American Reacts to US vs UK Food Standards - Why Are They So Different?

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Reacting To My Roots
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In this video I react to US vs UK foods being compared and the difference in ingredients are shocking. As an American I can't help but wonder why the UK food standards are so much better. While these may have all been processed foods, it gives me a good idea of what UK food quality truly looks like.
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[@gibsonms]

Simplistically - you can put anything in US food unless it’s proven unsafe. In Europe, you can’t put anything in food until it’s proven safe.

[@Gazer75]

It's their own doing. They don't want a government telling them what to do and not to do.

[@mothmagic1]

Ours is definitely the way to go. I prefer to know my fou=od is safe thank you.

[@daftgowk1]

​@@Mursh26English voters, just as sickening as US food

[@glennlingard7851]

British Mountain Dew tastes horrible!

[@gibsonms]

@@glennlingard7851 perhaps. But it doesn’t kill us, which is nice

[@alphamale068]

As a Brit - there is no being smug watching this - it is truly very sad. Innocent people (inc. kids), literally being poisoned due to lack of regulation - hard to watch.

[@martin-1965]

Brit here too and agree - horribly sad. Last time I was in Los Angeles I was staying in a very posh hotel on Sunset in West Hollywood. The food served there was magnificent. However, we only had a few meals at the hotel, and mainly just ate out while working and seeing the sights. We always had breakfast in a place just down from the hotel which offer massive breakfast with eggs ham etc, and by the time I got back to Heathrow I was feeling weird and was desperate for a Boots Tuna & Cucumber sandwich - something simple and natural. I would not like to live in the US at present for the food issues (and cost wow) as well as all their other issues. The UK is far from being good but at least I feel I can trust my food 99% of the time.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Indeed!

[@jonhodges6572]

Same, no smugness, I genuinely feel bad for you guys. I would suggest boycotts (it’s sorely needed), but with the influence big food has I’m not sure the message would get through

[@pamelaadam9207]

Sadly the tories want to reduce our protection post brekshit to import the crap

[@BernardWilkinson]

Yea, this is not a laughing matter. It's disgraceful that companies like Kellogs knowingly put these additives in the food they sell. The public aren't to blame as you should expect the country you live in to try and look after you. I know that smoking and alcohol is available here in the UK but these are aimed at adults and so you have knowledge of the damage it can cause, but in America it appears a lot of this is aimed directly at children. It's criminal.

[@FTFLCY]

C'mon. If American food was safer, "Healthcare" would never make the billions clearing up the mess.

[@michaeljackson2838]

So true🤣🤣

[@BS3RED]

That's the first thing I thought.

[@grahammoore24]

That's EXACTLY IT! MONEY MONEY MONEY! Disgusting!!

[@tinaforbes1059]

In medical term . There's no money to be made in the cure, it's all in the treatments .

[@MrScoobiess]

When heathcare is payed for by the public purse it is in the public interest to make food safe

[@tomvanvenrooij1811]

I work in the food industry in the EU. We literally had an American client asking us to wash vegetables with peracetic acid. We had to tell them that here in Europe decontamination of the food with peracetic acid is banned. You can use it to clean the equipment, but not directly on the food. This is one of the reasons I don't ever want to eat food that's made in the USA.

[@LordNecron]

The free trade agreement that was luckily canned a few years back thanks to the large agricultural french aligned part of Belgium would have allowed companies to produce and import US foods. Part of it would have, for example, included chicken that after the mechanised 'plucking' would have been rinsed down with basically bleach. Another difference: In the US, eggs are sanitised outside, and then coated in artificial wax to preserve them. You are best off still washing them at home before cracking. In the EU, we take the egg, at most give it a wipe down against chicken poop on it, and that's it. You can literally use the eggs right out of the box. No extra coating to preserve them needed either, because the lack of washing and soaping them down preserves the natural preservation coating.

[@TheManCave563]

We add paracetic acid to the brine solution where I work. Right before the product is cooked. Not to mention there was once an inspection on the tank that held the paracetic acid solution and it was found to have some mollusc like creatures growing in there....the very tank that holds the chemical designed to kill these kind of things!

[@karl-erlendmikalsen5159]

@@TheManCave563 Life will find a way xD

[@lindylou7853]

And we don’t want a trade agreement with the USA as we will be made to eat your rubbish food chlorine and all … and beef raised on concrete on corn never seeing a blade of grass and water diverted from humans in Mexico …

[@lindylou7853]

How Americans are still alive is a mystery…!

[@lorrefl7072]

In Europe you can't say there are strawberries in something if it doesn't contain strawberries.

[@DrGreenGiant]

Exactly! That's not even a food standard thing, that's just fraud!

[@zee2012]

American Bread is banned in the UK and Europe as there is so much sugar in it it's classed as cake.

[@peterjackson4763]

That was a ruling in Irelaand. The "bread" wasn't banned, they (Subway) were just banned from called it bread.

[@0KiteEatingTree0]

Nope, you can buy imported Tiger bread from the USA in Tesco.. Which is originally from Holland/Europe anyway. Oh the Irony!

[@alexandergutfeldt1144]

@@0KiteEatingTree0I seem to recall the issue was the tax rate. Basic food vs 'sweets'. But I'm probably wrong. 😢

[@stevemorris3710]

American, and Canadian bread, is truly awful.

[@noseboop4354]

Not only are a lot of american food banned in the EU, american companies still try very hard to change the laws of the EU to allow those banned food. The American government constantly complains to the EU about the bans, and even retaliated with punishing tariffs on European food.

[@angeladormer6659]

In the UK, organic means no pesticidal chemicals at all. It takes years of soil prep, before a farmer can even call his produce organic. This is fiercely monitored by the government body.

[@0KiteEatingTree0]

A number of organisations are contracted to carry out Organic Certification, not DEFRA itself. It takes about 2 to 3 years to get certification. Snippet. it takes the human body 2 weeks to remove all substances , pesticides/etc that come from 'regular' non organic diets (according to the results of one Swedish study.

[@SevenEllen]

It's SUPPOSED to mean no pesticides at all here in the UK, but I've heard of organic products that sneakily do use some.

[@gteaz]

In the UK, organic means no pesticide. In the USA, organic means organ failure.

[@Si_Vert]

It absolutely does not! Where on earth have you got that misinformation from? All Organic produce uses non-synthethic pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers. Because non-synthetic are much less effective, organic food has 3-5 times MORE pesticides used on them that regular crops. Some of the organic pestacides are devestating to the environment - Pyrethrins and Copper for example.

[@reinhard8053]

@@Si_Vert Most organic produce uses no pesticides... at all, the rest only if a threat is imminent and not just as a precaution. The controlled limits of residues are there for all types of pesticides. If they are less effective then they are also less dangerous. Fertilizers are stuff like compost, animal waste, minerals and ash. The same that was used 1000 years ago.

[@Gismo-ih7gi]

I'm in the uk and was recently watching a comparison short of an american woman who had traveled through europe. She lost weight doing the same level of exercise and eating a similar diet and the scary one for me was her menstrual cycle completely changed due to the lack of added hormones in the European food. Ive heard multiple accounts of the same thing. If the U.S is adding enough chemicals and hormones to disrupt a person's natural production then thats truly frightening.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yeah, it's definitely a thing!

[@thefrogfather2891]

Wow that actually makes so much sense

[@adriennewalker1715]

Horrific ... and shameful

[@richardjamesclemo6235]

It’s very easy to disrupt a woman’s cycle

[@musicandbooklover-p2o]

There is another KZbinr who moved to Germany for work, before leaving he was warned by his doctors how dangerous it was and how he could expect to put on the equivalent of several stone (I can never get my head around pounds for a person's weight) because of the food in Europe etc etc. Turns out he LOST the equivalent of a couple of stone, was not longer borderline diabetic and when asked to return to the US flatly refused (apparently citing his health as the reason). He said that when he goes back to visit family now he prefers them to visit him but will return for a couple of weeks every year and spends most of his holiday feeling ill, bloated, and suffering various other symptoms. He hates it.

[@kevinu.k.7042]

As a Brit who worked in the U.S. for six months this video is so spot on. I was horrified at what was being put in the food in the U.S. Very little food from the U.S. is permitted in Europe. An example is your beef, it is raised in horrifying intense conditions and full of hormones. I'm so pleased channels like this is flagging this up. For all of that our food industry puts crap in our food too.

