Our Daily Bread

By Penina

When I was biking across the US, our diet consisted mostly of gas station pizza, ramen, and Pop-Tarts. My body was starting to suffer, and one day I had a craving for a tomato-cheese sandwich, to try to get a bit more whole food into my diet. I meandered around the Montana grocery store, grabbing some medium-nice bread, packaged cheese, and the ripest-looking tomato I could find. The total came to over $8, and I gasped.

I assembled the meal on a picnic table in the parking lot, and took a bite. I nearly cried. The tomato tasted like mush, the bread like cardboard, and the cheese like plastic. I went back to my Pop-Tarts and Rice Krispy Treats, but by the end of the trip I was depleted.

The morning after we landed in Lisbon, we went to a grocery store for breakfast. I grabbed a roll from the bakery section. 20 cents. I bit into it and the crust crackled. The inside was soft and fresh, with an airy crumb, light and floury.

The next day we collected the supplies for tomato-cheese sandwiches. For about $3 total, we had fresh bakery bread, creamy salty cheese, and a juicy, firm, sweet-tart tomato. With a little bit of mayonnaise, the meal was perfect.

Many people who know much more than me have written extensively about the different food systems in the U.S. and Europe. In both places, we were aiming for (and failing to meet) a budget of around $10 a day. In the U.S. that meant a lot of ultra-processed food from gas stations. In Europe so far that has meant tuna in olive oil, fresh bread, dried fruit, nuts, bakery pastries, tomatoes, strawberries, pasta, zucchini, and local cheeses. We still eat meals outside of the grocery store, but instead of a giant parking lot, it’s a narrow cobblestone street with white-washed blue-trimmed buildings.

All this to say that in terms of road quality, food quality, and general ambiance, between the U.S. and Europe, Europe is pulling ahead.