about 5 years ago, and in the first six months, I lost 15 kg without doing anything different in my diet.
What this demonstrates for me is how far outside the mainstream my food habits are. I exclusively buy eggs and dairy from the farmers market, because I have visited the farms and seen how they treat the animals. For that matter, I also buy the apples at the farmers market, and yes, there are occasionally blemishes. Honestly what I find terribly bizarre is that strange wax they cover supermarket fruit in. The bottom line is that I far prefer knowing that the kale I will buy at the market tomorrow was literally just pulled from the ground today, and I embrace the idea that meals will change with the seasons.
Another great post.
Apples: 😁
Apples in US supermarkets look pristine, polished and enticing. They taste of nothing!
In EU supermarkets they mostly look gnarled, patchy and small (in comparison). But they have heaps of taste.
For me, regardless of the biological or chemical prohibitions, I'd go for European apples any day.
We touched on the "perfectness" of American food in grocery stores a while back, but it really is an interesting issue. There's a growing movement to normalize "ugly" food to reduce food waste.
@TypeAshton do lesser quality foods in the US (like apples that aren't up to the highest standard) not get used for juices and stuff?
I never have like apples from the American grocery store. My mom has apple trees , so I have had the tasty alternative
I picked apples in America many years ago that were for sale. Most people don’t understand that they may be getting apples that have been in cold storage for quite some time and as i understand it as much as 5-8 years. Other produce can come out of storage after quite some time too. I know that I am looking for to tell me how fresh the produce is so I don’t buy old food that way. Bread is junk for the most part where I live and if is “squishes” it is just junk filled with air that I don’t waste my money to buy. The problem with produce that has been in cold storage for a while is that it spoiled faster than from a fresh crop so I decide carefully how much to buy in off seasons and am prepared to can, dry or freeze it so it doesn’t spoil on me before I can use it.
There are only a very few American apples I'll buy. Most are very tasteless with a terrible texture. The good ones come from local farms and are varieties I've never heard of before, but they're amazing. I don't think they'd ship well. Other than that, pink lady or honeycrisp, but very little else.
The more important question is: do we have to import cheap chicken? Oversweet soda? US American apples? I don't even buy Chilenean oder New Zeeland Apples. And there are enough chicken farmers and apple farmers (and everything else) in my region to buy regional (and seasonal).
Regional sadly is not equivalent to being more ecological and having a better CO2 footprint.
@BlueFlash215 Well, yes it is when compared to food already transported a few thousend kilometres to start with
@antonb9459 no it's not. Food that traveled thousand miles per ship produces less CO2 because of the huge amount of food you can store on just one single ship.
A regional food may seem more ecological but trucks and train just can't transport as much as one ship.
Don't get me wrong, I prefer as much regional food as available. But the facts are sadly like I state above...
@DJST1NG3R well yes it is. A Truck that drives 20 kilometers loaded with apples produces less CO2 than a ship that is under way for thousands of kilometers. Im sure you meant the right thing, but Transportation is important among many other things regarding the footprint. Don't say it isn't . Thats Blashpemy!
@CosinusCarl I never said it isn't. And yes a truck that drives 20 kilometer loaded with produces infact less CO2 than a container ship. But to bring the same amount that a ship can transport it produces more CO2 (depending a bit on the length of the route) than the ship. Cause the ship can transport 10 thousand of tons with just one drive.
And if you read my first comment right you must have understand that I prefer food that is regional and have a very short transportway.
What I state above and in the other comment are just the existing facts. It doesn't mean I'm prefer that method.
While travelling in the US and buying a lot of my food in the supermarket I have to say: many things tasted disgusting, like chewing on chemicals.
Right. I live in the US and don't eat a lot of store bought processed things. I recently went to Europe for two weeks. Then came home and I noticed that I have more gastrointestinal issues. Minor things but still it was noticeable.:(
Europe has better quality food.
@juliawashburn675 Yes. And that’s one of the reasons the trade agreement didn’t go through some years ago. US food has a number of ingredients forbidden in the EU, one of the things were chlorine washed chicken.
@claudiakarl2702 Europe washes their vegetables in chlorine.
@MissRegionRat No. They don’t. Where did you get that information?
@claudiakarl2702 not sure why my reply poofed so apologies if this shows twice, but this was well-documented during Brexit a few years ago. The weird fear y’all had of chlorine used to wash chicken clashed with y’all using it to wash bagged salads, etc. You also use chlorine to treat your tap water. You literally drink it just like Yankee heathens. All of this is easy to find in any search engine.
Another point - perhaps already mentioned in some comments - is that a lot of foods in the US contain high fructose syrup either as a substitute for genuine sugar or added for the purpose of being a preservative that extends shelf life. I think it is one of those reasons why many foods are sweeter in the US. Also, if I'm not mistaken, that is one of the contributing factor to the obesity problem. There a timeline correlation between increasing obesity and the presence of high fructose syrup in various foods.
HFGS is used because it is cheaper than sucrose. HFGS is sweeter than sucrose because it is a glucose and fructose mixture. If they didn't use HFGS they could use "Invert syrup" which is produced by breaking sucrose into glucose and fructose with heat and acid.
ask maby isreal they have informations alot alot alot they there lifes purpese is to destroy others life to gain more for themselfs thats all they never changes but know they do it on slow slow they make money its slaves trick here some changes go build work here some little bit food but its not your land or food or house it theres if they say you must pay higher every year wel
why not pay more every month its getting more sick minded soon its never good decade always crisis we must war this others did it we dont do blablablabla
And growth increasing hormones in beef ?
It DOES make Americans, like Trump, fat! It is because America has high sugar tariffs.
High fructose corn syrup is allowed and used in Germany. It goes by a different name, but there isn't enough corn there to make it economical. Much of the sugar in Germany comes from beets, not sugar cane.
Hi from South Africa. I use unbleached organic pure flour, brown bread flour, and spices WITHOUT FLOUR! And it's delicious! From my Mom's side, her great grandpa came from Germany in the 1800s, my Mom is German, and I grew up with traditional German food and a German culture. We take our health and what we eat very seriously. Very health conscious.
Food in South Africa is the best!
Another German South African.
Only thing to compare is a trip to Germany. The patisserie in Germany is as good as France.
The key thing about chlorinated chicken is *not* that it is chlorinated - we eat salads that have been washed with the same chemicals without any concern - the issue is that USAlien chicken *has* to be chlorinated because it has been kept in such unsanitary conditions that it is dangerous to eat _without_ the chlorine.
In sweden it is even stricter with salmonella an chicken.
The presence of salmonella in chicken is essential 0, so low that you can eat it raw.
