Food

[Ocofan]

I wasn't sure of where to post this thread but anyway...

My first world problem of the day is... food - or the lack of its variety available to us. Apparently there's close to 8.7 million various species of life forms on this planet; but every time I go shopping I feel like I'm subjected to the same old choices:

Meat - fish (maybe about 4 main varieties), chicken, beef, pork
Vegetables - carrots, broccoli/cauliflower, potatoes, pumpkin, onion...
Salads - small characteristic variations of a leafy green

I know a large proportion of the 8.7 million life forms I quoted can't or won't be eaten for various reasons (inedible plants, trees, bacteria etc), but in trying to convert to an almost organic/healthy diet it just seems so monotonous in terms of varying the daily meal. Does anyone dread going shopping like me or am I just a complete idiot? I'm thinking the latter but hopefully I'm not alone...

 

[Rook]

If you prefer variety, travel to the rural areas of various countries.

In Malawi some locals eat and sell roasted mice skewered on a pole.
If you see someone vending a giant kebab next to the road, it's mouse.(Can't recall the name though)
Oh, it's called mbewa, roasted field mice.

Spoiler

In the end I guess it all depends on where you live.
In many African and Asian countries, you can get a wide variety of "weird"(From a western perspective) foods at local markets in cities and towns.

I have noticed though that the more developed an area becomes, the more these local variety markets of uncertain origin and health risk are replaced by a whole bunch of homogenous chain markets.

So I guess your dilemma with variety can be solved in two ways: Live in places were greater variety is the status qou(Though with dubious standards as to the safety of said foods) or find a specialty shop/website were you order exotic foods from, which will in all probability be quite an expensive venture.

 

[Pyropyro]

Why not grow/raise your own food?

Exotic vegetables/fruits can be obtained as seeds through the net/ local groceries.

You also can raise edible insects. A friend of mine raised some mealworms for her consumption.

I'm not sure if raising mice or larger creatures is a good idea in urban areas though.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Is there a reason to be surprised?
The food you see in groceries and markets is a mass product that has undergone technological improvements to the efficiency and speed of delivery, it has to be in a slight over-supply and is the most cost-efficient solution for the average consumer. A planned economy(or smaller supply chains and marketing ventures) rely on a few simple elements that are further improved by every means available.

Variety and complexity are less effectively influenced by the automatisation, which requires simplifying the task at hand to the most basic solution before applying technology.

If your food budget or spare time is slightly higher than that of the average consumer you can; educate yourself on the healthier alternatives, acquire less common ingredients, produce by yourself or prepare healthier meals.