[@MazzaEliLi7406]

Yup. Cheers.

[@lizel058]

I only recently found out about feed lots in the US and was horrified at the conditions cows are kept in. Im from Ireland and our cows are raised off the land. Beef farming is not perfect here but feed lots are barbaric.

[@kevinu.k.7042]

@@lizel058 Hi, Yes those miles of pens are horrid, then add the hormones they feed them into the mix. Agreeing, Irish meat is generally of a very high standard. But, even there they do three months conditioning indoors. They need to get the animal meat, fat, weight to supermarket specs. The little meat I buy in England I get directly form farms now. It's still had three months indoors, but a least it's organic and well hung, unlike supermarkets in general. Having said that, Ireland, like the UK has been introducing very intense beef rearing methods from the States. One method ,used here occasionally too, is a multi-floored roundabout system with cattle in stalls on different levels and a lift to reach each animal for feeding and monitoring. We too need to check the provenance of the meat. Difficult to do.

[@MazzaEliLi7406]

Thank you.@@kevinu.k.7042

[@Skyrose1978]

From the animal's point of view, there is no such as "good animal welfare" It's all inhuman, abusive, and completely horrifying.

[@EmzSpalding]

Many moons ago I was in the States and was so surprised at how much sugar was in normal food. Bread was the thing that surprised me the most. It was like eating cake.

[@jod4887]

I was going to say the same. We were there earlier in the year and could not get anything that resembled real bread anywhere, it was so bizarre. Everything was so sweet!

[@bluecardholder]

Yes, its horrible, nothing like the lovely bread we get this side of the pond.

[@janineadkins8259]

Couldn’t stand the bread in the US when on holiday, the nicest one I found was an Italian bread from an in store bakery

[@BenjWarrant]

It's even worse than that, because high fructose corn syrup is more bad for you than sugar.

[@stevendavis7079]

Far too much use of fructose and corn syrup in US food. The bread has a yellow colour to it. I made my own bread when I lived there as I couldn't find a brand that wasn't so sweet.

[@billyo54]

Hi Steve, I have friends and family from the USA visiting here in Ireland. The older guests are always amazed at the freshness and flavour of our meat and vegetables here, whether it's in a restaurant or bought from the shop to cook at home. However, not all our American friends get it, especially the younger American visitors prefer fast food and struggle with it because it appears bland and doesn't taste like what they're used to in the States. In other words their palette has been destroyed by American food. It's very sad indeed.

[@MsPinkwolf]

Agree. I know an older American lady who visits often. She's always amazed by the freshness of the bread. She had to get used to the fact that it starts to go mouldy after a few days because in the US it lasts for weeks 🤢

[@JarlGrimmToys]

Yeah I here from a lot of Americans that they find the food here in the UK and Ireland bland. But it’s because they overload everything with sugar and artificial flavours. Bread in the US contains 5x the amount of sugar than here. A recent study showed that 25% of Americans have never eaten a fresh vegetable. Jamie Oliver went into an American school to teach 10 year olds. He pulled off a sheet off a table of vegetables, and the entire class reacted “eeerrggghhh”. Not one of them could identify a tomato or potato. When they have things like salad it’s drowned in ranch dressing.

[@murdershe......7378]

@@MsPinkwolf Thank you for posting this comment because it has finally explained something to me which I read in a Stephen King book. In The Stand when Mother Abigail goes to a neighbours house to kill some of their chickens, she goes into the house to fix a sandwich and says no mould would dare show it's face in this kitchen and the bread was still fresh with no mould even weeks after the super-flu outbreak. I thought he must have made a mistake in his writing because no bread is fresh beyond a few days or 5 at the most in Europe but now I get it and it wasn't a mistake.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

Having visited the states a few times, even their fresh foods are questionable. Fresh tomatoes for example, basically have no taste, but look a glorious, vibrant red. The they cover their food with dressing and sauces because without it, their food would hardly have any flavour of its own.

[@JarlGrimmToys]

@@Thurgosh_OG I believe they selectively breed vegetables for their size, rather than flavour. Then as you say cover everything in dressing and sauces. I know for a fact American beer uses 6 row barley which have 6 rows so more produce per plant. While in the UK and Europe 6 row barley is only used for animal feed. While 2 row barley is specifically used for beer because of its superior quality and taste. Which would explain why American beer is served ice cold. Which completely dulls the taste. Beer in the UK is like wine. Lagers and pilsners are served chilled like white wine. While bitters and ales are served like red wine (although cooler than room temperature).

[@grahvis]

The simple fact is that consumer protection legislation is far stronger and widespread in the UK and EU, than it is in the US.

[@snafufubar]

At the moment in the UK. The government is doing its best to turn us into America east...

[@Obi-J]

That might not last much longer in the UK though, if the pro-Wrexit lot get their way.

[@dogwithwigwamz.7320]

Pound to a penny we here in the UK ( 6 years from now ) will be payng the same amount of money for our food ( plus inflation ) but have yielded to pressures from the United States - now that we are no longer under any obligation toward the EU....

[@Obi-J]

Removal of EU laws and regulations, allowing lower standard(higher profit) goods/products to be imported and/or manufactured/produced here. Withdrawal from the European Court of Human Rights jurisdiction, enabling the rights of British people to be lowered and/or removed. To avoid compliance with new EU tax regulations designed to combat tax evasion and the use of off-shore tax havens... no prizes for guessing why that would be. These are the real reasons they tried and succeeded in conning enough of us to vote to leave the EU, it had sod all to do with national sovereignty and overbearing EU beuerocracy, it was all about the already powerful increasing their power and the already rich getting greedier.

[@jimb9063]

@@dogwithwigwamz.7320 Yes the worst of all possible worlds is a distinct possibility.

[@Ukbrummie]

Its funny how amercians say british food is bad

[@vangledosh]

They judge our food based purely on “beans on toast” 😂

[@HerbsnSplodge-win67]

It’s because the American people have forgotten what real food tastes like, due to all the additives.

[@snafufubar]

​@vangledosh or it's based on food during the war when rationing was in force and lots of American G.I. were here.

[@richardhall6034]

​@@vangledoshfood of the God's 😊

[@janecruden3665]

The vast majority of US food I’ve had is basically fried crap with cheese on top, tasteless bland cheese or orange burger cheese, you would be hard pressed to find a meal on a menu that didn’t have cheese involved somewhere

[@moominsammy]

I went to Florida for 2 weeks a few years ago for a holiday (I'm from the UK). At first everything tasted amazing because nearly all the food I was trying had ingredients that were banned where I'm from, it was so addictive. I became so ill after about 5 days and my body was literally begging me to eat something different. I spent the rest of my time in America just eating salads because I felt the processed food was actually doing damage in such a short anount of time. Thanks for making this video and bringing awareness, hoping things start to change for you soon!

[@SiGr10614]

Very true! I live in the US 2001 to 2009, and in the first year of me being over their, i was so sick on many occassions. I would never go back to the US, and wouldn't recommend it as a place to live either.

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

Honey 🍯 One thing that blew my mind was when I found out that in the USA, honey doesn't have to be 100% honey to be labelled as honey.

[@oldbatwit5102]

Most honey on sale in Britain isn't 100% honey either. Google it.

[@Kick1066]

Mind blown.

[@ThieflyChap]

Wait... so what else is in it?

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

@@ThieflyChap Sugar or corn syrup. It's a question of labelling, and paying attention to the wording/description. I'm sure that the FDA would act if a company was selling something that claimed to be 100% honey, but was adulterated with syrup, however there are "honey blend" products, where the "honey" will be more prominent than the "blend". If these products are situated alongside genuine jars of honey, and consumers aren't paying attention, they could end up buying an inferior product. It's similar to products being sold as " chocolate flavoured ", or "strawberry flavoured", when there's no chocolate or strawberry in the product. These products are relatively common in Europe, but I doubt you'll find any honey " blends" in European retailers - if it says honey on the label it'll be actual honey.

[@brendamiller5785]

Same with orange juice vs. orange drink

[@Jay-Leigh]

Thank goodness for the FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY 🇬🇧

[@antcommander1367]

unlike america FDA (Federal Drug Adminsteration) that occasion works with food related stuff.

[@NS-tp8yx]

And EU standards. This is the Brussels effect at its finest.

[@maxine2798]

Ask the Tories if all this red tape and restrictions we are “free of” since brexit will lead to safer foods?