If salmonella is found in chicken farmer all chickens are killed, every chicken at that farm is burned and the hole place is disinfected.
Scorched earth principles...
😨
Also a side note: we (my mum tought me so i assume everyone learns it) learn as kids: raw chicken meat will kill you, multi resistent bacteria everywhere, disinfect every surface with boiling water and knife the raw chicken touched, use plastic cutting boards and never wood.. we germans know, that even we've got measures to enforce "some" animal health it won't protect us from getting frikkin sick if you handle your food not properly.
What about organic free range chicken?
@susan3200 don't know i don't trust the labels xD i sanitize anything that had contact with raw chicken so nothing can happen haha
There is a belief in Europe that chlorinating chicken may be safe to the consumer BUT it is UN necessary if good hygiene measures are applied throughout the process. In other words it is a cheap and easy way to avoid implementing hight standards in both hygiene and animal welfare. (and allowing the production of cheaper products that undercut the local producers who DO invest in high standards).
Probably we have to take into account the low level of education and intelligence in general among the population in the USA. Thus it makes sense to chlorine chicken to lower deaths or poisoning in the USA.
@Kevin-bl6lg We may have lower education but we are not uneducated. We are certainly not stupid. Thanks
@tammyparish9340 I think this isn't a complaint about American people but about American education system
No the issue is that even with washing with chlorinated water, you are over 10 times more likely to catch Salmonella in the USA than in Europe. Ideally, we would like to wash our chicken in chlorine too, and make it even safer. However while the USA insists on appalling animal welfare standards and disgusting abattoir practices the ban will have to stay in place to keep by European standards dangerous chicken raised to unacceptable welfare standards out.
About chlorinated chicken:
My concern is not about the chlorine but about a production method that can't do without.
Yeah, I agree. The American market is really tough for farmers to NOT handle animals commercially. Our family used to raise hogs, but stopped in the 80's because there weren't any profits unless you ran a HUGE operation.
I think that is the EU's concern too.
There is more chlorine in your tap water. Chlorinated chicken is a myth. Yes, the birds are passed through a dilute solution of calcium hypochlorite (HTH) after evisceration. This is because the eviscerator might damage the large intestine, and allow faecal matter into the cavity. The HTH solution kills any pathogens. Rest assured the birds are completely washed in purified water after passing through the HTH solution.
I live in a town that it's major production plant is chicken. Chlorine is necessary to kill all the bacteria and virus contamination. It's safe, it's effective and it's cheap. It's also in drinking water. You get more exposure to it when doing laundry or or swimming.
The existence of bodybuilders prove, that its possible to eat a risky amount of chicken. Its better ro be careful and not borderline poison youre people.
I was in Europe back in 2004-Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland & Holland. The food was so simple and amazing! I’ve been depressed about the food here in the US ever since and it’s getting unbelievably worse. They are killing us here.
58 live in U.S. and you are spot on!
Bread was the biggest difference I found. The taste, smell, and texture between American bread and German bread is completely different.
They are. For profit.
A recent survey fond that right now, [May 2025] 60% of Americans can't afford "all the basics".
I think Americans misunderstand British and European meals that are very simple and think they are tasteless. I watch a lot of American cooking shows and absolutely everything seems to have garlic powder and loads of salt . I just made my evening meal. Sourdough bread( flour and water) olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes and olives and British Brie. Huge pile of homegrown salad leaves. Mix it all together and eat with the bread. Lovely….. no salt no garlic powder, just simple gorgeous food.
@courgette3401 There's a lot of truth in that and I think the problem is, as Richard Hammond said, "Americans think luxury is making something bigger." I mean look at what they have done to European classics like pizza and IPA. "Italian" food in America is little more than an exercise in cramming as much fat into a bowl as possible. They totally miss the point. As for the joy of walking for 15 minutes to your local high street, buying carefully-grown produce from various specialists, then going home to make, e.g. Beef in red wine for 3-4 hours?. Well, American society has lost that, if it ever had it. French bakeries are open to accommodate The Bread Run, which is traditionally 3 times per day. There are few things in life more wholesome and satisfying than a still-warm baguette spread with high quality butter, especially if it is then dipped into hot black coffee. A proper baguette is at its best for about 45 minutes and suffocates instantly if packed in plastic. Tomatoes that taste of something. Proper tea [which I have come to appreciate after spending time in China]. Mushrooms fried in butter. GM-free, natural, in-season produce, cooked to enhance their flavour. All these have been lost in the travesty of a society that Americans have had imposed on them. I would feel really sorry for them if it weren't for the fact that so many of them think they are God's Gift to the world.
as an older person in alabama, i have often complained that foods often don't taste nearly as good as they did when i was growing up, or even when i started my own household. for example, the additives or way cheese is made makes most brands taste like cardboard. when young, i always bought kraft brand, but now i never touch it. i'd rather do without than buy stuff that tastes that awful. there are lots of other examples i could give, too. lots of things done in this arena are to preserve stuff, but that comes at the expense of taste. anyway, i could rant on this for quite awhile, but you get the idea.
It is a sore spot, considering how much really amazing cheese there is out there.
I very much like European food standards even if they go to far sometimes.
Every time me and my parents go to North America, we break out in acne and gain weight, eating the same things we do back home.
German way: Don’t throw children in the water unless you know they can swim
USA way: Let them throw the kids into the water, If they drown we try to help
This was the thinking 40+ years ago. Children are protected now (which they should be). Nowadays kids go to swim classes. In areas where pools, lakes, canals, and/or ocean is common the city and the YMCA offers free swim lessons ages 6 months to 99+ years for people who can't afford swim lessons. In areas where pools etc isn't common they start learning to swim for free at 5 years. My 2 year old already knows how to swim better than alot of adults. She just doesn't have the endurance. I did this when living in Switzerland without a swimming pool in the backyard also.
In areas where pools and lakes are common everyone thinks a 6 month old learning to save itself is drowning. To an untrained person they think the 6 month old is drowning. They aren't. They are holding their breath so they can't drown. The babies are learning to survive if they should fall into the pool without an adult knowing.
@jessicaely2521 Happy to hear that this crude thing is of the past. But is the idea behind what I described really history? Is the “winner takes all” thinking really not existing anymore? I am not convinced...
@wr6293 it's not the way you think. Up north where people didn't have pools in their backyard kids didn't learn how to swim unless their parent knew how to swim and the parents made an effort to teach their child to swim. My mom never learned how to swim. My mom only knew how not to drown. My dad had some lessons from his dad, but not much. My parents were born up north. The kids born in the south and had pools in their backyard would either learn how to swim because they fell in, their parents were around when they fell in, they drowned, or their parents were rich enough to afford swim lessons. The people in the south and who had pools didn't have the technology that we do now. Nowadays we have pool alarms for when a child falls in the pool, a sturdy mesh fence that goes around the pool to keep kids out, and better locks for door leading out to the pool. When I was a kid we didn't have the fancy technology (fence, pool alarm, and locks). What we did have when I was a kid is cheap swim lessons (it still wasn't free). I learned to swim by a teacher when I was 1 years old.
