Gee, Norway Doesn't Sound So Bad to Me

Reading this piece in The Times about Scandanavian countries and the differences in standards between there and here, the writer keeps making a point about their matpakkes or boxed lunches.

Why does this strike me as a real snobbery, especially given the title of the piece: "We're Rich. You're Not. End of Story" (and really, it's not about the Bushies!).

In this country, we're addicted to huge quantities of usually very bad and sometimes-even-lab-designed food. The most popular menus around the country tend to load up on bulky items with high calorie, cholesterol, carbohydrate and preservative/additive counts. We drop a shitload of money on buying MickeyD's and Subway's and Pizza Hut's.

And when I say we, I'm using the snobbish royal "we" because you won't catch me eating there.* When I worked more often in a traditional office, whether I was a class wage slave or someone better paid, I usually brown bagged. For the money, I could get much better food in reasonable quantities. I was much less apt to eat the same thing day after day with a self-made lunch than I was with local dining options.

I see some of what the writer is trying to say, but I'm not convinced the U.S. wouldn't be better off not throwing away so much damned money on silly, thoughtless excess.

* My last Mickey D's was almost five years ago. Not out of conscious effort but I found that the longer I went without it, the less I missed it. The only chain I now miss is Red Lobster for reasons I can't really explain.