Foreign Food Culture: How European grocery shopping habits differ from our own

The United States of America’s house shopping giants like Walmart, Costco, and Publix are packed with consumers purchasing items in bulk quantities. The low costs and high amounts of lasting foods are appealing to many Americans. But, overseas, foreign grocery shopping habits tend to stray greatly from our own: small but frequent trips, prioritizing local sources, stricter ingredient laws, and smaller portion sizes make our European counterparts have a very different experience with food consumption and nutrition.

While surplus stores like Walmart do exist worldwide, most Europeans prefer to skip out on buying their products. Typically, they make multiple trips to the store a week, only purchasing foods needed for that day’s meals. On the other hand, Americans often favor cost effective, wholesale items with a long shelf lives. But this cheap, upfront cost has a poor return. According to a study conducted by the University of Arizona, about 30% of U.S. foods end up in landfills. This can be attributed to the mentality of planning meals more than a week ahead which results in bulk-buying: consumers buy loads of food they ultimately don’t end up eating. With schedules, cravings, and willingness to prepare meals changing daily, people don’t end up using the full quantity of food they bought which contributes to food waste.

Leslie Russell, 11, moved from Sweden to America during her childhood and took notice of the less frequent trips to the grocery store.

“We would go to the grocery store two times a week [in Sweden]—and we do the same thing in the U.S.—but I’ve noticed that people who were raised in the U.S. buy food less often and get more processed foods.”

Another difference is where the food is bought. Local markets and producers remain Europeans’ favorite way to purchase their food. This reinforces their tendency to avoid bulk items—small farmers can’t create the same quantity and shelf life—and increases the quality of what they’re eating. Locally sourced foods don’t have the same additives that foods produced by major companies do. 

The ingredients allowed in foreign foods differ as well: the European Union has cracked down and banned many ingredients and additives that the U.S. still allows. Some of these ingredients are even considered carcinogens by The International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Furthermore, healthy options tend to cost significantly more in American grocery stores resulting in lower socioeconomic status correlating with inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables, leading to various health complications.

While many cultural and health standards around food require change on a high-scale level, those who do care about their shopping habits and the resulting health implications can follow tips like more frequent grocery store trips, buying foods with less preservatives, and eating fresher foods that have smaller portion sizes. 

“A tip I have for people trying to eat a more European diet would be portion control,” Leslie said, “It’s honestly crazy how different America’s portion sizes are—it blows my mind whenever I visit Sweden.”

Leslie attributes portion sizes to playing a huge role in the differences between U.S. and foreign food culture. She notes that fast food corporations contribute to consumer’s attitudes towards food. A large European drink from a fast food restaurant is the equivalent to a U.S. small. When paired with other factors like differing ingredients, these size discrepancies can have a massive effect on consumers.

Overall, the U.S. and Europe have differing norms surrounding food, but individuals can still make choices regarding which they prefer to integrate into their lifestyle. Also, despite having varied attitudes towards shopping habits and types of food purchased, both cultures are overall focused on enjoying food—something we can all agree with.