Edit the areas where they don't have swimming pools they really don't do "winner takes all." They never purposely did this. It's a requirement by home owner insurance companies to have a pool fence and/or a pool alarm around the pool. We found out about secondary drowning. This is when kids look fine right after they almost drown, but go and die hours later because the way their body reacted to fluid in their lungs. People don't want their child to die. Also if you do this and Department of Children Services finds out about this from a neighbor you will possibly loose your children and be charged with child abuse. If your child dies and it's known that you threw your child into the swimming pool you will be charged with their death. Kids are overprotected in some areas in the US. I mean outside the US have you ever heard of a parent being arrested for child abuse because they told their child to play in the backyard without you being outside? This happens in the US. Playgrounds are super safe in the US. My daughter doesn't like going to pthe playground here in the US because it's boring. My daughter was born in Switzerland and spent the first 5 years of her life in Switzerland. It's unheard of for schools not to allow kids to walk to school in Germany and Switzerland. Kids are expected to walk to school in some areas of Germany and Switzerland at 5. A mother in Texas was arrested for child abuse because she allowed her kid to walk to school. The family lived next door to the school. The kid only had to go out their gate and the child was on school property. The charges fell through and the mom sued the school and city, but still the mom lost her child while fighting the charges. There are schools in the US where they won't accept anyone coming to school by foot even if the parent walks with the child. The child HAS TO be dropped off by car.
@jessicaely2521 Dear Jessica, I respectfully disagree with your statement that “winner takes all” was not on purpose.
Public pools have been systematically been closed in the USA and hence only those with access to private pools or clubs with pools where in the lucky position of being able to learn swimming…
@wr6293 You aren't separating north from south. Places like California, Florida, etc it's common to have a pool in the backyard, beach within driving distance, OR a man-made lake in the backyard. Even apartment complexes had swimming pools in Florida. Florida has the Everglades and kids swim there a lot. Florida you can also wait for a good rain during the summer and swim in the low lying areas. This was all 40+ years ago. I don't think you understand how much water there is in places like Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, parts of Texas, and parts of California. The Northerners were on their own. There are lakes, rivers, and ponds they could swim in but again your paremt(s) had to know how to swim and took the time to teach you how to swim.
Nowadays every city in the US has a public pool and it's $1-$10 to swim. Kids under 5 are free in a lot of areas. YMCA has swim lessons based on your income. If you're poor you pay a little. If you're rich you pay alot. Also alot of YMCA's in the US are offering Learn to Swim program which teaches school age children how to swim. Kids would practice what they learned with an adult at the lake, pond, river, pool, etc. I was an instructor for this program. This is an article about the program in my local newspaper.
YMCA offers free lessons with 'Learn to Swim' program
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) - With summer right around the corner, pool safety is vital for families with children, but swim lessons aren’t always affordable. The YMCA is helping to bridge the gap for underserved communities.
Amy Kennedy has been involved in the YMCA “Learn to Swim” program since 2010.
“It’s very important for your kid to learn how to swim,” she said. “Anything can happen. They could fall, they could trip and fall not even into a pool, into a lake or pond. You don’t need very much water to drown. Just knowing what to do in that situation helps out a lot. There’s a lot of apartment complexes out there that have pools and they don’t have lifeguards, so the kids need to be aware.”
Kennedy told News 2 many of the children that come into her class are fearful, while others are very curious.
The Learn to Swim program is a partnership between the YMCA and Metro-Nashville schools, which provides swim lessons for first and second graders during their PE program for free.
The response from parents has been positive.
“I’ve heard from the teachers that they’re extremely excited that they’ve been able to have the opportunity , that their kids are able to learn something so important that they couldn’t provide,” Kennedy said.
The program takes place at four different locations and lasts 14 weeks. That’s plenty of time, according to Kennedy, for the kids become more comfortable in the water.
“We heard a little boy say to one of our instructors that he’s not scared anymore. That’s huge because that little boy was almost in tears when we first started the program, and now he’s jumping into 12 foot,” she said.
If there are parents out there interested in their schools participating in the program, they should reach out to their school’s administrators.
allowed until proven dangerous or not allowed until proven safe
Well, I prefer the second.
By the way: There are many aspects of life where the second principle applies even in the US. e.g. driving licenses. No one is allowed to drive a car until one has proven to having the knowledge of how to drive a car safely. Also in medicine: Not everyone is allowed to treat patients. They have to prove that they're no danger to their patients.
I heard that there was also some different approaches to pharmaceuticals under these premises... 🤔
hey, everyone knows that guns dont kill people, in the USA....
Wrong on the meds - i can’t take the meds here for most issues unless I want to be worse off than I am without them. Good food has proven to be a better promoter of health than drugs especially since Dec 2019
A major problem with the "allowed until proven dangerous" approach is that as long as there isn't any data, something can't be proven harmful. Basically the "this sign can't stop me, because I can't read" approach to food safety.
But you are allowed to drive a car without a license.
You're not allowed on public roads..
Alcohol has been proven unsafe, yet still allowed.
Smoking has been proven unsafe, yet still allowed. And seems quite popular still in Germany.
Sugar causes diabetes yet still allowed.
One more coming back to this video since things have changed now from 2024: BVO (Brominated Vegetable Oil, a food additive used as a stabilizer in citrus-flavored drinks) is now heavily restricted or banned in many regions, not only the EU (since 2008) but now also in the US (as of July 2024), due to potential health risks. It was banned due to concerns over bromine accumulation in tissues and adverse thyroid effect. Beverages that still contain BVO in the U.S. include Sun Drop, made by Keurig Dr Pepper, and Orangette orange soda, sold at Walmart, according to their ingredient lists as of 2 Aug 2024 but maybe these have been stopped too meanwhile.
Respect for all the work you put into this video. It shows. It goes far beyond what can usually be expected from videos of this kind.
Thank you very much for your contribution. I have been following your channel for quite a while. As someone who moved to the US from Germany for four years, I find the food comparison very interesting.
It is well known that Germany has the strictest food laws in the world, some of which even exceed the regulations of the EU. But what struck me most in the USA is what the FDA apparently allows in food. When American cheese has to be labeled as "cheese flavored" at the counter or even $5 pasta tastes like you're biting on plastic, you question the FDA system and the so-called approach of "proves." After 2 months in the USA, I almost felt compelled to shop expensively at Whole Foods because I couldn't be sure what I was really getting on my plate anywhere else. Even though I love the USA, this is where I feel there is catching up to do on the US side.
