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Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

nytimes.com

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Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#11

Post by dasil003 »

crazygringo wrote: post #4

As an American who lived in Brazil for 8 years, honestly I'm not sure this is any worse than traditional food. A typical Brazilian lunch is a piece of meat with beans, sides of rice, french fries, and fried flour (farofa) -- that's right, 3 carbs of empty calories (2 fried) and no real vegetables -- all washed down with mostly-added-sugar "fruit juice concentrate" (cashew apple is really common). Bar snacks are 100%…

As a Brazilian-American who spent many years in both countries from the 1980s until today, you're misrepresenting things a bit.

First of all, the juice concentrates are a newish thing, 20 years ago it was still common to make fruit juice from scratch at home every day. Also, farofa is fried (more like sauteed, it doesn't need that much oil) yucca flour, which is a world away from refined white flour. Growing up, lunch was a large salad along with rice, beans, a cooked vegetable and some kind of meat or fish.

I fully admit that Brazil really took to fast food and it's just as terrible as it is anywhere, but your analysis of "traditional" Brazilian food is quite myopic and probably influenced by your own white-collar professional tendencies towards convenience foods.

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#13

Post by shihching »

> At one meeting, a representative from the food industry accused Anvisa of trying to subvert parental authority, saying mothers had the right to decide what to feed their children, recalled Vanessa Schottz, a nutrition advocate.

The same argument is used in the US to thwart limitations on sugary beverage purchases and other junk food with SNAP -- these compose 10-20% of purchases, 50% of which goes to Wal-Mart, alongside 2-5x greater premature mortality from cardiac arrest and diabetic related complications.

http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2016.3...

Incentivizing the poor to hock Nestle timed according to Brazilian food assistance checks is clever. Reminds me of Herbalife, and Betting on Zero -- Hispanic populations, eager to succeed in entrepreneurship, here too are victims of pyramid schemes preying on ill health.

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#14

Post by pkaye »

dasil003 wrote: post #11
crazygringo wrote: post #4

As an American who lived in Brazil for 8 years, honestly I'm not sure this is any worse than traditional food. A typical Brazilian lunch is a piece of meat with beans, sides of rice, french fries, and fried flour (farofa) -- that's right, 3 carbs of empty calories (2 fried) and no real vegetables -- all washed down with mostly-added-sugar "fruit juice concentrate" (cashew apple is really common). Bar snacks are 100%…

As a Brazilian-American who spent many years in both countries from the 1980s until today, you're misrepresenting things a bit. First of all, the juice concentrates are a newish thing, 20 years ago it was still common to make fruit juice from scratch at home every day. Also, farofa is fried (more like sauteed, it doesn't need that much oil) yucca flour, which is a world away from refined white flour. Growing up, lunc…

What is in a typical Brazilian breakfast in you opinion?

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#15

Post by dasil003 »

pkaye wrote: post #14
dasil003 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Brazilian-American who spent many years in both countries from the 1980s until today, you're misrepresenting things a bit. First of all, the juice concentrates are a newish thing, 20 years ago it was still common to make fruit juice from scratch at home every day. Also, farofa is fried (more like sauteed, it doesn't need that much oil) yucca flour, which is a world away from refined white flour. Growing up, lunc…

What is in a typical Brazilian breakfast in you opinion?

Very light in my experience, usually just coffee and some bread and butter, maybe ham and cheese, and some fruit.

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#17

Post by vit05 »

dasil003 wrote: post #15
pkaye wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is in a typical Brazilian breakfast in you opinion?

Very light in my experience, usually just coffee and some bread and butter, maybe ham and cheese, and some fruit.

Exactly this. Brazilians do not care about breakfast. Only when in Hotels or something like that.

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#18

Post by icelancer »

shihching wrote: post #13

> At one meeting, a representative from the food industry accused Anvisa of trying to subvert parental authority, saying mothers had the right to decide what to feed their children, recalled Vanessa Schottz, a nutrition advocate. The same argument is used in the US to thwart limitations on sugary beverage purchases and other junk food with SNAP -- these compose 10-20% of purchases, 50% of which goes to Wal-Mart, alon…

>>The same argument is used in the US to thwart limitations on sugary beverage purchases and other junk food with SNAP

Those living under the poverty line don't like being hit with condescending statements coming from those who are supposedly trying to help them, either. Conservatives/Republicans at least call the poor lazy. Liberals/Democrats who want to restrict sugar/luxury items from EBT/SNAP often make ridiculous statements about "knowing better for them," which you can imagine plays real well in their population.

I've collected EBT with a family and been under the poverty line. I know very well how people think and feel about those above them. Sometimes the single father or mother of two kids who struggles with daycare and a tough job 10 hours a day with 2 hours of commute time would like to buy their kids some ice cream and "bad" food to escape from the terrible life they have, rather than eat some broccoli or toasted kale. Let's have some sympathy.

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#19

Post by majormajor »

icelancer wrote: post #18
shihching wrote: post #13

> At one meeting, a representative from the food industry accused Anvisa of trying to subvert parental authority, saying mothers had the right to decide what to feed their children, recalled Vanessa Schottz, a nutrition advocate. The same argument is used in the US to thwart limitations on sugary beverage purchases and other junk food with SNAP -- these compose 10-20% of purchases, 50% of which goes to Wal-Mart, alon…

>>The same argument is used in the US to thwart limitations on sugary beverage purchases and other junk food with SNAP Those living under the poverty line don't like being hit with condescending statements coming from those who are supposedly trying to help them, either. Conservatives/Republicans at least call the poor lazy. Liberals/Democrats who want to restrict sugar/luxury items from EBT/SNAP often make ridiculou…

Yep. There's a deeply embedded mentality even amongst most social liberals in the US that poverty and moral/personal failure must go together, and thus we need to tell poor people how they're allowed to spend what little we're willing to give them. See also "but what if I give them some money and they use it to buy booze?" Heck, if I was homeless I know I'd want a drink.

But then on the flip side, we'll also spin the blame around on whoever else is available too. So maybe it's just that it's easier to blame than to fix. "Big business" got Brazil hooked on junk food -- not like good ol' America, where we got hooked on junk food back when it was still small business!

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#20

Post by pkaye »

dasil003 wrote: post #15
pkaye wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is in a typical Brazilian breakfast in you opinion?

Very light in my experience, usually just coffee and some bread and butter, maybe ham and cheese, and some fruit.

That is what I have here in the US. And most people I know do the same or some variation.
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