Want to know why Americans are fat and the rest of the world is skinny – COST!   The big little Stockdale was addicted to turkey bacon.  We had it almost everyday for breakfast.  If a couple strips were left, I just tossed them.   Costco sold four one pound packs of it for about $12 total.  A single half pound (or whatever the metric equivalent is) is $9 over here.   I’d eat bacon off the floor over here before I threw it away.  Chocolate chips are worse.  A little thing of pepper was $6.

The odd thing is how much American food is exported from there to here.  Our jelly was made in Orville, Ohio.  The apples are from Washington.  Syrup is from New Jersey.  It’s not just food that is sent over here for expats, there aren’t enough of us to justify it.  It’s just a matter of places that can be trusted to make something that can actually be consumed by people.  For example, the Fruit Loops come from Thailand.  Raisin Bran is from South Korea.  Our milk is from Austrailia.

Singapore actually produces very little, so virtually everything is imported.  No room for cows or farms, or suburbs, or Costco, or Target, or anything that makes America an easy and cheap place to live.

Now, we don’t have the helper yet, so I really can’t shop where the locals shop.  Our food bills will go down once she is here.  However, the message is that the US still has some economic power in certain areas.  While anyone would buy a DVD player made in China, the Chinese aren’t doing to well exporting food.  I’m not sure I’d let the little Stockdales eat syrup from China, New Jersey is suspect enough, but at least I almost kind of trust the FDA.  I’m not sure there is anything like the FDA in China.  If there is, they are probably on the take.