"Come frequently in contact with in our daily lives pretty frequently": "gasoline exhaust"
Last time I checked those fumes weren't recommended in spa treatments. And while yes, we do come in contact with exhaust gases frequently, it is not recommended to make a conscious effort to seek them out. On the contrary, if you need to be exposed to higher concentrations, gas filter masks are advised.
As with most substances, the dosage is relevant. Coming in contact with Aloe Vera once every two years is different from having a daily dose in products made with flour. Which are ubiquitous.
Innocent until proven guilty is good for the legal system, but bad for the food safety system.
When I visited Germany years ago I asked someone why the orange crush drink I got was not orange. I was told about them not using artificial dyes and stuff. I didn't see anything wrong with that. I even liked that they were concerned about people's health. And their food in Germany was delicious. I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't a big fan of sauerkraut, but their food is so much more than sauerkraut.
Orange Fanta in Europe looks more like carbonated orange juice because the color is closer to juice. Most orange sodas in the U.S. have an intense orange color.
Fun fact: Sauerkraut is originally from Alsace/France.
Sauerkraut is so good!
@Goddybag4Lee maybe in Germany it's good but I'm not crazy about the kraut made in the US, specially the canned stuff that tastes like can.
@susanfarley1332 should be sold in glas jars!
As a European in the EU, i am glad that my food is safe to eat.
comparing US bread with German bread is comparing the drawings of a 10 month old toddler to a Rubens painting...
*lol*
You need to say some US bread. There's organic (bio) bread in the US. The only things in my bread in the US Organic whole wheat organic whole wheat flour, organic cracked whole wheat, water, organic cane sugar, organic 21 Whole Grains and Seeds mix organic whole flax seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic ground whole flax seeds, organic brown sesame seeds, organic triticale (this was invented in Scotland or Germany), organic pumpkin seeds, organic rolled barley, organic rolled oats, organic rolled rye, organic black sesame seeds, organic cornmeal, organic millet, organic rolled spelt, organic brown rice flour, organic amaranth flour, organic yellow cornmeal, organic quinoa, organic buckwheat flour, organic sorghum flour, organic poppy seeds), organic wheat gluten, organic oat fiber, contains 2% or less of each of the following: organic molasses, sea salt, yeast, organic vinegar.
@jessicaely2521 American bread is still nothing compared to german bread
@keronimo5713 typical foreigner. You haven't tried every single bread in the US. You can't make a generalization like this.
... Most American bread shouldn't even be called bread -_-
*All* beverages contain a flame retardant. It's called "Dihydrogen Monoxide", or you may know it by the name "water".
Never trust a bread that can be kept in the fridge without tasting terrible. Never trust a bread that can sit on the counter for weeks without molding.
I never had Trouble eating bread untill i was in America. It tastes bad, way to sweet, i was bloated, my belly hurt, felt terrible.
Bread should be stale in 3 days and mood within a week. Keeping it in a fridge makes it stale in a day. Not? I pass.
American laws are in favor of companies. European laws are considering the environment, people and the animal.
Bread should be stale in 3 days? So you don't like/trust the good old Schwarzbrot (pumpernickle) or Knäckebrot (crispbread)? ;)
Was ein Quatsch. Traditionelles deutsches Roggenbrot hält sich mehrere Wochen ohne Kühltruhe. Sättigt etwas älter sehr viel besser als ganz frisch und ist auch bekömmlicher.
Ich hab gerade Gulaschsuppe gegessen und hatte ein Brötchen vom letzten Wochenende dazu, trocken, aber ideal, um es in die Suppe zu brocken. Natürlich ein Brötchen vom traditionellen Bäcker und kein Formstück aus der Großbäckerei.
@raythevagabond3724 well crisp bread is dry already.
@raythevagabond3724 just regular bread you put peanutbutter on it for lunch. Yeah that is stale in 3 days. And in summer mold grows on it with a 5 days. Knäckebröd is a cracker not a bread. But when opened those are getting softer.
Sure crackers and ryebread and some others will be okay for weeks but just normal bread with yeast..the best is gone within days and it molds within a week.
Nonsense. I bake my own bread and keep it in the fridge so it won't grow mold. It's delicious.
We take "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" very seriously in germany
14:25 you know something is totally not okay when even China bans it
"If you drink more than 2l of any soda per day, you're going to have health problems" - nope. One year, might have been 1991, I was working part-time for UPS, loading parcels into containers for long distance transport. In summer, I drank well over three liters of Coke in those four hours of work. If that had been Mt. Dew, I'd have been in trouble. So, I'm ok with the authorities banning an ingredient that you might end up ingesting in dangerous amounts.
LOL.. Vita Cola. The East German clone of Coca Cola (tried it in 1986 when visiting my relatives in eastern Germany, was underwhelmed).
Regarding the different approaches to food safety, I seem to remember the long, drawn-out fights by some individuals against large corporations after getting harmed by some ingredient. It's much easier for a large corporation to prove something is safe than for an individual to prove something is unsafe. If the corporation doesn't want to (or they want to fight the individual because it's just cheaper to keep using the harmful ingredient), in the US the can do so, in the EU, they have to contend first with actual experts that have the power to simply tell them NO! and make it stick.
So, while the EU regulations often place traditional methods of doing something in jeopardy, they seem to be a good idea when dealing with creative uses of potentially hazardous chemicals in food.
Over 3 liters of Cola a day of course causes health problems. Maybe you didn't drop dead, but I'm quite it harmed you a lot (way too much sugar, weakened bone structure from phosphoric acid, results if high doses of caffeine...).
Obviously you don't know a lot about nutrition and biology. Hope your heart is ok and you changed your lifestyle. Our body is able to come back from a lot of damage over time .
Smoking can't be dangerous, because my smoking grandfather became over 100 years old
@ravanpee1325 if you dont know how to smoke and if you dont know whats inside and your time grandfather is diffrent he had much vitamines real fresh food no additivse thats why he lives so long like mostly rich older ones they get old we dont even make it so much sugar so much manipulated food for profit remeber they they lived ina short golden years then they lose wars because here they again to make war ? you know its profitable if its war prices goes up its decades like that its same teams too doing it agian first it was climate then it changed in war its same like in old days never good always crisis how bigger the land how more crisis they have roman reich idea but they didnt figure out why they lose till this day look there lands so small big mouth the enemys still there bigger now and stronger all to safe the jews yeah right europeans roman reich have many fake jewish killer roman ideas
@Stracciways23 Converted to one liter Cola: around 35 sugar cubes of sugar...I don't know how to convert for corn syrup :D there's a reason so many US people today are fat and have diabetes or other health problems
I buy my groceries from local producers. My groceries are therefore seasonal. I don't feel restricted and am looking forward to the seasonal delicacies
They taste soooo much better in season too!
if you have harris or trump it willl go away always the one hate outsiders is the one that killed your land
I’ve found pink lady apples in my compost heap while digging it out in Ireland. Everything else around them is compost. Strange!