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

​@maxine2798 a majority of the British public voted to get rid of these protections, because regulations were pitched as bureaucratic meddling. It wouldn't surprise me to see food standards becoming far less stringent in the drive for maximum shareholder profit. The Tories who pushed Brexit will hold shares in these companies, but there's no way their kids will be eating over processed, poisonous garbage.

[@trishloughman5998]

And the EU and its regulations.

[@TheGramophoneGirl]

I always remember Cadbury's chocolate when they got taken over by Kraft. It went from a gorgeous treat to some gloopy sickly tasting mess. Why? Because they changed the recipe to include cheaper ingredients - even if they were safe, they were cheaper and it lost the taste. Not eaten it in years now. Why couldn't they be happy with a nice product and make slightly less money? Nope, maximum profit and to hell with the customer. :(

[@cigmorfil4101]

Ditto. Cadbury's was worth the premium price for its unique, delicious flavour. Not worth the extra cost for something that tastes no better (usually worse) than the cheap supermarket own brand...

[@therealunclevanya]

Cadburys moved production to Poland as well and closed their factories here. Rowntrees was bought by Nestle and a lot of production (especially Lion Bar) went to France. Oddly only Mars (a US company) makes most of its Euro chocs here in sunny Slough.

[@bethanybrookes8479]

I never realised what had happened at the time, all I remember is that Cadbury's stopped tasting as nice. I used to prefer Cadbury's over Galaxy. Now I'll go for Galaxy over Cadbury's. Or even better, Lidl's own brand chocolate is actually fantastic. (Most of lidl's own brand stuff is great, actually.)

[@LadyMoonweb]

I could never get over the big crystal chunks of sugar that are in Cadbury now. It used to be almost as smooth as Galaxy, making the choice difficult but I'll go for Galaxy every time now.

[@Lynda-vq5yl]

I would never eat a Kraft/Cadbury chocolate not afer the hostile takeover. I've heard the quality has suffered as welll, Boots The CHemist also went down hill after being bough by an American company, it's ALL profit for them

[@janicejohnson6372]

Members of my family went to the USA on holiday and ended up with constipation and nausea. They were glad to get back to the UK . They said the bread tasted of sugar.

[@SpiritmanProductions]

US bread contains 6 times as much sugar as UK bread.

[@gaynorhead2325]

⁠@@SpiritmanProductions🤮and it tastes vile!

[@Lnclt-tc3ln]

According to the irish court it IS legally CAKE because of its high sugar content. No wonder it TASTED of sugar XD (Germany ironically seems to be the only european country NOT legally declaring US bread as "cake". Probably because we have something called "sugar-bread" so the max. amount of sugar in bread is allowed to be higher in Germany than the rest of Europe. The German max is juuust high enough to still allow american bread to be "bread" but only barely)

[@chrisholland7367]

Although I went to America many years ago, the one thing that stood was the food . The bread certainly stood out as light with very substance, but it did taste sweet.

[@tenniskinsella7768]

My late hidband went to America hardly any vegetables and when there were theyvwere not cooked properly

[@Xcellanty]

Being from Ireland and seeing this, is shocking. No bit of wonder I had severe stomach cramps when I visited the states a few years back. Absolutely crazy.

[@kev2034]

Same, last time I went it was so bad I just couldn't hold down any food for a good week. Only American food I can eat is Latin American and I think it's just because they don't use high fructose corn syrup in their food. Funnily enough found a drink with the same ingredient in it recently and it confirmed that I'm badly allergic to HFCS so the USA is a no go unless I only want to eat Latin American food, which I'm not complaining about tbf

[@LMB222]

I've heard your type of a story too many times to dismiss them as "internet anecdotes". Everyone complains of the same symptoms, and Americans who "cannot eat bread" at home find that they suddenly can abroad (not only in Europe). Americans, do raise and overthrow the government that is poisoning you!

[@libbypeace68]

The more comparison videos I watch, the more obvious it is that the US government just doesn't care about its people. The low award wage, the slack gun laws, the ridiculous medical charges, and the list goes on - including the lack of regulations on what goes in your food etc. I really feel for you guys - you deserve much, much better - love from Australia.

[@ShizuruNakatsu]

I feel like their government wants them to be sick, because they have to pay so much for medical bills. Also because Americans are addicted to medications, and programmed to think they need medicine for EVERYTHING. Most people here (Ireland) aren't on medications all the time. Even those who are, don't have to pay a lot of money for them. Turn on any American TV channel and every second ad is for drugs. It's sickening. I don't make fun of the average American in a derogatory way, I just feel so bad about how their government treats them, and also brainwashes them into supporting their government anyway.

[@tonyg9511]

The problem in the US is the almost unfettered capitalism. Profit takes precedent over anything else and this has steadily gotten worse over the last 50-60 years since the law changes regarding corporate donations to politicians. The corporations can and do buy the votes of politicians to allow them to do just about anything they want.

[@waltlock8805]

I much prefer living in a country that doesn't try to control what kinds of video games adults can play. Australia went off the deep end of the "nanny state" wagon years ago.

[@icedragon9097]

​@@waltlock8805if video games are more important to you than everything listed above, i'm afraid to say you've been eaten by propoganda

[@Salena905]

Yeah totally agree, I mean UK isn't perfect by no means but what American politics have to put up with is bad

[@cyberash3000]

its like pet food, petfood in the uk has stricter guidelines and rules than the USA's HUMAN food, as pet food in the uk MUST be fit for human consumption and made to human hygeine standards.

[@leewat3742]

They even have human food tasters for it.

[@robocop3961]

@@leewat3742wow imagine eating dog food for a living 😅 ‘Hey what do you do for a living’? “I eat dog sh*t bro 😂

[@jameshindle784]

Loads of pet food in the uk says not for human consumption

[@robocop3961]

@@jameshindle784 stop hating 👊🏻💪🏻👍🏻

[@cyberash3000]

@jameshindle784 yes. It has to say that. But still has to follow uk law. All abimal food must be made from human grade materials. The labelling is just to stop idiots like yourself that would eat it

[@nvgirl1807]

The other thing he didn't touch on are hormones and antibiotics that are controlled for use in animals in Europe but not in the US resulting in massive impact on human health as they pass down the food chain.

[@medic1627]

As far as i know you are not allowed to pump antibiotics or hormones into farm animals in Europe, but you can in the US. That's why US meat is banned in Europe.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yes very true and a good point

[@meyrickgriffith-jones3908]

@@medic1627 not as food additives. You can use antibiotics to cure an animal, but for instance with milk, all milk is tested for ABs, and rejected if it contains ABs. So you have to wait till the animal is AB clear before putting its milk back into processing. I can't remember what level of AB the Beta Star test will detect. Tiny.

[@daketh]

It is so good we keep talking about this ..keep pointing it out👍

[@atorthefightingeagle9813]

The scariest thing about life in the USA isn't the shootings, the litigation, the unaffordable healthcare - it's the food.

[@faithpearlgenied-a5517]

No it isn't. Poor food standards are nowhere near as terrifying as your child going to school and having their heads blown off. Get a grip.

[@terranaxiomuk]

​@@faithpearlgenied-a5517"Get a grip" Well played.

[@areyoustupid.....]

​@@faithpearlgenied-a5517poor food is doing far more damage to children than anything else....

[@samuel10125]

We are in no position to talk about another nations problem when we have some highest knife crime teenage deaths to stabbings we are no different can't ban knives or guns and I bet we just as many shootings here in the UK because gang violence only difference is our government suppress it so we don't know.

[@charlestaylor9424]

American food is the supply side of American healthcare.

[@dogstar5572]

Here in Iceland McDonald’s had to leave because they refused to use local ingredients. You can see the last happy meal purchased, it’s under glass, it’s 10 years old and looks the same as it did 10 years ago. What hellish preservatives are they using?

[@dansmart9566]

Is there Big Macs in my anus?

[@Gymbotherer]

I recently spent 6 weeks in the US for work. I had a reasonable diet, mostly eating out. Wearing an Apple Watch, I could actually see my health my health trends deteriorate during the period. I genuinely attribute it to the things you speak of on here. After going home, my health markedly improved.

[@jonhodges6572]

The real kick in the teeth is that food appears so much more expensice in the US, going by some of your recent vids!

