Eating in the USA - scary statistics!

[BarbaraL]

I'm sitting here at work, working on a piece involving food and eating the US. Thought you guys might be interested in some of the statistics I'm reading . . .

From High Tech, High Touch by John Naisbitt "Today the preparation time for a typical meal is fifteen minutes or less. Forty-one percent of carry-out meals consumed at home are fast food, while another 43 percent are restaurant or supermarket takeout. Unlike the days our mothers cooked from scratch, three quarters of Americans don't know at 4:00 pm what they are going to eat for dinner that evening.
"We're almost at the point were boiling water is a lost art" says Warren J. Belasco, an American Studies Professor at the University of Maryland.

Scary, isn't it? I guess that means all of us are an elite minority -- good for us! Have a wonderful Memorial Day, everyone!

[Jewel]

Well, we always knew we were special...now we just have it in writing! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[lorilei]

Minority?!? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

I never know at 4:00 what I'm going to eat for dinner!

[Julia1Pin]

Hey! I usually don't know at 4pm, what we're having for dinner. But I do have enough staples in my pantry and refrigerator, that I can cook a good, nutritious, low-fat meal anyways (with a little help from CL)

[BlueMoose]

What Julia1Pin said goes for me too!

[sneezles]

Glad to know I'm not alone on this! There are days that I still don't know at 5:00!

[Grace]

Aren't we just all the more talented?!! I typically don't decide what to make until 5:00 p.m., either, but I have usually bought all the ingredients for 4 or 5 different things, plus always plenty of "staples" around, so we never want for a good meal here, either!

[valeriek]

I'm a cumpulsive planner so I usually know what I'm having (what does that say about me and spontineity - did I spell that right?). But most people I know think cooking is all about boiling water and opening a box. There is a very nice guy who works in my area who is very young and a newlywed. He said the funniest thing the other day. He said his wife makes a mean Kraft macaroni and cheese! He also said he likes to go to McDonald's for the atmosphere. I couldn't stop laughing, but to him that is life and he loves it!

[funnybone]

Originally posted by valeriek:
There is a very nice guy who works in my area who is very young and a newlywed. He said the funniest thing the other day. He said his wife makes a mean Kraft macaroni and cheese! He also said he likes to go to McDonald's for the atmosphere. I couldn't stop laughing, but to him that is life and he loves it!

It's a good thing they are together - a match made in heaven - lol.