NOTHING is more American than drinking two liters of soda a day! 🤣
Was expecting low effort crappy clickbait family content but this was very informative. You obviously put a lot of effort into the research and the presentation was very well done too. Good Job 😅
There is, of course, a huge difference between having to prove that an ingredient in a food is harmful after it has gone on sale, and ensuring that an ingredient in a food is guaranteed to be harmless before production.
Unfortunately, in the U.S., much is left up to the manufacturing companies. This may be one reason why the average life expectancy in the USA is 4 years less than in Germany.
Or it may not be.
I rather think, the 2nd amendment is the reason for the lower average life expectancy in the US
And the obesity rate is twice as high as in Germany.
an apple a day DOES keep the doctor away - if well aimed and hurled with enough force.
hahahaha okay this comment might be a contender for comment of the day. 😂
I think a good example of good quality in Germany is the frequent checks. It is not uncommon to see a message from a manufacturer in the supermarket that a product is being recalled. because there could potentially have been a problem in the charger or it could have come into contact with something bad. it does not necessarily have to be proven, the possibility is sufficient. It can be contaminated, so you can return and exchange it free of charge in any supermarket.
I know that a friend’s daughter who went to study in Germany had much fewer problems with her stomach than in the US. She could eat items in Germany that she couldn’t in the US.
I've noticed I have less problems with dairy here too.
I went to Ireland for about 2 weeks and could eat bread without bloating! Here, In the US, I eat gluten free (not crappy GF substitutes, just no wheat).
I'm all about research and as an american I don't eat so many different foods here. I was happy to see you are on point when it comes to doing your research. JOB WELL DONE
There must be a reason that people in europe and japan can expect to live longer than in the us. Also the US is the only First World Nation where the Life Expectancy is shrinking since some years.
But I think that is mainly because of our healthcare-systems. We don't stay at home and die, we call an ambulance and don't worry about the cost...
I'm sure access to healthy, balanced meals is part of it. Also in combination with a more sedentary lifestyle and lack of affordable access to preventative healthcare plays a part too. We sadly notice how much more of an issue obesity is in the US every time we go back .
Our european approach to food safety (and to safety in general) is influenced by history. Look up Thalidomide (in Germany infamous as Contergan). In those days, it was still more a "let's assume it's safe if the producer says it is".
The error was that the molecular was mirror-inverted
We had thalidomide here too, but continue to pander to the chemical giants.
Short story: An american friend of mine once sent me a package with different stuff. And I was wondering why he sent me sponges!? o_O But they worked very well! So nevermind! Some days later we phoned and he asked me how I liked the bread and me was like: "There was no bread in the package!" ... I mean: That says a lot about american bread! I didn't even recognized it as bread! I though those were sponges! Well, ... tells a lot about the bread quality in the US ... :-( *lol - I guess I'll stay with my german bread instead! :-)
The only fault, and I mean the only fault, about American toast bread they can't make at all. They call it American sandwich bread where you can eat without the toaster, but you cannot. It does not taste good.
With that said, the German bread is much better than the bread in the USA
I love this comment. That America feed poor people.
That's sadly funny.
No I would really love to see a picture of the bread/sponges that you got.
As a German who ate an apple while watching this, I had to laugh at 11:17 xD
You do a good job researching topics. Thanks.
I am sorry but I prefer precaution like we have in Europe. I don’t want trash in my food „just in case it might be safe“. The need to prove their ingredients are safe first.
I am sorry Ashton but this video is too "blue-eyed" for me!
You did mention one crucial point only in passing and might have missed it yourself:
In the US risk assessment is mainly done by the companies themselves! Companies can declare their products as "Generally Recognized As Safe". For me, this is the same as declaring the goat as the gardener. ((Ziegen) Bock zum Gärtner machen). In these cases, the FDA only does a check if the company asks for it!
Since its implementation in 1997, a further 250 food additives have been added to the US market. Of course, I am sure the companies have run extensive and expensive tests by independent labs to ensure the safety of their customers...
Also what American Bread are you talking about, please? Isn't it counted as a cake due to the high sugar percentage? ;)
|| declaring the goat as the gardener ||
nice saying, we say "Put the fox in charge of the chicken coop"
@giacomoboffi9394 German sayings are vegetarian. 😉
Of course risk assessment studies in the U.S. are primarily done by companies-they are the ones applying for safety review, and naturally they should pay for the expensive part of the process. That doesn't mean the studies are flawed; there's huge risk to a company bringing an unsafe product to market. It behooves them to have confidence in safety before applying.
@TheAntibozo You kind of overstimate the fear of responsibility of companies. If the profit margine is higher then the expected penalty for doing bad stuff, companies will do it anyway. Opiod-crisis in the US is probably one of the best examples for it. Car companies also do it a lot.
If you find out 5 years later that the stuff is carciogenic, the harm is already done. No money in the world is probably worth getting cancer.
How many substances were forbidden by EPA in US last decades? Oh well...
I could taste the chlorine in certain brands of American chicken. My friends and family all told me I was crazy, but I could never finish a chicken dinner because the meat tasted like it had been brined in a public pool. Bone-in breasts had the strongest clorine flavor, particularly the meat/juices closest to the breast bone.
Same here, when it was still allowed in the EU.
Guess why aMurican food products are flavored that much. Right.
You’re crazy. 🤷🏻♂️Chlorine breaks down very fast as you know if you have a pool. Depends on where you live (how far from the water plant) the water can have a heavy chlorine taste. But you definitely won’t taste it in chicken.
When the carcass is being prepared, a machine rips out the lungs and internal organs, which often split or break, showering the meat with salmonella. This is why they sterilise it with chlorine. They are doing this because they know that most of the birds are infected, due to the awful conditions they keep them in.
I really like how well researched your videos are (not only this particular one). There are dozens of videos like these with more or less click-baity titles - but most of them are repeating each other without adding value. Thank you!
Your videos go far beyond simple onset. Nice job digging deeper into available information and working to provide perspective. I’ll be looking at your other videos. Thanks.
