Sreyas Week 5: Go Big or Go Home
America. The land of the free, home of the… extra large?
That doesn’t sound right, but maybe it does fit, considering how we’ve made it a habit to make everything bigger than it needs to be. From enormous pickup trucks to houses with more bathrooms than people living in them, America seems to follow a strict policy of bigger is better. But the clearest example of this is food.
When I was younger, I used to watch this food comparison series called “Food Wars,” where they looked at fast food items from the same brand in two different countries. In most comparisons of sizes, a small drink from the States would be equivalent to a medium sized drink in other countries. However, this pattern wasn’t limited to drink sizes. The maximum number of items you can order is also much higher. For example, McDonald’s McNuggets have a maximum order of 20 in Great Britain, this becomes 40 McNuggets in America.
Portion sizes in the United States also became a big part of the World Cup experience over the summer. Something that we took for granted was seen as special to Europeans who were visiting to cheer their teams on. I saw so many memes about visitors going back to their home countries with much smaller portion sizes and feeling disappointed.
Now, the thing is, to most of us these portions seem normal. I mean, yeah, who’s really buying a 40 piece McNugget order? But then again, who looks at a large sized drink and says “Woah, this is way too much, I think we should make a smaller size and remove this one?” In fact more people look at the pricing and opt for a large drink.
But this difference in portion sizes raises an important question: when did more become better? If a small drink in one country is the same size as a medium in another, does that mean one country is getting a better deal than another? Or has the American population just gotten used to having larger standards for what a specific size is?
Maybe this is another example of the American tendency to go bigger. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Large portions can be convenient when sharing or taking leftovers home. But it is funny when you realize that what seems normal to you might be something that doesn’t even exist in a different country.
So, the next time you walk into a fast food restaurant and get a small sized drink, remember that somewhere else in the world, that is considered a medium drink. Honestly, I think that says a lot about America.
Hi Sreyas! I found your post very enlightening. I never considered how the extra-large drink sizes and their prices influence consumers’ choices to purchase them. By framing purchasing extra-large as a deal, consumers are enticed to choose that size, thus consuming an excessive amount of sugar.
ReplyDeleteI also saw the TikToks of Europeans visiting America during the World Cup, in awe of the portion sizes. For instance, Raising Cane’s, like many fast food chain restaurants, offers the option to buy its famous sauce in a large or medium sized drink cup. Let me clarify: this is a dipping sauce that is being sold in the same container as a beverage—one that many mukbang content creators consume in one sitting. While the Europeans enjoyed the comically large sizes of American cuisine, as an American, I had the best time visiting Europe and experiencing their food culture. The fruity European gelatos tasted vibrant, fresh, and tart—completely different from artificially-flavored and overly sugary options back home.
I appreciate the clarification you make at the end regarding large portion sizes’ benefit in leftovers and sharing, but I think the main concern is that some Americans don’t view it in that way. Part of the population still sees large portions as a single serving, promoting an unhealthy diet. And yes, as you say, the fact that these huge portions do not even exist elsewhere speaks volumes about the American diet.
Hi Sreyas! Thanks for addressing this! Portion sizes in this country are just out of the world!! I remember travelling to Europe and being utterly shocked at how small their serving sizes at restaurants were–Olive Garden would be an absolute nightmare to authentic Italians. You claim this isn’t necessarily bad, but I’d honestly have to refute this and say that the bigger portions in this country are appalling–just compare the average American biostatistics to those of Europeans.
ReplyDeleteThis concept of everything being bigger in America also extends to clothing sizes. An American women’s small is alarmingly larger than a women’s small in Asian countries. This has always made me wonder whether our lifestyle is extremely unhealthy, or if East Asian countries just have ridiculous standards. After research, I’ve come to the consensus that this relativity is a result of both factors.
I enjoyed reading your blog as you incorporated your own reactions to “Food Wars” and the viewing of World Cup games. The questions you prompted upon me definitely make me reflect on what I think about American portions. Thank you for sharing!
Hello Sreyas! I like how you touch up upon America’s reputation of being quite large in their portion sizes—Europeans have always ridiculed Americans for having excessive quantities of food. Realistically, nobody is eating an enormous amount of food in such a short amount of time (One mega smash burger in one night?! Seriously?) unless you have the appetite to match the portion. I like how you bring up the World Cup. It was so heartwarming to watch Europeans not hate Americans for once! Have you seen their reactions while trying ribs or brisket for the first time? It’s like they’ve been transported to a different dimension. Okay, now I’m hungry for ribs. So hungry. Can I have brisket too?
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I think bringing your excess food to-go is nice. When I have something nice saved in the fridge, it makes the commute to my house a tad bit more exciting. After a long and tiring day, coming back home to some lightly air-fried cheese fries really hits the spot. It also lessens the amount of food waste compared to throwing away your leftovers. I’m really surprised other countries have not adopted this “takeout” system yet. The United States certainly excels in matters of food!
Hi Sreyas! This is a creative topic to discuss for your blog! Actually, pretty recently, I’ve begun to realize the sheer size of our food portions. When I get ice cream, I can only finish half of it and have to let the rest melt. When buying a full Costco pizza, it’s absolutely huge and no regular person can finish it in one sitting. When compared to other countries, a full pizza is much smaller, clearly meant to serve one person. I remember watching a video where a group of guys ordered one pizza to share among themselves in a European country. The server looked at them in confusion and asked them,”One? Are you sure?” But like you wrote, having bigger portions in America isn’t exactly a bad thing. The reason why food portions in America are so big is because it is meant to leave leftovers. When I saw the picture you attached at the end, I was shocked. A small sized drink in the UK is actually small; a big drink in the UK is smaller and skinnier than a size big in the US. Thank you for sharing your observations on this phenomenon!
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