Yes, the vast majority of French people eat bread daily, often with every meal, as it's a deeply ingrained cultural staple for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, used for sopping up sauces or as a simple accompaniment. While the baguette is iconic, many types of bread are consumed, with a trip to the local bakery (boulangerie) being a daily ritual for many, though intake has lessened from past decades due to health perceptions, note.
95% of French people eat bread every day. This is the number of baguettes sold in France every year. That means more than 300 baguettes sold every second, and more than 27 million per day.
Bread in France: It's a Staple Most French people eat bread every day. It's not just a cliché, bread in France is a staple and something most people care about. French people take bread very seriously. In some countries bakers add nutritional supplements to their bread, or they add gluten to make the bread rise better.
The Everyday French Cuisine
While Turkey stands firmly as the largest bread consumer, the country is closely followed by Serbia and Montenegro, as reported by Guinness World Records.
This makes India the country with the least amount of bread consumption globally. India's extremely low bread consumption reflects the country's preference for rice, rotis, and other grain-based staples over Western-style bread.
China is the country that throws the most meals away. It wastes four times more food annually than the U.S. does, primarily at the post-consumer level.
A 2003 article in the journal Psychological Science describes how portions in French cookbooks, as well as those in restaurants and grocery stores, are 25 percent smaller than those in American ones. With smaller portion sizes, the French consume more reasonable amounts of food in one sitting.
The 21 Best Food In France That You Must Try
France' love for rich foods—cheese, pastries, wine, and creamy sauces— seems to clash with its low obesity rates, but it all boils down to cultural habits, government policies, and lifestyle choices. French people enjoy their food, but they do so mindfully and in moderation.
Don't butter your bread!
Nibble it or use it to mop up your plate at the end of a dish. Other than with bread, be wary of eating with your hands – watch what the others do. Eating with your hands is generally considered to be bad manners in France, except in very casual settings.
So versatile. So nutritious. It can be eaten for any meal; although the French aren't known for eating a big breakfast of bacon and eggs. They mostly consume their eggs as part of a light meal at dinner time.
Goûter (pronounced goo-tay) means “to taste,” but in French households, le goûter refers to the beloved after-school snack, typically eaten around 4 p.m. — which is why it's also affectionately known as le quatre-heures (“the four o'clock”).
The "5 to 7 rule" in France, or le cinq à sept, traditionally refers to a secret, after-work rendezvous (5 PM to 7 PM) with a lover for an illicit sexual encounter before returning home to family, but it's also used more broadly for discreet romantic meetings or even just a casual happy hour, though its meaning varies by region, with Québec using it more for social gatherings than affairs.
At 8.2kg each per year, the French eat more butter per person than any other nation – the Americans consume a paltry 2.6kg, and the British manage a noble 3.17kg – but for the life of me, I've no idea when they're eating it.
Spain is notorious for its super-late dinner time, usually around 10 p.m., but the reason behind this has to do with some complicated history.
The typical French breakfast is about quality and not quantity! Fresh French bread, a baguette or a tartine (a slice of bread with French butter and jam) is the cornerstone of the breakfast table, alongside croissants, pain au chocolat and brioche.
Lunch is often the most important meal of the day in France, with businesses and schools closing for up to two hours to allow for a proper sit-down meal. Dinner, though lighter than lunch, remains a leisurely affair, often accompanied by wine and lively conversation.
An usual French lunch will include: an appetizer (une entrée), such as a mixed salad, soup, terrine or pâté; main course, (le plat principal), choice of beef, pork, chicken, or fish, with potatoes, rice, pasta and/or vegetables; cheese course (from a local selection) and/or a sweet.
1/ Okinawan diet – Japan
So much so that Japan has the lowest obesity rates and third longest life expectancy of any developed country. The Okinawan diet is centred around fish, seafood, tofu, and other nutrient-rich ingredients. It's also extremely low in processed foods.
France's lower rates of obesity and heart disease
“The rates of obesity in France are a third of what they are in the United States,” Dr. Ben-Arie says. “If you look at current statistics, the French have less cardiovascular disease and less cardiovascular-related mortality than we do [in the United States].”
South Korea's policies encourage prevention and food waste recycling. The country banned food waste disposal in landfills in 2005 and implemented mandatory composting for all generators, including individuals, in 2013.
The document lists the top 10 countries with the highest daily consumption of junk food, with the United States ranked first. The other countries included are France, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.
If nothing is done, food waste could rise to over 120 million tonnes by 2020. Wasting food is not only an ethical and economic issue but it also depletes the environment of limited natural resources.