Sounds like 'Die first, sue later"
I live in NYC, since 2000, from Milan. I was chatting with the manager of a relatively upscale Italian restaurant (not Italian-American, true Italian/Tuscan). In NY they can not serve cheese or cold cuts like prosciutto/raw ham at room temperature like in Italy. That is why they have to slice the prosciutto paper thin, unlike in Italy. Otherwise, it would be too cold and hard to serve. Cheeses like Taleggio, which are very ripe and decadent need to be served at room temperature. In NY they seem to enforce very cold temperatures. If you buy a $12 baguette sandwich at the airport or some chains like Pret à Manger in NYC, these baguettes will be bought and eaten fridge cold. In Italy €6 panini often sit during rush hour at room temperature and they are grilled or eaten as they are. It is interesting that in the USA artificial flavors, colors, chemicals, unhealthy fats, and huge amounts of corn syrup are allowed in processed foods, but they are so strict in keeping all food extremely cold.
europe has mostly bought form isrealis america or urkaine poland compnaies dont you agreed we have mostly brands drink its from them who knows whats in it you go in supermakets and buy
buy buy eat do you care if your hungery thats the tool of roman reich now make them desparet prices high goes up for fake choclate manipukated foods meats fruit in europe its all fake very low vitamines in the supermarket
They're covering themselves. At least you don't live in.....is it Vermont, where by law apple pie has to be served with cheese!
@SteveConkie-t6rwhat, seriously? Why cheese with apple pie?
@stefpix No idea, but it is the law. 😃
Have you tried Boskop Apples for your pies. It is a variety which is not shiny and not great for eating, but phantastic for cooking apple sauce or baking cakes/pies.
2:44 Welp, for like an instant effect you might take loads of it, but long time effects can be caused by small amounts over a long time.
I was visiting my mom in Stuttgart and found food at Lidl that had grades on it from A-F
When you see apples in American movies, they are always either bright green (I think the type is called granny smith) or dark red (red delicious) - just like in your example pictures.
I was quite astounded when I tried to buy apples in Walmart in the US and only found those two kinds of apples there. Are there really no other kinds of apples in normal US supermarkets? German supermarkets, even discounters, carry several different kinds of apples at any given time, and the above-mentioned ones are not very common here (maybe because of their taste?)
Interesting! In the US I have also seen Fuji apples, Pink Ladies and Jonathan apples (as you can imagine... Jonathan's favorite 🤣). I am personally partial to the Granny Smith kind.
@TypeAshton mmmmm…Granny Smith. But yes in US we have many varieties of apples in stores here in US and WalMart is not a good example of variety of produce.
There are many varieties of apples grown in the US, but Corporate Food sells what is most profitable, and other varieties are found in smaller and more local markets. Appearance and shelf life are the biggest factors, and taste and nutrition are irrelevant.
Almost any other supermarket in the US will have better apples than Walmart.
@VinsonMusic Very true! Food is only a sideline for WalMart, and their produce is often very poor. I never buy food there. I'm happier with the products and prices at Market Basket, a New England chain. In summer and fall I get my veggies (and apples) at a local farm stand. More expensive but fresh and tasty!
Great video as always. Love your research. I grew up on a farm in Germany and we had many apple trees as well as over 5000 chicken. The chicken farm was like you had it in the picture with the chicken in cages and the eggs rolling down. I think we had 4 chicken in 1 cage. Now, this was 40 years ago and we already were planning on how to make this better for the chicken but it comes at a cost and space needed and we all know that the US is all about making as much money as possible. The same is true for the apples. We stored them in a cellar with no light to keep them fresh as long as possible. Here in the US, I buy apples and can have them laying around for weeks, seeing bump marks on them, but the apple does not get brown, period! I still eat them but I think the preventive approach to food safety is better then "Let's see in 50 years if some people might have died from it".
FDA: "Can you prove that s/he has died bc of the additive?"
Manufacturer: "Can you prove that s/he hasn‘t died bc of something else?"
@agn855 Exactly. That's why it's far better to have an independent organ to do those tests and proofs rather than a manufacturer. They simply have another agenda, goals, and also means - and, thus, are more trustworthy than the producer, who would allow chlorine on chicken to lower risks, which are caused by overworked staff and unhygienic conditions in the first place, rather than rising the overall training of staff and hygiene and working standards, as using chlorine is simply the less expensive choice for him and is permitting them higher margins.
Usually, the videos in this channel are quite accurate. But this one is very blue-eyed. And, being a parent, I would have expected her to embrace the extra layer of food safety, she finds in Germany.
This channel is going in a good direction. The research you put into this is very appreciated.
USA = corporations profits are most important.
Europe = people's health is important.
Europe doesn't want your hormone beef or yoga mat bread. We prefer to be healthy. uSA should show corporations its place
11:30 Germany is an apple country. It has rank 14 of the biggest producers worldwide, the production per capita is nearly as high as in the US (12.5 kg vs. 14.1 kg per capita), but since Germans consume more than 19 kg apples per capita every year, about one third of the demand has to be imported. Italy produces around half the total amount of apples as the US, which adds up to about 40,6 kg per capita), and about half of that amount is harvested in (mostly German-speaking) South Tyrol resp. Alto Adige.
Really? 19kilo per year? It seems crazy high as an average. But on the other hand my kids eat 2 Kilos a week.
None of these things are there to benefit the customer. They are only there to improve profitability and conveneince for the supermarkets.
Thank you once again!
As other comments have pointed out, your conclusions about the difference in the fundamental approach of the food safety authorities represents a distinct difference between German/European and American attitudes in general. The former is more concerned about potential threats; the latter takes no action until harm has become obvious.
One comment was also interesting - the American obsession with germs! Fill food with chemicals to make sure that not one single microbe, virus, bacterium, whatever can possibly survive. Keeping cans of disinfectant sprays around the house and spraying everything after every touch.
Anyone who paid attention in chemistry class knows that the toxic Brom- / Bromine (element) and its compounds have no place in any kind of food. Bromine is not only highly toxic in itself, it also reacts with various other substances in the body. This makes harmless substances dangerous, and already unhealthy substances even more so, usually neurotoxic. When bromine and aluminum come into contact, it becomes explosive. If this happens on a small scale in the body, it is extremely unhealthy and equivalent to radioactive irradiation.
Salmonella (bacteria) is not only found externally, but throughout the animal's meat. External disinfection (with chlorine) of poultry is almost ineffective.
In Germany, salmonella is a reportable infection and can lead to the closure of the animal breeding operation. Eggs from farms with reported salmonella are prohibited from sale. Eggs already in stores are recalled. To protect livestock from various infections, poultry houses in Germany are often secured like high-security biolabs. There is positive pressure, the fresh air is filtered, and access is only permitted with protective clothing and prior disinfection of rubber boots.
