NOM NOM NOM: FOOD PORTIONS IN BRAZIL

Everybody looks at America as an unhealthy place that consumes fast food religiously and serves giant servings of food. And while that is true, coming to Brazil and eating out here was both a shock, but truly a blessing… because I love food.

Serving sizes here are extremely large. Most of the dining restaurants and places that you will see are all you can eat buffet style, like the churrascarias that I have mentioned previously. It is not a secret that Brazilians love food, so it is no surprise to me that they have so much food in large portion sizes at these restaurants.

An interesting aspect that did surprise me, however, was the very strict custom of never leaving food on your plate. It is more of a suggested cultural etiquette practice as opposed a rule, and it is something that, out of respect, everybody is expected to do. There are many people in this country that do not have enough to eat and are suffering from starvation. While it is fine to have enough money to afford the more expensive restaurants, if one were to put more food on their plate than they could finish and end up wasting food that somebody else could have had, that is seen as disrespectful. I have never had a problem with this, because I eat all of the food on my plate at all times even in America, but I have experienced classmates recieve dirty looks from waiters and other diners for leaving too much food on the plate. It is taken pretty seriously, and it is expected that all tourists respect this aspect of their culture.

I find this particular part about Brazilian culture so honorably unique. You can see through this guideline the respect and love that the Brazilian people have for one another. While the upperclass, middle class even, may not always be able to help the poor or homeless, this truly exemplifies the fact that they do care and they do respect one another. I think that more countries could begin enforcing this guideline, America especially. I have seen so much food be wasted for no apparent reason, and it is really disheartening to continue walking in the streets and seeing the less fortunate have to beg for anything at all to eat. Hopefully, in this aspect, we will all become a little bit more like Brazil. And soon.