[@Maesterful]

The last time my dad went to NY he ordered some scrambled eggs but not only were they expensive but the colour reminded me of Mountain Dew 🤮

[@johnchristmas7522]

All via a box load of chemicals-so its no longer food. For example, real Bread lasts a couple of days NOT weeks!!!!!

[@RCEASTMIDLANDS]

@@johnchristmas7522 Fresh bread is like a rock after 2 days if you make it yourself. Preservatives if done correctly and sparingly have a legitimate use. The USA has gone too far into using the people as lab rats.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yeah, for real. Way worse quality for much more expensive prices.

[@okayloll]

when i visited america for a month, i ate everything i ate at home in the uk, cooked most of my own meals etc, and i was SO ill, had a dodgy tummy for weeks after

[@carolinew4699]

In the UK products saying ingredients in the name, but not being present is illegal. This is covered in the UK food legislation.

[@trolleriffic]

It's worth checking whether the word "flavoured" is used as well - e.g. Strawberry ice cream has to contain strawberries, but strawberry flavoured ice cream doesn't and can use an artificial strawberry flavouring instead.

[@fredbear3915]

@@trolleriffic True but actually the other way round... Strawberry FLAVOURED has to have some strawberry in it, using the strawberry to cause it to taste of strawberries. Strawberry FLAVOUR is where the taste is created by some other means, and simply tastes LIKE strawberries. Ah poor strawberries... They aren't a berry and they don't taste like straw....apart from that they are gorgeous!

[@acerimmerz]

Natasha's law - it caused quite a fuss too especially around the fast food industry like KFC when they have to reveal the colonel's secret recipe because of it

[@amme30]

I spend 6 weeks in college in the USA, i was horrified at how long the bread lasted- it was so full of preservatives that i never got mold! It was also strangely sweet!

[@benjamindejonge3624]

It ain’t bread but cotton wool

[@turkizno]

@@benjamindejonge3624 Funnily enough, we still have to be careful about cereals and grain - they still contain 4-8% sawdust because the "recommended" amount is around 4%. Recommended as in they don't actually enforce it.

[@dawnstone610]

I live in Paris France. I never eat anything from a can or a package. I buy bread from the bakery which has no additives. I buy fresh meat from the butcher, cheese from the cheese shop, fruit and veg and fish from the farmers market which is open every Tuesday and Saturday. AND it's the same price as packaged food from supermarkets. I go to the bakery and squeeze my own orange juice from the machine. I drink coffee from the café across the street. A popular thing to say here is that food digests, and chemicals never leave your body. Also a popular joke: Why don't Americans eat snails? They prefer fast food.

[@irene3196]

That was an eye-opener and, once again, I wonder why US voters put up with a government that ignores such an important issue - the health of it's citizens.

[@chrysalis4126]

The corporations run the US, not the government.

[@lesleywilkie2848]

The US government passes law. It could pass laws that ban unhealthy ingredients that the food corporations would have to comply with. The role of the government, whatever persuasion, is to secure the country and to keep the population safe. Why do you put up with it?

[@Lnclt-tc3ln]

H-*EA*-lthcare? You mean like in SOCIALISM??? What are you, a feckin COMMUNIST??? /s THAT is why... americans keep being indoctrinated since the late 50s (cold war) that doing good for your fellow citizens is SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST and thus EVIL.

[@ffotograffydd]

Obama tried to change this, but Americans didn’t want to be told what they should eat… 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@motorvating]

We spent 6 weeks Rving around Florida. After two weeks we all started to feel bloated and suffered belly ache. After four weeks we felt dreadful, and gave up eating out, and started to make all our own food. This improved our situation a little, but due to all the crap sprayed onto fresh fruits and veg, we were still feeling rough. By six weeks we all felt sick with belly ache, bloated, wind, diarrhea, and generally feeling like crap. It took the best part of a month for us to recover once we got home. Although I love the USA, I will never travel there again due to what they put in their food.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Man, I hate to hear that! Must be quite a difference then.

[@whitehorses460]

we have pesticides in the UK, and also most of our food is imported so....

[@spazzymacgee5648]

​@whitehorses460 yeah it's imported from eu countries that have proper standards on food quality. At a higher price now due to brexit.

[@michaellucas4873]

It's literally true that there are stricter rules around the manufacture of pet foods in the UK & EU than exist for foods intended for human consumption in the US!

[@lindamcgregor4080]

It's the same in Australia. We have much stricter laws for our pet food than in the US.

[@aecides3203]

Pet food maybe, but technically any farm animal grade food in the UK only has to meet a single requirement regarding the animal's health - the animal has to be able to eat it for a year without it proving fatal. If eating it for a year and a month is fatal? All good - market that crap as "complete farm animal nourishment" if you like. Most producers aspire to much higher standards than this, but that's their legal limit.

[@brianbru]

What can you source to back up your claim here?@@aecides3203

[@NickoGBG]

Hi, I left Virginia to come to France in 1983. The most shocking thing I could see as a kid was: no soft drinks. They drink soda's as well, but parents forbid kids to drink sodas. It's a treat, kids drink water, maybe a bit of sugar and mint, stuff like that. Since the 2000 kids drink more sodas than before and guess what? French doctors are concerned about the population getting fat, especially kids are getting obese.

[@occamraiser]

no reason that soft drinks should be to blame - surely they are all diet, or aught to be so.

[@NickoGBG]

@@occamraiser yes and no. Let say that we still don't have all the different sodas made in the U.S.A and as à diabétique I can not drink diet. My sugar level goes up. Diet or not, these drinks are not good for your health. I can only drink the new coke zero. And even that is not good drinking every day.

[@chriscorrigan7420]

All packaging in Australia has got all warnings, ingredients with percentages and doses, where the ingredients come from and what percent of ingredients are Australian grown and supplied. Health warnings also are on the packaging so you get to choose which items that you want to purchase with ingredients that your happy to indulge in and feed to your family.

[@lindamcgregor4080]

Aussie here! So glad to live here. I always check ingredients, and country of origin, on items I purchase. I have always felt safe buying "Australia made".

[@occamraiser]

it's the same in the UK and europe.

[@broughy23]

I hope things change in America soon. You guys deserve to be treated like human beings when it comes to food. These big companies shouldn't be allowed to put profit over people's health

[@Ariadne-cg4cq]

@broughy23. The problem is that US Governments are much more concerned about protecting the profits of the US companies on whom they depend for funding their parties than protecting the consumer. There is no consumer protection in the US because the politicians are not dependent on the average American citizen on funds but on big business

[@tonysheerness2427]

I believe skittles are changing some of their ingredients.

[@wessexdruid7598]

The US vehemently fights the idea of 'socialised medicine'. Until that changes, the US Government has no incentive to keep their people healthy.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Thanks! Totally agree.

[@jessieb7290]

The people have a voice, so speak up people! Bill of rights! Make a stand!

[@lth1072]

Even in the UK, we pale in comparison to the diet eaten in many Asian countries. My friend retired last year to Thailand. He lives in a rural area and mostly buys his food from the local market. Fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, and meat. Since then, his health has improved beyond measure. All skin issues have disappeared, his breathing has improved, and he's much sharper mentally. Sadly , most of us are living with a chemical filter over our bodies that's caused by additives in the West.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yeah, definitely true for the most part--especially if you're cooking your own meals. But you gotta be careful there, too as a lot of street vendors and restaurants add lots of MSG to the food.

[@jamescpalmer]

Indeed not forgetting in Asia that Chinese soil for the most part is absolutely destroyed from decades of over farming and chemical use, very hard to find non toxic food in China @@reactingtomyroots

[@KayosHybrid]

If you’re eating food that’s processed, you’re going to get the good and bad of that. But processed food also includes pasteurising milk, sanitising meat and high standards against parasites and poisoned water. Fresh food straight from the origin is always best for you, but you’re also not protected against parasites or disease

[@whitehorses460]

@@sinAnon6689survived with tapeworms and other parasites, yea great

[@arthurhayward122]

When Trump unilaterally broke the NAFTA trade agreement with Canada he made us sign a second treaty that allowed previously banned hormone laced American dairy products into the Canadian market.

[@anachyinuk]

I'm from the UK and remember having a Fanta orange while on a European trip, I had one from the ferry and a friend had one prior to getting on the ferry back to England and hers was a paler orange colour than mine. Which shows a difference even between UK and European food standards. I also remember as an older teenager having American Pop Tarts (which had a warning label about the E-numbers) and they gave me a headache and made me feel erratic, so I got rid of them.