So, if I buy poultry or eggs in Germany with the label "made in Germany," I know that everything possible has been done to avoid contamination of the product. Not because the manufacturer is concerned about my health, but because they are afraid that the authorities will shut down their business.
When I visited the US in 1994, after the first Coke in a fast food chain, I started ordering my Coke without ice because the ice cubes contained more chlorine than the water in a German swimming pool, completely ruining the taste. I was shocked that most cities did provide tap water that was not classified as drinking water. We saw a few small towns proudly announcing that their tap water had drinking water quality on big signs at the town border. We also found it difficult to find simple flour in the supermarket without tons of additive "vitamins" or weird stuff, proudly announced as a feature, not a bug. And in general, the colors of many food items were far more intense than what we were used to, reminding me of what we could see in France in the early 1980s. Back then, I thought of it as customer preferences, but a lot of it was just the effort of the producing companies to increase their profit and hide lesser quality by artificial means.
Looking at the debacle with cigarettes, where companies were allowed to do whatever they could to get their customers addicted to their product until it was proven without a doubt, how dangerous it was, I do prefer the "less is more" approach when using potentially dangerous chemicals to process or "enhance" my food. Sadly, even the EU standardizes the size, form, and color of apples but not their taste. And as long as many people think that a small scratch on an apple's skin reduces its value, the producers will put a lot more effort into the optical presentation over the taste.
Can't say enough how much I appreciate all the effort and research you guys put into your videos wether it's building/zoning laws and policy impact or weird food facts everything is so well presented (while still keeping it lighthearted)..
And as always I learned new things about both the EU and America and how they look at regulating and protecting consumers.
Ah wow thank you SO much. These really are a joy to make and we are thrilled that they're well received. ♥️
Couldn't have said it better.
That was interesting, some new information! Regarding the chlorinated chicken: If you take a closer look at the chlorine bath it turns out to be more than gross. The carcasses are dipped into a brew which contains not only chlorine but also feces, slime and other residues. For detailed reading I can recommend Jonathan Safran Foer (Eating Animals) and Michael Pollan (ALL of his books!).
@C. Krueger Exactly! If you consider that a side-effect (not necessarily unwanted by the producers) is that the chickens soak up part of this brew making each chicken weigh more... Makes you think twice before buying chicken.
Never heard of aging flour. We usually take a measure of seeds, grind them, and then make the bread & everyone loves our bread.
I noticed when BVO was removed, it made Mountain Dew less addictive. I believe that was the main reason it was in there.
Ashton: Way to tackle a quagmire of a topic. I appreciate how you dealt with it and leave hope that it was adequately balanced..
We just moved to Germany! Hannover to be exact, so this is super interesting. We had no idea about some of these! We've subscribed now and can't wait to watch more of your videos!
Ah that's awesome. Thank you so so much and welcome to Germany! ♥️
Welcome to Hannover!
Subscriber here 🍻
@art.ikulation-stimme2123 Thank you!!
i hope you like the trolley stations in Hannover, they won some awards, in the 80s...lol
and the Kröpke being a big hole in the ground during the 70s...
i got ask which king was living in the Hannover city hall...lol
Perhaps they should try BVO containing soda instead of soda containing BVO? 😉
Probably I‘m lost in translation, but the way you worded the sentence sounds funny to me. #nooffense 😊
Iirc Vita Cola is the original brand that was unique to the GDR. And it really tastes different but is still good.
The problem I see with the FDA approach to food safety is, as you said, the burden of proof is on the consumer side. But if harm is done it is very difficult to proof the cause for a single person. Even when they associate the right ingredient with their cancer, what alone is probably difficult, I believe there will be legal battles between customers and companies for years. So I‘m happy with the approach that everyone who wants to sell me her/his products, especially when I will digest them, that they have to proof they do no harm. 😊
Why would the US not endorse the precautionary principle. The EU and Canada demonstrate that it is possible within corporate food production systems. Food safety and human health should be first and second priority. Optimising corporate profits at the possible expense of harn to consumers should be recognized as criminal behaviour.
the sheer amount of research you did for this one video: hat's off! AMAZING! Outstanding. And getting things into perspective.
Fantastic job!
From what I always heard about the Dutch equivalent of the FDA (single countries can have their own bans), in some cases that lead to bans, the idea behind the massive consumption of the single product that might contain a dangerous ingredient or agent or trace of it before it actually becomes dangerous to humans, there can also be indications with other foods.
It can stem from the idea that those other foods might contain other agents or ingredients and can have undesired effects due to the stacking effect of bio-accumulation in our body when those ingredients are combined.
One of them is deemed safe enough, but the combination isn't, or, due to prospects of foods increasingly containing the safer ingredient, the chances of suffering problems because of the combination of both increase.
if you want american apple varieties for your american pie, you can consider growing an apple tree with american varieties crafted on. and for small gardens there is a solution too, like small growing trees (zwergobstbäume) or staight growing trees (seulenobstbäume).
*Säulen*-Obstbäume, soviel Zeit muss sein ....
@Balligat was hat eine rechtschreibschwäche mit zeit zu tun?
@nikomangelmann6054 Gerade in diesem Fall beispielsweise eine Rechtschreibkorrektur - die fast jeder Computer anbietet - zu nutzen bevor man den Kommentar abschickt ...?
@Balligat stimmt in gewisser weise schon, aber trozdem hat jetzt ihr beitrag überhaupt nichts mit dem thema hier zu tun. ich versteh eh nicht warum man den oberlehrer raushängen lassen muss und jemanden den man überhaut nicht kennt auf evttuelle rechtschreib oder grammatikfehler hinweisen muss wenn es im thema des beitrags überhaup garnicht um rechtschreibung oder grammatik geht. wenn es fehler im inhalt meines textes geht bin ich gern bereit mich belehren zu lassen. evtl sollten sie sich etwas zeit nehmen bevor sie einen kommentar abschicken, ob dieser auch zum thema passt oder einfach nur ihn das gefühl gibt über jemanden zu stehn.
@nikomangelmann6054 So ist das leider heute: Es werden keine Fehler mehr zugegeben - immer ist wer anders schuld. Sie haben doch die Sache hier ausgedehnt anstatt den Hinweis anzunehmen und es damit gut sein zu lassen .... bemühen Sie sich nicht weiter, für mich ist das jetzt 'Ende der Fahnenstange'!
I think another reason for the different approaches is healthcare. In the US if you got cancer due to an additive it falls on your shoulders but in the EU such things cause more stress on the public healthcare system and thus costs the government more so the government is far more careful to let such additives in food.
I would imagine that could certainly play a role.
