[flachsechs]

don't forget the caipirinha, usually a double or triple shot of sugarcane rum mixed with sugar syrup and fruit juice (more sugar)... sometimes served with granulated cane sugar on the rim of the glass. needless to say, it gets you hammered in a hurry. or the local beer...

honestly i think the healthiest restaurant food i saw in brazil was the appetizer salad bar at the churrascaria, which is of course the kind of place where you eat until you literally can eat no more.

and, i'm fairly certain brazil was an extreme early adopter of pay-by-the-kilo buffets, if not the birthplace.

the traditional non-european food (apart from churr.) is basically modernized slave food - huge amounts of carb-based calories and deep fried food, for cheap, usually in the form of dense stews with starchy sides. southern/cajun food is very similar.

luckily, brazilians are an incredibly active people whose entertainment culture is centered around outdoor activities, and most of them do not indulge in meals out very often, but as with all other societies that become more affluent over time, the modern less-active lifestyle mixed with the traditional diet is not good.

[lerax]

Oh man... so much (wrong) bias about Brazil :/

[mercer]

What's the point of a statement like that if you don't elaborate?

[flachsechs]

it's tough seeing your country analyzed by an outsider. here, i'll do the same thing with my home country, america.

americans primarily eat cheap feedlot-produced beef and chicken, often in the form of fast food such as mcdonalds. the majority of beverages consumed are alcoholic or laden with sugar.

in the south, most of the cuisine is largely modernized slave food and plantation food. cigarettes and rum are, or were until recently, consumed in large quantities, made from sugar and tobacco which was the backbone of the slave economy in the gulf/caribbean region.

there is also an emphasis on quantity, with people oftentimes eating or serving more to a person than they can actually eat in a single meal. people frequently take the remainder to go, although many force themselves to finish.

unfortunately, americans' entertainment culture revolves around watching tv so the effects of overeating are compounded and result in epidemic levels of obesity and diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

is this true? is this biased? does this apply to berkeley, ca as well as it does to dallas, texas?

this doesn't describe me as an american, yet it's undoubtedly true, uncomfortable, and critical as it may be.

the truth hurts.

[flachsechs]

well i would have mentioned all the german cuisine in the south but we wouldn't want to remind everyone of that pesky nazi situation, would we?