[@asseyez-vous6492]

You can bake your own pop tarts, which I do occasionally for my daughter and her friends. They’re basically a shortcrust pastry (half butter to flour) with sugar added, making it a sweet shortcrust. Chill pastry, roll it out, make long rectangles, put jam or proper fruit in the middle, fold over and seal, then bake. So much less sickly sweet than the boxed crap.

[@flemingsiobhan]

Expect to see more and more of this due to Brexit. The UK no longer has to comply with EU rules and can set own standards.

[@MartynWilkinson45]

Went on holiday to the US a couple of years ago, when I went into a convenience store for a soft drink and it was like walking back into the 1980s. Synthetic colouring as far as the eye could see, even in the juices. Crazy.

[@jamgart6880]

The thing is, we (uk) have a national healthcare system that is paid for by the government via our taxes. If you give the population unhealthy, sugar filled, chemical filled, cancer causing ingredients via every day foods, made by capitalistic companies (this includes your hospitals and insurance that profit off of these companies to) that don’t give a shit about what it does to their consumers as long as it’s cheaper for them to make, addictive (where possible) and makes them more money. It will end up costing the government way more money and overwhelm the already stretched healthcare system. So you’ll find, any country that has a decent healthcare system will generally have better standards of food, so their citizens are healthier and need less care, hospitalisation or medication.

[@x_violette_x7713]

I thought this. In the same vein, I couldn’t help but wonder if the US government okayed the use of US citizens as lab rats for some sort of personal gain. Doing so means a higher probability of illness, and so more money is spent by individuals on healthcare and medical insurance in the long run, leading to more money in the pockets of the higher-ups that are invested in these big insurance and pharmaceutical companies (such as members of the US Senate). It’s truly sad that that could even be considered a possibility.

[@zippydingding5558]

Yes that’s its all about money

[@colinmorrison5119]

The UK's food standards are, for now, still largely aligned with EU food standards. Those that lobbied for Brexit wanted to, and this is insane, do away with EU regulations which, from our perspective protect us, but from theirs, reduces profits. A common US food bogeyman is the infamous chlorinated chicken, which is banned here. It's no accident that incidences of serious gastrointestinal problems are higher in US.

[@ascelot]

Not all brexiteers wanted less food standars, more to do with immigration regluations, humnan rights regulations etc. Also, food standards in EU is to lift its ban on feeding animal remains to domestic livestock which in the UK, led to BSE.

[@belindakennedy5828]

I do think it was the UK that put the food standards in place for the UK...the straight bananas etc was the EU crazy ideas,it waste food in the long run.

[@gherkinisgreat]

Given that legally backed food standards started in Britain the eu is somewhat irrelevant

[@garysmith9321]

@@belindakennedy5828 there was never a proposal for straight bananas. It was a joke that the Daily Mail published.

[@DSP16569]

For the chlorinated chickens: It is not the chlorination itself that creates the ban. It is the concept of making the food. In the EU there are many regulations to ensure that chickens are "grown" in a environment where the risk of a Salmonela infection is minimized. From Birth to the store minimum hygienic messurements are regulated and as an result Salmonella (and other eat related potential harm to humans) are a rare occurence. But these "Quality over lifetime" approach costs more money. The clorination to wash away bacteria from the skin of the meat is a potential "We don't care about hygene when growing the chicken, because we can cover the bad situation with a short chlorine bath - A "out of sight out of mind" approach) - But Bacteria that is in the meat (and not at the skin) cannot be washed away and can still cause illness. These Let it get dirt and wash it - approach is cheaper, therefore allowing the import of these cheap "maybe infected" chickens to europe will force the European farmers to9. try to produce cheaper (aka ignore the laws and try to make farming chicken cheaper - mostly by lowering the hygenic standards). This will - long term - bring back all the broblems EU solved in the last 40+ Years with food poisoning. Therefore the ban. Amd If a US Farmer wants to export chicken to Europe - He can do this by adapting the Quality messures needed to be able to sell the Chicken without a chlorine bath and infection free. But this would cost more and he wouldn't be able to make a lot of profit.

[@pistaker42069]

I've lived in the Uk (Wales) for years and years now, and whenever my US mother comes to visit, she's gobsmacked for nearly a week everytime over how different everything tastes. AND it's not just food! she's a smoker and smokes menthol cigarettes, which are banned in the UK! There's so many different things that are just unthinkable outside of the usa

[@jessieb7290]

I’ve always advocated for homegrown foods. If we could all do that with healthy soil. We’d all be way healthier.

[@darren25061965]

@@jessieb7290 unfortunately land prices in the UK are exhorbitantly expensive, so house builders dont develop property with decent sized gardens/yards. In many cases the property has no garden/yard space.

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

​@@jessieb7290People are used to buying out of season fruit and vegetables year round - difficult to see that ever changing. Then there's tea, coffee, chocolate, bananas, avocados, mangoes, pineapple and melons...and a lot more besides. Having said that people should at least try to adapt their diets to eating home grown seasonal fruits and vegetables.

[@legendofthepeach]

I didn’t know the Uk banned menthol cigarettes.

[@ProwlingTiger1]

@@legendofthepeach Happened in May 2020

[@questionmark9819]

Brit here and the conversation about additives in foods specifically for children is a huge one and has been a huge topic for 20+ years. Things have changed here as in the public mood and parents really don't like to give their children something filled rubbish. Two things come to mind and one is Sunny Delight and chlorinated chicken, the first was a hugely popular drink a couple of decades ago and then the scandal hit the headlines and people stopped buying it and even after a rebranding and fewer chemicals, we still would not buy it. As for the chicken, well we were threatened that after brexit we would have chlorinated chicken from the states and there was an uproar.

[@dimfre4kske67]

The reason you don't have chlorinated chicken or hormone infested beef now is because there is no trade deal between the US and UK. The US always pushes their meat products hard in trade negotiations and the UK gov at the time was desperate for trade deals to "prove" Brexit was a good idea.

[@Irene-xs9pc]

Yes chicken is chlorinated in the USA.❤

[@ChildrensStoryTime]

There’s a professor of oncology in the UK, that’s written a paper of a link between Oats and non Hodgkins Lymphoma. He recommended to eat only organic Oats as normal oats is normally grown in rainy, cool climates and needs to be dried. A chemical is used to assist in drying the oats to speed up the process and he’s seen a possible link of this chemical to cancer. Organic oats is more expensive for a good reason as it’s dried in kilns only. I’ve switched to as many organic foods as possible, though for many people the cost of doing this is prohibitive 😕

[@BillBlogs-t2i]

I am just happy to see an American with sense. Very rare. Great videos Steve.

[@Salena905]

I get what you mean but I bet also that there are plenty of other American people that would love healthier ingredients in their foods but it's hard to stand up to big companies.

[@TheUkrapster]

@@Salena905 There are. My partner is American so I spend half my time in the US and I have met very few (read none) people that are happy with US standards. Not just food related, too, sadly.

[@Salena905]

@@TheUkrapster They deserve better food quality, it seems as if the government and businesses have a pact , give them crap food, then they stay unhealthy and therefore have to keep paying for more health care as they're getting ill.

[@stuartmcivor2276]

Maize is the British name for what you call Corn.

[@willswomble7274]

What (only you) call corn is the maize plant seed, but corn anywhere else can mean ANY kind of plants seed ie is a generic term.

[@101steel4]

We have overweight and unhealthy people in the UK too, but the US is on another level. Yes the food is a huge factor, but driving everywhere doesn't help either.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Absolutely the case, in my opinion! Appreciate you watching

[@jessieb7290]

Yeah I walk a lot because I don’t drive. But if you watch American shows you really have to be able to drive to travel to most places. Also my dad once told me that WW2 housewives used to be skinnier because they used to do everything the hard way. Like now we have mops for floors and back then they used to scrub floors on all 4’s with a cloth. Plus weekends and things they’d ride bikes and things. General exercise was mainstream, unlike today. Plus less sugar and therefore less addiction to it.

[@101steel4]

@@jessieb7290 oh I know the reason they drive everywhere. I was just saying it's part of the problem.

[@gaiaiulia]

I'm amazed at the length of the ingredient labels in US products as compared with the UK and Ireland (we sell many of the same brands here in Ireland as in the UK and the US). It shows how many additives there are in US food products. Benzines are banned or have warning labels here in Europe.