That's a great reason for the US to introduce universal Healthcare, get rid of crap quality foods te help reduce medical costs.
@TypeAshton You don't have to imagine, it is always part of the discussion. Maybe more obviously when it comes to smoking and drinking, but absolutely also about food. There is a dilemma when it comes to meat and dairy, though, because it lies very deep in the foundational principles of the EU that we should never again lack those products and potentially starve. Changing diets and agriculture to a greener culture is this generation's big challenge.
@TypeAshton The DCI or Death Care Index always spikes under GOP dominance. Killing Americans earlier reduces the entitlement outlays which staves off FICA payroll tax hikes, makes a profit for the morticians, and fills the churches for the funerals and raises their revenue. Americans' lives have no value besides that on someone's spreadsheet. See COVID death rate-20% of global Covid deaths with 4% of the people. CDC told murdoch and red states, that 80% of the 1st wave of Covid deaths were 65 and over, aka pensioners. "Covid id a hoax", "Vaccines, don't work, and are govt poison", "Masks are affront to freedom" are memes from Fox while they sterilized their studios, implemented vaccine or negative tests results, masks, social distancing, and Murdoch flew to UK for a vaccine. Rupert, tucker, sean, laura, jesse, and friends were all facing a FICA payroll tax hike until 666,000 recipients culled themselves by refusing vaccines and dying. USA is 57th on the Press Freedom Index for a reason. Lies and disinformation are profitable. Festering violence offers even more in the NPR index for the 46% of global guns. Everybody wins when the GOP initiates eugenics of pensioners. DCI +27.5% in Aug 21, and up 9.3% the day after the tariffs crashed the market. DCI beat 3 indexes so far this quarter. Go long on death when GOP run things.
In the end you are talking about the 'Brussels effect', a term was coined by U.S. legal scholar Anu Bradford in an essay that appeared in 2012. There are some videos on YT about it, including a lecture by Bradford herself. It is worth noting that EU regulations are not only influencing the product standards for the global players, but via lobbying the whole industry in countries all over the world.
I've heard the term "regulatory superpower" used in this context - i.e. the ability to influence international production standards just by regulating access to the EU market.
@varana Correct, if you cannot sell your products in the EU, many other countries will not accept them.
Many countries copy the EU standards for their production, to safeguard their EU export and to cut down on their own research, banned by EU = bad, allowed by EU = harmless.
The fact that 27 relatively rich countries cooperate and set a standard based on science, and specialized institutes with world fame participate in these standards, makes them trustworthy.
And do not forget: the US, Japan and other big players in the market did the same before the twelve stars did appear above the horizon.
That's also what makes the Brexit claim of deregulation so hilarious. If you want to export you'll comply. And you most certainly won't bother to produce with different standards, labeling etc. cause that's also expensive.
Thanks to Phil of "a different bias" for pointing that out time and again.
FDA only requires a 50% efficacy rating for pharmaceuticals. They are also dependant on the K Street gang of lobbyists who own the committees that direct funding for research and drug manufacturing as well as pricing, and patent protection.
Cigarettes, leaded gas, lead paint, and agent orange were known to kill but it takes 50 years of killing before any company is held responsible. SCOTUS Justice Gorsuch ruled that if a company faces a loss of capital to save a human life, and no law is against it, the capital has precedence.
Excellent video. I really like the in-depth research, not sparing (often interesting) details, while being as good as humanly possible neutral.
You are doing excellent journalism, quite a treasure!
3:00 2 Liters of Soda? There are A LOT of people who surely drank a lot more than that each day.....
I guess people who drank more than two liters a day of soda may be killed by the sugar overdose way before that bromate oil could have any effect.
I'm an American, who lives in France. The food here is better by virtually every measure.
i agree with you about the complexity of the science, but I'd rather find out that I was not the rat
with the negative outcome from a corporate experiment in public health. There is no reason to run the experiment but greed.
P.S. my family on both sides was in the food business. I remember my parents talking about the toxins being injected into US food in the 1950s..jt
Importing apples to Germany/Europe from abroad is ridiculous anyway. Germany/Europe has such an old culture of producing a great variety of apples, importing is literally like "carrying owls to Athens"... Furthermore all apple production should be organic, which is no problem at all when simply looking at this years non-commercial harvest and the huge amount of organic local apples available in the supermarkets... And why on earth would you want to use american apples for your pie, when apples grow in abundance outside your door in the Black Forest???
Bizarre enough, the Italian apples speak German.
The vast majority of apples is grown in Alto Adige/sud Tyrol, which is in Italy since the end of WWI but has been since the beginning of times a german/Austrian land.
Their architecture is German, they churches are German, the long established apple industry was a thing the Austrian pushed because the Hapsburg Empire loved and needed apples.
Set aside chemicals, I wonder how economic it can be to send a ship of apples across the ocean instead of train loads of apples across the Alps.
JD Vance drinks a lot of Mountain Dew! Explains a lot.
Prevention is better than cure, that’s why we teach children to look both ways before crossing the road.
"Drinking more than 2L a day Soda products...." is not very uncommon in the USA! Actually, that is ONE of many reasons, why there are so many obese people in the USA. Most of them eat to much sugar. All the drive thru restaurants (for example) provide unbelievable big containers, the biggest easily more than 1L per container! You never see this in germany.
Best CocaCola market on the planet: Mexico
Most obese children on the planet: Mexico
why obsolutely want to make apple pie with US apples ? there's good ones locally produced, which didn't need to cross an ocean... better for the planet.
You kind of overheard the fact that Germany is number one Importeur of apples world wide. Ofc you can buy local aplles as well, but there are not enough for all of our population obviously. Or else we wouldn't import that many
They're not imported from the US though. Granted, some from New Zealand which is stupid of course. But most imprted ones come from Italy or Austria
I think I have seen Mountain dew in shops over here in Ireland. But, in lot of cases drinks that exist here and over there are often produced with very different recipes
It is being sold here in Norway
In the UK and Ireland Mountain Dew is sold as an energy drink by Britvic who hold the local rights to manufacture and distribute the PepsiCo brands in GB and Ireland. However they don’t put a lot of energy into the brand as it cuts across some of their other brands in particular R Whites/TK/C&C. Miranda isn’t distributed in the UK as Britvic own Tango, Robinsons, and MiWadi, so aren’t going to pay PepsiCo for a mark which isn’t as well known as their own similar brands.
If it's good - prove it. If you can't - I don't want it in my food.
Translation, the FDA don't care about people as they are bought off.
In the EU (or here in Germany) there (mostly?) can only be products that have been proven safe. If that seal is missing, it just won't cut it bc that also means they're "potentially unsafe". So you can gladly keep your bread, apples and so on. ;P