US vs. France
 
 

Particular Product and/or Practice	U.S. Perspective	France Perspective
1. Portion size	big, all you can eat; doggy bags	"savor, don't stuff"; no doggy bags
2. Consumption time	fast; taking time for lunch just isn't done; eat quickly and get back to work	slow(er) (even at McDonald's! 14 minutes vs. 22 minutes); mealtime is time to enjoy food, family and/or friends, good conversation
3. Taste	"USians" prefer value over taste	French prefer taste over value
4. Necessity vs. pleasure	"USians" eat because they have to	French eat because they want to: a day without a good lunch is not a good day
5. Food education: begins early and habits form	US school lunches: monotonous diet of pizza, burgers, chicken parts and meat; sends the message that fast food all the time is normal and that healthy food tastes bad	French school lunches: a meal has a structure -> appetizer, main dish, vegetable, cheese, and dessert.
6. Snacks	a snack culture; chips, "conveniently" bagged snack foods are everywhere	snacking is simply not part of the culture