[@occamraiser]

That'll be because benzine is a horrible carcinogen.

[@ShizuruNakatsu]

Here in Ireland, 'Frosties' is the name of the real Kellogg's brand cereal. I've seen 'Frosted Flakes' used as a more generic name for the supermarket own brand versions of the cereal.

[@SiGr10614]

Tesco call them frosted flakes 👌👌

[@malpa2345]

If I lived in the US I’d be extremely concerned with all those chemicals in the food

[@johnbruce2868]

You are what you eat. The content of American food is utterly insane. Get it? Explains a lot.

[@Theoriginalsparkythemagicpiano]

I have always believed that the amount of crap that goes into American food is what makes so many of them so violent.

[@gordonsmith8899]

You've got a point there - Americans in general appear to have very low tolerance levels.

[@stevemorris3710]

Don't say that within earshot of an American, particularly if they've just eaten 🙂

[@ORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR13]

I would say that is just crazy talk but the more I watch this video you could be absolutely right..Scary

[@kroche90]

It's easier to justify a war to a violent population than a peaceful one..

[@TransoceanicOutreach]

The white population of the US has a lower rate of violent crime than the UK, so what are you talking about?

[@alexrusu2905]

I will tell you a secret: in the US those toxic chemicals are allowed because you pay for health insurance. Just check who owns big pharma and big food companies, who spends money where and how it is a vicious cycle. There was a great book talking about the way food gets around the world, modified and sold in some countries, maketed as healthy, but I can't remember it's name. I will edit the comment if I remember.

[@oldbatwit5102]

Nonsense.

[@Deano-Dron81]

@@oldbatwit5102it makes sense brother…. Americans put all sorts of weird stuff to their food I swear… it’s tasty I will say though 😆

[@darkstarnh]

We have a friend from NC who comes here to Wales every year because she loves our country. But she also calls it 'detox' because of the quality of our day to day food.

[@suzielees5227]

I can’t wait for you and your family to visit. I’m not always proud of Britain, but we certainly take our food seriously. I’m not vegetarian or vegan, but we have so many healthy options available in supermarkets and restaurants, I often choose veg options without even thinking about it because they look/ sound so tasty. So many of my non-veggie friends and family also eat veggie a few days of the week.

[@Stigstigster]

I've been vegetarian for decades now and it's wonderful how much choice is there for everyone these days. I notice many of my friends also eat purely vegetarian meals several times a week when in times past, most people didn't even consider it a proper meal without meat. My housemate is a meat eater but I notice he only eats fish or meat 2 or 3 times a week when in the past it was every day. The good options for veggie alternatives has contributed a lot to making that easier for people.

[@jonathanfinan722]

Sometimes a company's veggie option is significantly better than its animal products, for example Richmond sausages. Their "pork" sausages are genuinely awful. You should never be able to eat meat through the gaps in your teeth. I got some of their veggie sausages last week (simply because they had a price discount sticker on at the Co-Op) and they were great. Excellent texture and seasoning. It turns out that they're a firm favourite with my veggie mates too.@@Stigstigster

[@spacechannelfiver]

@@Stigstigster I'm like that, I do eat meat but once or twice a week and try to source organic for those times. (organic generally means traditionally farmed rather than industrially farmed)

[@Stigstigster]

@@jonathanfinan722 I'll be sure to check them out if my local Co-Op stocks them.

[@0KiteEatingTree0]

Do the same, I try to go for veggie when eating out, if it looks tasty.

[@Emexrulsier]

Its like Fanta Orange. In the US there is NO orange in there. The flavouring is a chemical concoction and then the colouring is also from chemicals. Off the top of my head it is Red40 and Yellow5. In the UK Fanta containts Orange and the colour is taken from Carrots and pumpkins. This is why UK fanta looks like orange juice and US one looks like a nuclear reaction.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yep that's exactly it!

[@101steel4]

Funnily enough my cousin has just returned from living in the states for the last decade. He says the food tastes completely different, real and not synthetic. Although he's not got used to fizzy drinks yet (or sodas as he now calls them 🙄) as they're not packed with sugar and corn syrup.

[@tTantPisForFrance]

Ive also heard that bread in the US tastes more like cake than actual bread because of the horrifying levels of sugar in it.

[@robindtgriffiths6487]

Not just sugar but so many additives and preservatives

[@suecowley2599]

When I visited the US for the first time I was amazed to find that bread there was more like cake than bread! I know that the US allows a lot more additives in food than we do in the UK. We can't be complacent though. I think we ALL need to be much more aware of what is being put in our Food!

[@Irene-xs9pc]

Yes I agree with you, bread is nasty in the USA it’s so sweet but saying that my American family doesn’t like our food. Saying it is bland 😢❤

[@jessicamotion4564]

On the issue of colourings, here in the UK it is very rare for me in my usual shopping (including kids candy) to see any colouring that is not natural vegetable extracts. The main ones are beetroot, carrot, spinach and spirulina. It is something I just don't have to really think about before giving food to my kids which I am thankful for.

[@Reddsoldier]

I still remember the campaign to get rid of those colourings in the early 2000s. With the TV ad of kids doing an alphabet listing artificial colourings. They got rid of blue smarties until they could make them without e numbers FFS.

[@LMB222]

Spot on - vegetable extracts! It's so easy to die food with beta carotene or something similar. Titanium oxide is not necessary in our food.

[@Arghans]

And to think in the UK we’d wince at some of those ingredients still. Makes it all the more crazy how expensive food has gotten in the US despite the low standards.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Absolutely!

[@cazwalden1497]

Having spent holidays in the US i can say that US Mountain Dew doesn't taste the same as Mountain in the EU/U, now i know why. We have very high food regulations over here but we still have some very highly processed foods which can become addicting and need looking in to in my opinion. Food isn't something any of us can abstain from so Its really scary that more control isn't in place for your food products in the US.

[@SimonNemeth]

Thankfully it's much easier to eat the right things over here.

[@stevebeever2442]

I tried some mountain Dew here in the UK. Threw it in the bin it was disgustingly sweet

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yeah, that's the hard part with food...it's not like drugs where you can completely cut it out of your life.

[@garyduffy4661]

Whilst I wouldn't want all of the chemicals and additives in my food, I can say mountain dew in the UK tastes rubbish compared to the US version. I don't buy it at all.

[@gilliankingspeaks]

I'm so proud to be British!!! We actually campaigned for less salt and sugar in food. It's great. Having said that, they ruined baked beans!!!! 😂

[@Smashingblouse]

That’s true but we’ve added loads of artificial sweeteners to pretty much all drinks now and it’s gross. It causes an allergic reaction in me and tastes off. I’d rather it was just sugar and people limited their intake accordingly but then there’s the sugar tax 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@1977Futre]

@@Smashingblouse Or have a full sugar version and label it so. Eg - Full sugar baked beans....and make them more expensive. To incur the tax. You could even label the non sugar version the 'healthy' option. In order to prevent companies being sued further down the line by fatties who claim they didn't know. I get the fact that people need to be aware of the ins and outs of products. So tell them. Tell them which is which and if they want to pay more for a can of coke with sugar in it so be it. I do get a hankering for the full sugar vesion of something now and again. Thankfully I live in Asia and it is not a problem.

[@angussoutter7824]

Then voted Brexit to reduce it to a state no country would want to have

[@colinmcmb]

Because of Brexit our standards will soon be as shit as the USA's.

[@waltlock8805]

How horrible it would be for people to have a choice in what they eat... You can buy plenty of food with low salt/sugar in the US.

[@JohnSmith-rw2yn]

We visited family in Seattle a few years ago, amazed going into a restaurant/bar place, my parents ordered a chicken sandwich, as it was the only non fried or heavy processed thing on the menu. My family suggested they only order 1 to share. Literally it came out and it was grilled chicken salad on bread, perfectly fine, however it was literally an entire baguette cut in half, tasted sweet sickly sugar bread, so much sweet dressing and sauce, fries drowning the whole plate too. between the 2 of them they couldn't finish it and didn't want to, the portions were so crazy.

[@mareiketje4899]

I find it very interesting that in a video from a few days ago you said that Americans wouldn't like their government to give them to many rules and regulations (it was about the traffic regulations in London). But here you can clearly see what can happen if you let people - or companies in this case - just do whatever they please. The government should protect their people.

