Firstly, do yous agree that this is true?
I find it a very general rule, in Europe anyway, the poorer the area the better the food.
And if so, why?
My theory is that it relates to industrialisation. Developed countries, they are developed because their cultures are focused on efficiency. They are endlessly searching for ways to do things more cheaply.
So you find farms, distributers, shops and restaurants, all trying to minimise their costs quite aggressively. They are not interested in quality. They have no pride in their work.
Poor countries are poor because the focus too much on quality and not enough on finding the cheapest possible way to do things.
Does this explanation extend to other cultural elements apart from food?
There’s a question in there, and I’m guessing it’s along the lines of, “why is food in other countries tasty to me when i travel to them?” Or “why are hole in the wall restaurants oftentimes way better than their fancier counterparts?”
I’m guessing it has to do with scale of preparation, pride in work, and, as you say, a heightened recognition of efficiency over quality. I’ve done video gigs at fancy hotel restaurants, and the food is always mediocre. I chalk it up to purchasing from vendors like aramark instead of locally, and having to make a bunch of the same dish at once for hundreds of simultaneous patrons affecting the recipe in less than tasteful ways. I live in the US, and the quality of food varies greatly. Affordability is a big issue, and the big corporate farms dominate, so local produce tends to be a bit pricier to even be competitive.
Or maybe it’s the seasoning.
Good answer.
Also good point, regions where food is dominated by large scale businesses or chains (can be farms, distributers, shops or restaurants) they do tend to be the worst, just because of the economics driving big companies is different. Maybe that’s the crucial factor.
Maybe it’s correct to treat the whole thing as a simple economics issue. How big are the barriers of entry into the market for a new competitor? Then the answer flows from that. There could be a correlation between poverty and having looser food-industy regulation, and therefore having more competition and finally better quality food. That explanation would answer your two questions too.