The quality of food and its preparation in an appropriate menu is a matter taken very seriously in France. Most of this delectable food is affordable, whereas other consumer goods are quite expensive.
The relative abundance of food produce is an outcome of a chosen policy path - the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union, which, among other things, has helped France to preserve small-scale agriculture and wine-making. But CAP has had many downsides, for example the complaint that subsidies to farmers in France and elsewhere in the European Union mean a barrier to import of agricultural commodities from developing countries. CAP has been in place since the 1950's, but in the last decade or so it has been subjected to major alterations, and ajustments continue. It's one of those political "hot spots" within and without the EU.
What is interesting to me is the way that people and cultures adapt to and live in different rules and practices that govern a given geographical space. Yes, yes, it's anthropology, and I'm just a curious amateur. But thinking about the systemic framework along with observing the particulars on the ground is fascinating. Depending where you are, it can be fun or troubling.
Here is a hypothesis: If there is an abundance of food, will it always become significant in a culture, and will all kinds of effort and ingenuity get devoted to impressing one's friends and family with cooking?
If you have a view, feel free to make a comment. If there are economists, cooks, sociologists, menu planners, political scientists, grocery shoppers, social psychologists, farmers or avid newspaper readers the resulting blend could be a potpourri of opinion. Words to chew over.
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