[@Halfdanr_H]

I’ve live in the UK and my girlfriend came here from Lithuania. She was shocked when I showed her what ingredients goes into our food, on the side of the packaging. She was shocked by how few E numbers we have in our food and drink, compared to what’s on offer in Lithuania. Suffice it to say she doesn’t eat very much Lithuanian food anymore. When she goes to visit her family in Lithuania she always takes some of the foods you’re allowed to travel with over with her.

[@richardjamesclemo6235]

The Lithuanians at work always have the most exciting lunch boxes, like they must go home from work and spend all their free time to make their next day lunches.

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

Your food has lots of E numbers in it, just for perceptions of the UK public they are named rather than using the E number. Remember salt and sugar have E numbers as do all the vitamins citric acid, and for that matter silver and gold.

[@danganbeg7225]

Standards are higher in Lithuania than in post-brexit Britain.

[@Kick1066]

​@@danganbeg7225😂

[@PropagandasaurusRex]

E numbers don't say much, as it's just a EU standard code for the types of ingredients used. Most of which are harmless. You''l find the same ingredients everywhere, just as the ingredient name or the chemical compound. The UK actually had the very same food standards as the EU, as they were mandatory for every member state. But UK standard are loosening and loosening fast, so it will soon be just as crap as US food.

[@kimarnill7648]

I don’t really think it’s the amount of food Americans eat, it’s all the chemicals and food dyes that are banned over here. And I believe that is why so many children are diagnosed with this and that is because of chemicals in the food. Just my opinion 😮

[@Thurgosh_OG]

The sheer volume is a factor, or we wouldn't have a growing obesity problem here in the UK.

[@kimarnill7648]

@@Thurgosh_OG of cause that is a factor, but I’ve eaten a burger and an hour later I’m hungry again. Do you think they put something in food to get you addicted or I’m I being just a greedy person.🤦🏼‍♀️

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yeah, huge contributing factor!

[@lsmith992]

It looks like the body is searching out what it needs and there is so little nutrition in the USA food that MUCH more food is required to get a very basic level of vitamins etc.

[@stormeygroenhuijzen319]

Same thing with medicine. As a singer, I loved the product Buckleys's Cough syrup. It would clear a cold of your vocal cords with one teaspoon. In winter and fall I would rely on the stuff. It tastes like Petroleum, but it does the job. It has been banned from Europe for decades, but North America can still get it. Probably really has petroleum in it :D

[@alisonbird5491]

Can you still buy Paregoric in the USA?

[@CosmicJellyfish]

I am British but I spent 10 years living in the USA. The food there had me gaining so much weight - there's even sugar additives in the milk and bread! I had SO many stomach issues and was on so much meds in the USA, but when I moved back to the UK all of those issues went away and I no longer take all the meds. All that is left is a hernia I developed and the reflux it causes.

[@hibiscusrose6074]

@CosmicJellyfish, may I suggest taking digestive enzymes before any meal. don't take ppi's if you can doctors don't tell you that they cause cancer.

[@CosmicJellyfish]

@@hibiscusrose6074 I only really use Gaviscon when I have reflux nowadays. Omeprazole does very little for me.

[@andybuckle626]

I have been to the states a number of time's and the first thing that I noticed apart from the sizes of potions is how sweet everything is. When at breakfast the taste of the bread was so sweet. There are a number of videos on KZbin on how much sweeter American bread is. Even the American bread in Canada has been changed to have less sugar.

[@rockbadger8040]

Having gone across to the US a few times, I wouldn't blame Americans saying our food is blander or duller. A lot of natural ingredients dont have the intensity of flavour that concentrates or artificial flavours have, and obviously "bursting with flavour" is an excellent marketing slogan.

[@windsorSJ]

Steve! After watching all your videos and enjoying all your content, I think it's time mate. You need to think about relocating to the UK. Looks to me like you'd fit right in.

[@dmsa12345]

As a UK farmer, the pesticide thing shocks me the most. Over here, pesticides have to only be effective for a certain amount of time. A while after application, soil bacteria breaks them down and they stop being toxic. Also, pesticides will have a period where you’re not allowed to harvest your crop for a certain number of weeks after application. This allows time for the pesticide to be broken down. This is especially important with fresh produce, which will be only stored on farm for a few days at most before being shipped out. The cereals that we grow are non-perishable if kept dry so can be stored on farm for months. We and several other farmers in the area have a grain trader who will wait until prices are favourable before selling. I don’t know what the regulation is in the US, but it sounds like it’s much more of a problem for the end user.

[@kevinwest942]

Best farmers in the world.

[@BenjWarrant]

One of the problems they have in America is that tort law has persuaded people that Monsanto's glyphosate is just cancer on a stick (as opposed to requiring careful control during usage) and that's the pesticide that is broken down by soil bacteria.

[@waltlock8805]

No problems for the end user at all. Helps keep our food costs down (or did, before the latest wave of inflation - Thanks Biden).

[@BenjWarrant]

@@waltlock8805 As an American, doubtless it has escaped your attention that EVERY OTHER FUCKING COUNTRY IN THE WORLD IS SUFFERING FROM INFLATION. Ergo, it cannot be put at the feet of any politician, and that includes Biden.

[@mercilyngono8955]

Main omission here is these are NOT UK regulations, they are standardised EU (European Union) regulations. Although the UK has now moronically left the EU, all these still currently apply in the UK. The UK government is now touting the idea that they may loosen some regulations in line with US and other markets that do not prioritise consumer health. You mentioned grapes grown in the UK, although this was true during the Roman occupation of England which ended 1700 years ago, grapes are currently not grown commercially in the UK apart from a few very neich producers. This is primarily due to the weather being wetter and colder than it was 2 millennia ago.

[@Suppersalmon]

First time I ever went to the USA I was shocked how bad some basic every day food tasted stuff like bread and cheese just made me feel awful.

[@annanz0118]

Its the bread especially that got me. It is so sweet that it almost tastes like cake.

[@CJVale]

@@annanz0118 I believe Ireland actually classified Subway bread as cake due to the high sugar content

[@slytheringingerwitch]

The problem is that the American populous would probably complain that the food was tasteless if all of the companies sold the safer versions in the US. The only place you can buy them in the US at the moment will be in stores that sell Canadian or British food, but at a much higher price.

[@nickyjones88]

Very true, that's one of the reasons why there's this stereotype of English/British food being tasteless. They have forgotten what real food tastes like. I made a beef stew on Sunday, the only herbs and spices were fresh rosemary and thyme, garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. All done in beef stock and a splash of red wine. If I do say so myself, it was delicious. I can imagine many an American, particularly the younger generation, complaining it was tasteless. I honestly don't think I could live in the US and eat their food. It would stress me out lol.

[@Asa...S]

@@nickyjones88 Your stew sounds really delicious! I love the taste and smell of rosemary, thyme and garlic. Those are my flavours. Just how the home smells when a stew like that is on the stove, feels like home, autumn and love. I'm not American though, nor British, I'm Swedish, but you decribing this made me crave a hearty stew like that.

[@nickyjones88]

@Asa...S Why thank you 😊 I know exactly what you mean. On a cold damp day, there's nothing like homemade stew to warm you up and make you happy. I'm sure you have a similar term in Sweden, we call it comfort food. One of the best things I ever did was get a slow cooker, set it going at lunchtime, and by dinner time, there's something fantastic to eat with minimal effort! If you're ever in the UK hit me up and I'll make you a bowl! 😂

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yeah, probably at first. But our taste buds would adjust and be all the better off for it!

[@rjScubaSki]

Food poisoning rates are also much much higher in the US than Europe. Due to underfunded health and safety departments.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

More likely, due to lack of stringent food standards to begin with, though your point is valid.

[@AnneDowson-vp8lg]

I used to work in Environmental Health here in the UK, Bradford City Council, Commercial Section. A colleague of mine, a Food Technician, reunited with her US pen pal, a male journalist. They became very close, she visited him in North Carolina, and he proposed to her in the Smoky mountains. Very romantic, for a while. But it eventually fell apart. He didn't want to live in the UK, and she couldn't find a job in America, because there is no such job as a Food Technician! But there are Environmental Health Officers and there is a Food and Drugs Agency. Why aren't they doing something?

[@paul1979uk2000]

Yeah I heard it's something like 3 or 4 times higher in the US compared to Europe and personally from what I've seen myself, food poisoning is quite rare in Europe, maybe once a year, whereas around 3 or 4 times in the US. It's crazy Americans put up with this but they do so because most are ignorant of what's going on around the world, that isolated attitude of most Americans is actually hurting them in so many areas.

[@rjScubaSki]

@@paul1979uk2000 I don’t think an average person in Europe gets it once a year. Maybe every 6-7?

[@kevintwine2315]

I’m so grateful that I’m not American

[@theprof4046]

Sadly, food standards in the UK have significantly dropped since Brexit. Especially in the big supermarkets where a proportion of goods comes from other parts of Europe. Now that it takes longer to clear customs etc. The food arrives 1-2 days later. That means you miss the first few days of it being fresh, best before dates are being removed from a lot of fruit and veg. Where it would have say a 4 day shelf life before being removed, it may now only have 2 days and a lot of food is now being put out to waste as a result. Or, food that wasn't frozen previously is now being short-term frozen to accommodate the prolonged journey. The real kicker is we now have to pay more for a worse product.

[@loucrawford3980]

Absolutely love your stories and videos Steve! I am from the tiny country of New Zealand - let me tell you, even in USA it is very easy to grow your own food. A tiny garden can produce so much that is healthy. Keep up the great work! Thanks

[@Waeva777]

Tip for ppl that shop at lidl in the UK, fruits without dates aren't sprayed with anything, fruits with dates are sprayed. The store manager let us know this when I worked there (we were sick of not seeing dates when we put out produce)

[@bethanybrookes8479]

One of the most important skills I have picked dup since I started shopping at lidl is knowing when my fruit and veg is out of date. And it's saved so much money. And reduced fiod waste. I don't end up buying too many peppers and then watching as half of them off before I can use them, and ultimately, I end up buying less and having less go off.

[@annoyingbstard9407]

Myth

[@whitehorses460]

thats absolute bs

[@daleferrier3050]

I remember when I was a kid, it was a big selling point that your product didn’t have artificial colours and flavourings. I don’t hear it as much nowadays because everyone doesn’t include them (99% of the time).

[@Saor_Alba]

I have family in America, and the first time my sister-in-law visited the UK she actually brought over some American food with her as she had become so addicted to the additives they contained, that she actually did not like the taste of the equivalent food in the UK. I must admit at the time I thought she was being a little obsessive, to be honest, but the more I hear about what addictive chemicals that are, deliberately, added to American foods I am now not surprised by her behaviour.

[@uncleandross4310]

Your love for corn syrup is insane, It's in EVERYTHING from what I have seen.

[@andybanan1992]

my Mom had a gastric bypass about a decade ago, and afterwards she could not eat SPESIFICALLY, red, blue and green candy that had artificial colours in them. if she did she got very tired and basically just fell asleep for a few hours, it was almost like she took a sleeping pill. it was crazy!

[@EmilyCheetham]

The amounts of high fructose corn syrup are crazy in USA. I went to Disney last year and after 8 days I felt really sick from all the high fructose corn syrup in the food & drinks. In UK we tend to use a lot more cane sugar & in lower amounts than USA.

[@jayzo]

Back before the pandemic I worked with American Airlines. The crew _loved_ British KFC (there's one in the terminal) they were always arriving at the plane with it. We asked them about it and they said it's "miles better [here]" than in the US. Oddly I've not had the chance to have US KFC (had literally everything else) to compare.

[@jeanmyers1787]

After buying a fish pie from a supermarket I was horrified to find how much sugar went into it. I now make batches of my own and keep it in my freezer & I live in U.K. 🇬🇧

[@puffymuffin9064]

Put sugar in a fish pie that's crazy

[@MrEdrftgyuji]

​@@puffymuffin9064 It is so they can call it "low fat"

[@legendofthepeach]

So much better to cook up a batch and you know everything in it and tastes better to.

[@ElaineOddsoxxx1]

I am a Brit and now that we have left the EU, I am worried about the food standards going down the tubes. We will have no protection once we rubbish the EU laws. I have been looking at additives since when my children were little, they became ill with some of the additives. Great video, thanks.

[@sdymott]

"your body protects itself from chemicals by putting on extra weight". Too true. That and the triple helping of extra fries !

[@chrisperyagh]

I last visited the US (Portsmouth VA) back in 2007 for around 2 weeks and in that time I put on half a stone (7lbs) and I wasn't the only one as several others on the same trip realised the same thing. I only noticed it as my watch was tight on my wrist!

[@reactingtomyroots]

That's pretty crazy! Especially since it wasn't a one-off.

[@jamesgornall5731]

We have fewer pesticides partly because fewer pests... we're fairly close to the arctic circle up here. Also, think we banned Red 40... you guys don't allow blackcurrants, which you're absolutely missing out on by the way

[@Mahoolipoodles]

As is a lot of the states. New York is on the same latitude as London!

[@jamesgornall5731]

@@Mahoolipoodles NY is 40 degrees North, London 51 degrees North, that's around the same latitude as...hmm, Calgary, for example.

[@MatthewLucas-yf7ee]

yes blackcurrants used to be banned (I think it's because the blackcurrant plants were spreading disease to other plants in the US). They are no longer banned in the US, but the flavour just isn't popular there now. If you look at sweets (candy) with blackcurrant flavours in the UK, it's usually grape flavour in the US.

[@mjwilliamsb2676]

Red 40 is indeed banned in the EU

[@sedekiman824]

@@MatthewLucas-yf7ee blackcurrent jam-the best!

[@Samjp1993]

I was in the US a few months back and tried mountain dew, it was horrendous compared to the UK version, I actually binned it! hopefully the US does crack down on food safety. keep up the great vids :)

[@reactingtomyroots]

Appreciate you watching!

[@jason-hh6lu]

When the governments were trying to get trade deals with food imports from US, one of the commissions said it would be UNFAIR for supermarkets to put a label on food to let Brits know that some foods were imported from the US. I wondered why until seeing this?

[@user-ru4ir2og6u]

How to read a sign: - Shape - Color - Symbol For diversion: Small square, usually on the side of direction signs. There are notices when a diversion is in place, along with the associated symbol For the triangle's with roads, keeps the arrow for the main road with the stumps being minor roads

[@sparkyprojects]

From what i understand, McD's used to fry their chips in beef fat, just like we did at home in the old days, but because of vegertarians they now use vegetable oil or sunflower oil. You should look into the comparison of eggs, in the US they wash them in chemicals, and you must keep them in the fridge, the eggshell absorbs the chemical In the UK we don't, and can keep our eggs on the kitchen counter I think apples in the US have some sort of wax coating, not good to eat the skin.

[@SimonNemeth]

We do have waxed fruit in the UK. It makes it look shinier and fresher but unwaxed is definitely becoming more normal. I buy specifically unwaxed lemons now. I much rather have a healthy egg with a crusty bit and a feather stuck on it than one that has been soaked in bleach. I always buy free range eggs at least, usually large.

[@paulmilner8452]

we do that alot here in the UK cater for the minority..... if only we could use real bacon at fast food places but we couldnt have that could we?a small minority being inconvenienced !!!

[@rikmoran3963]

Great video! I'd not seen this one you were reacting to before. Good to have an opinion from a medical expert. I find it strange that US companies use dangerous, but cheaper ingredients to make your food, but then charge you more than we pay in the UK! There is plenty of anecdotal evidence on some of these videos saying that US citizens who have lived in Europe for a few months find that their weight goes down without changing how much they eat, and certain ailments/conditions that they suffered from disappeared. When they returned to the US, their weight went up and the conditions returned. If I were a cynical man (and I am) I might think that there was some sort of profit motive in keeping people sick and relying on expensive healthcare!

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yeah I definitely think that's the case! Appreciate you watching

[@lenaisx]

Many many years ago when I was a child, my friend treated me American candys, the taste was too strong - practically chemical. No other contact with American food has been like this.😁

[@Steelyglint1000]

Bringing back hersheys kisses to the office after our us holiday used to make me laugh out loud. An open box of Roses would last a day. Hershey kisses would still be there after 2 weeks.

[@unbearabull]

I know Americans who visited the UK, ate junk food, KFC, BK etc every single day..... They couldn't believe they'd lost weight after their trip.

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

That's why European version of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre would have to feature an electric chainsaw - got to keep out the petrol fumes from the hitchhikers limbs.